Category Archives: Intentional Communities

Chatterjee's The Water Phoenix is a disarmingly honest memoir, empathetic and nuanced in its telling, providing a space for the reader to reflect and grieve along with the writer.

The Water Phoenix, by Rituparna Chatterjee, is steeped in a dancing range of stunning visual imagery, emanating from the active imagination of an isolated but hugely resilient six-year-old child.

The book is a disarmingly honest memoir of child sexual abuse and trauma, empathetic and nuanced in its telling, providing a space for the reader to reflect and grieve along with the writer. The autobiographical account flows seamlessly from the time Chatterjee encounters her first big loss the death of her mother to the very specific, unique journey she undertakes to heal from her childhood.

The entire ecosystem of abuse, abandonment and loss that Chatterjee weaves through the various chapters in the book is predominantly situated within her family. The confusion and the bewildering sense of shame that descends upon her as a child, amid persistent bullying and harassment, enhances her sense of isolation in a world full of relatives and friends. It is a story that is achingly familiar, yet painfully under-explored.

Interestingly enough, Chatterjee did not initially plan to write The Water Phoenix, she shared in an interview with Firstpost, I did not set out to write this book. I was actually working on a novel that was going nowhere, but once I began work on it (The Water Phoenix) I finished writing the book in five-and-a-half months.

On the process of recollecting childhood memories for her book, she said, I didnt experience any significant emotional turmoil while writing the book. Even as I was revisiting many painful memories, I was alright that could be because I had already healed and probably why I could write the book so quickly.

Even though The Water Phoenix is a memoir and narrates a very particular story of child sexual abuse and its effects, its not an uncommon story. According to the data released by the National Crime Record Bureau, a total of 109 children were abused every day in India in 2018, which showed a 22 percent jump in cases from the previous year. But it is not just sexual abuse that rendered Chatterjees time as a child unbearable; a combination of abuse, neglect, bullying, lack of a close confidante and her socialisation as a good-natured girl are some of the things that pushed her into the depths of despair.

The Water Phoenix masterfully narrates the consequences of learning obedience before one learns how to articulate pain.

Chatterjee observed, My story is the story of millions of Indians. Abuse is shockingly common, and many times, the elders in the family are aware of it but they prefer to ignore it because confronting abusers could jeopardise relationships within the family.

In the book, the author describes childhood as imprisonment, where freedom is doled out in penurious quantities, quite by chance. She says that children are entirely at the mercy of others for survival but often, adults even the kind ones have no idea about what they are doing, and why. As a result, its easy to fall into a mindless and oppressive pattern of doing things. But having said that, as a parent, I know its not easy to raise children. Children are extremely emotionally demanding, and for parents living in nuclear families, it can be quite hard to manage their livelihood as well as raise children with sensitivity, she explains.

She says the problem of childhood feeling like imprisonment has to be located in the nature of modern society itself, not so much in individual parents and families. There are a few tribal communities in parts of Africa where while one woman is nursing a child, another one goes and fetches water, and once she comes back, she starts to nurse the same kid. A child in these villages is raised by an entire community of people. I think thats so beautiful and loving.

Interestingly, it was finally in an all-girls boarding school that Chatterjee experienced for the first time a long-term sense of stability and safety. But the constant policing of female sexuality and body within the school premises by the teachers reinforced feelings of shame and guilt. She said, In India, puberty is everyones public business, especially if you are a girl. The constant policing of our bodies ultimately made us more conscious of it. As a result, by the time I left my school I only wore long shirts and jeans meticulously covering every inch of my body. In a way, I was already a nun when I left school; I just needed to wear a habit.

Unfortunately, several Indian schools continue to hold onto outdated beliefs and practices around sex and sexuality, perpetuating a culture of shame and silence. In a desperate attempt to break away from reality, Chatterjee immersed herself in the world of books. And it was finally at the intersection of life and fantasy that things started to gradually fall into place. She says, Growing up I didnt really have people, so books were the closest thing I had to a parent, sibling or friend. In some ways, I grew up with the stories I read. For example, I first read Alice in Wonderland in comic form, then later I read the abridged version, and then gradually I read the original book. So in a way, I grew up with the story, and thats probably why I love it so much.

The influence that Lewis Carols Alice in Wonderland exerted on Chatterjees childhood psyche is strongly evident in the way the writer articulates her experiences. The sense of homelessness and the feeling of being stuck between two worlds dominate much of the sensorial landscape of the book. Alice at once becomes both an inspiration as well as the single most relatable character in Chatterjees life, from whom she derives the strength to plough forward.

She observed, At first I thought Alice in Wonderland was a fascinating story in which all these magical things were happening to Alice one after the other, but I eventually realised, as I grew up, that she is actually going through one horror after another. There were also several lines in the story that just instinctively made sense to me. For instance: I am not crazy, my reality is just different from yours. Growing up I felt many of my friends didnt understand my reclusive nature; they thought I was strange or weird. It is only after reading the book that many of them reached out to me and said We now understand why you were the way you were.

The author dedicated her book to the survivors of child sexual abuse, to let them know that they're are not alone in their struggle. When you are a child, sometimes you dont realise you are being abused. It takes many, many years to process all the events and figure out that was happening to you was not normal. Books, in a way, gave me a template to understand the world around me and they also gave me an escape. I felt less alone."

The Water Phoenix does not shy away from discussing the impact of childhood trauma on the emotional and psychological well-being of adults. Chatterjee poignantly describes the insidious ways in which unresolved childhood anxieties manifested in her daily life as a young adult. The pain she endures as a result of once again not knowing what is happening to her is explored with heartbreaking honesty, and her decision to not pathologise her challenges sparked by a single moment of deep realisation about her own life opens the future course of healing. According to Chatterjee, The Water Phoenix is ultimately a book about healing and forgiveness.

She shared, The path I chose towards healing helped me realise the power of our inner reality and its ability to shape our environment. The hallucinations that I had started to experience were a manifestation of my deep-seated fears. Once my inner reality changed, my visions became more positive and I was able to embrace them. There are many books on child sexual abuse but only a few on healing and what works, therefore, I felt a sense of responsibility to write about my own journey towards healing and forgiveness. What the book finally offers is a very kind perspective on forgiveness that has almost nothing to do with the abuser, but has everything to do with you.

On the subject of how the family as a social unit can evolve to prevent violence against children, Chatterjee observed, When parents follow their own joy, they teach their children to do the same, this leads to less suppression. But the more I think about it the more I feel that family, in any case, is not the answer. We need more intentional communities where individuals depend on each other and live collectively.

In The Water Phoenix, Chatterjee captures a whole range of issues and emotions that gradually unravel and are then patiently explored. Hope and the human ability to heal from trauma is central to its narrative. But at its heart, it is a deeply sensitive memoir that extends a warm hug to anyone who has ever felt misunderstood, alone or hurt by others.

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Rituparna Chatterjee discusses her memoir The Water ..enix, the complexities of child sex abuse, and healing - Firstpost

If you follow Google Stadia at all across its various communities on the web, you won't have been able to go too far before stumbling across an unhappy NBA 2K21 player. I'm not personally a player of this game, but the frustration among the community was easy enough to grasp. Not only were there bugs affecting the playing experience, a major roster update deployed to other platforms was seemingly MIA on Stadia.

Roster updates and correct uniforms and such are an important part of a sports title, so understanding why folks who'd spent a decent chunk of their hard-earned on NBA 2K21 were upset didn't take much effort.

So, we reached out to 2K, pointing out the frustrations from avenues such as Reddit and the Google Stadia Discord. The good news is that it's certainly not intentional and Stadia hasn't been left out to pasture. A 2K spokesperson said this:

"We're aware some players are encountering issues for NBA 2K21 on Google Stadia. We've identified a bug that was preventing roster updates and will be issuing a patch that will address this moving forward, along with additional bug fixes and stability improvements."

Some players in the last couple of days have suggested the updated rosters are already rolling out, but the benefit at least of a cloud platform like Stadia is that you won't have to download any of the patches. As for the future, only time will tell, but hopefully players can get back to it in the knowledge the platform is still very much being supported.

Cloud-based basketball action

The biggest NBA game on the planet is now also available without a gaming PC or console thanks to Google Stadia.

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NBA 2K21 roster issues on Google Stadia should be resolved - Android Central

Yusuf Zakir (photo courtesy of Davis Wright Tremaine)

As we know all too well, 2020 was a challenging year for us as individuals, for the legal profession, and for the nation. But the year was not without its positive developments. In my view, the most significant positive change within Biglaw last year was an increased commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

In fact, I would describe 2020 as the year that Biglaw got serious about diversity. At Lateral Link, in practically every meeting we took with firms to discuss their talent needs, diversity was a central focus. And it wasnt just all talk and no action, with firms boasting about their commitment to diversity but not doing anything differently. I saw many situations where firms really did do things differently for diversity, such as looking harder, keeping searches open for longer, and working with diverse recruiters, who tend to have the strongest pipelines of diverse candidates.

We arent far into the new year, but so far, it seems that firms are continuing to focus on diversity in 2021. This past Tuesday, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP announced a great new policy:

Fostering DEI at our law firm and in the legal profession is everyones business. These efforts and their resulting benefits make us better. To that end, we are proud to announce the firms DEI Billable Hour Credit Policy. With this policy, the firm will count up to 50 hours of eligible DEI activities annually towards the billable hour requirement for each full-time attorney.

The purpose of this policy is two-fold. First, we seek to recognize and reward attorneys who are committed to DEI at Davis Wright Tremaine and in the broader legal profession. Second, we seek to encourage broader participation in DEI initiatives across our attorney population.

Biglaw runs on billables, so giving billable-hour credit for diversity work is an important step. Because compensation at firms is generally tied to billable hours, Davis Wright and other firms with this policy are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to diversity.

Heres another step firms can take to advance diversity: hire a chief diversity officer. Indeed, law firms around the country have been on a hiring spree when it comes to diversity professionals. The Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals (ALFDP) now boasts roughly 250 members, more than double its membership from just seven years ago.

Last October, Davis Wright Tremaine hired its first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Yusuf Zakir. Before joining DWT, Zakir was the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Holland & Knight, and before that, he was the Manager of Global Diversity, Recruiting, & Engagement at Latham & Watkins. He previously worked as a litigation associate at Latham before making the jump over to the DEI space in 2015. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto and his law degree from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, and he served as a law clerk to Judge Virginia A. Philips (C.D. Cal.).

The DEI Billable Hour Credit Policy is just one of a number of changes that Zakir and DWT have planned to promote diversity going forward. I recently spoke with Zakir to get his thoughts on how law firms should think about DEI.

Zakir agreed with my view that despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and the recession, which disproportionately affected underrepresented and marginalized communities, Biglaw did make progress last year regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Over the second half of 2020, especially after George Floyds murder, discussions around DEI accelerated, he said. Firms are now being much more intentional about diversity compared to 2008. Back then, during the last economic downturn, DEI was not as established in law firms as it is today.

Intentionality is a key concept when it comes to promoting diversity. Firms cant just go about their business and let the problem of diversity somehow solve itself; effort must be made.

At the end of the day, DEI is about how intentional we are, Zakir said. Managing partners, department and practice group chairs, and law firm partners in general need to be intentional about developing talent. How do we make sure that a commitment to diversity is fully embedded throughout the organization?

Without intentionality, you run into problems like affinity bias, our unconscious tendency to work with and professionally develop people who are like us. Because the upper echelons of Biglaw are not very diverse, affinity bias can lead to the replication of this lack of diversity unless law firm leaders and partners, especially equity partners, make conscious, intentional efforts to develop a broad range of talent, not just people who are like themselves.

How can law firms address affinity bias and other forms of unconscious bias? Yes, training is important and if your firm doesnt already have training on this, it should. And training shouldnt just be something that employees go through when they join the firm and never go through again; it should be revisited and reinforced. For example, a firm might want to have the lawyers who conduct on-campus interviews at law schools go through a refresher training before the start of OCI.

But training alone isnt sufficient to solve the problem of bias. Zakir emphasized that firm processes also need to be structured in ways that address the potential influence of bias, perhaps through the addition of bias interrupters.

Again, take on-campus interviewing at law schools. This is definitely an area where unconscious bias can have an effect; interviewers tend to bond with interviewees who are like them. Indeed, this is why law firms often send alumni of a particular school back to their alma maters for OCI, so they can bond with the applicants.

To address potential affinity bias, some firms have added a bias interrupter to the OCI process, Zakir explained. If an interviewer passes on a candidate from an underrepresented group, the interviewer might be asked to articulate in more detail why they made that decision, instead of just not putting the candidate on the callback list. The interviewer might still make the same decision in the end, but at least they will do so with intentionality, not unthinkingly.

Intentionality should extend to compensation as well, according to Zakir. In other words, firms shouldnt just pay people what they want to pay them and let the chips fall where they may. Instead, firms need to track how compensation breaks down along such lines as gender and race/ethnicity and if the results are not equitable, firms need to ask why.

Given all the changes law firms are making, large and small, to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, Zakir is optimistic about the future of DEI in Biglaw.

There is rightfully a lack of patience on the part of many, he said. But change takes time. The upcoming presidential inauguration reminds us of that. Kamala Harris will be the first in so many categories as Vice Presidentfirst woman, first Black or South Asian woman, first person of color. Harris was born less than a year before the Voting Rights Act was passed. And next week, she will become the Vice President. This is incredible progress, but it can be traced back to the work of individuals over time who committed to these efforts and paved the way for others. Progress takes timebut change does come.

To recap, here are five steps law firms can take to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, if they have not taken them already:

Of course, there is no single action a law firm can take to ensure diversity. Advancing DEI requires intentionality, long-term commitment, and leadership from the top. Its hard work.

The good news is that 2020 was a year when law firms started focusing on diversity. And even though many of us are happy to turn on the page on last year, lets hope that Biglaws commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion remains with us, for many years to come.

(Disclosure: Lateral Link placed Yusuf Zakir into Davis Wright & Tremaine, as part of our robust and growing practice helping law firms and corporate legal departments to find chief diversity and inclusion officers. If youd like our assistance in finding a chief diversity officer, please reach out to my colleagues Gloria Sandrino and Monique Burt Williams. Thanks.)

Ed. note:This is the latest installment in a series of posts fromLateral Linksteam of expert contributors.This post is by David Lat, a managing director in the New York office, where he focuses on placing top associates, partners and partner groups into preeminent law firms around the country.

Prior to joining Lateral Link, David founded and served as managing editor of Above the Law. Prior to launching Above the Law, he worked as a federal prosecutor, a litigation associate at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz in New York, and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. OScannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. David is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@laterallink.com.

Lateral Link is one of the top-rated international legal recruiting firms. With over 14 offices worldwide, Lateral Link specializes in placing attorneys at the most prestigious law firms and companies in the world. Managed by former practicing attorneys from top law schools, Lateral Link has a tradition of hiring lawyers to execute the lateral leaps of practicing attorneys. Clickhereto find out more about us.

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5 Concrete Steps Law Firms Can Take To Advance Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion - Above the Law

Also on Friday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago Public Schools will move forward with plans to reopen schools on Monday, despite ongoing objections by the teachers union and a large group of aldermen. Further, CPS CEO Janice Jackson said staff members who dont show up as about half failed to do this week will be deemed absent without leave and ineligible for pay going forward.

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union took issue with assertions that schools are adequately equipped and ready to open, with one calling Jacksons comments about docking pay heartless.

Heres whats happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:

6 p.m.: Take the vaccine. Rev. Jesse Jackson receives a COVID-19 shot and addresses hesitancy in minority communities

Accompanied by an African American scientist at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccine development, the Rev. Jesse Jackson got his shot against the virus Friday at Roseland Community Hospital, as he praised the safety of the immunization and addressed vaccine hesitancy in minority communities.

After the injection, the civil rights leader and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition raised his fist in the air and appeared to smile behind his protective face mask. He received the Pfizer vaccine, the first one to get federal emergency use authorization last month.

Take the vaccine, Jackson said to the crowd of health care workers and reporters who watched him get vaccinated in a small tent outside the South Side hospital. Take the vaccine now.

5:15 p.m. (update): CPS does not care about my health and safety: Teachers call plan to withhold pay if they dont show up for in-person classes Monday heartless

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago Public Schools will move forward with plans to reopen schools on Monday, despite ongoing objections by the teachers union and a large group of aldermen.

Further, CPS CEO Janice Jackson said staff members who dont show up as about half failed to do this week will be deemed absent without leave and ineligible for pay going forward.

This is not a measure we take lightly, Jackson added.

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union took issue with assertions that schools are adequately equipped and ready to open, with one calling Jacksons comments about docking pay heartless.

The CEO does not care about my health and safety, and is making me decide between getting paid and supporting my family, Lilly Freyer, third grade teacher at LaSalle Language Academy, said at an afternoon CTU news conference. It seems like a pretty heartless comment during a worldwide pandemic.

Union leaders on Friday offered little clarity for those wondering whether they should be preparing for another teachers strike, though the possibility remains on the table.

3:50 p.m.: Chicago using COVID-19 tests that FDA warns may give false negatives

Chicagos public COVID-19 testing sites for months have been using test kits that the Food and Drug Administration warned this week should not be used on people who dont experience symptoms.

The Curative tests have been used since last spring at city testing sites, where Chicagoans who arent showing coronavirus symptoms can get tested.

On Monday, the FDA issued a directive alerting patients and health care providers of the risk of false results, particularly false negative results, with the Curative SARS-CoV-2 test.

Risks to a patient of a false negative result include: delayed or lack of supportive treatment, lack of monitoring of infected individuals and their household or other close contacts for symptoms resulting in increased risk of spread of COVID-19 within the community, or other unintended adverse events, the FDA directive reads in part.

The city has partnered with Curative since the spring to run testing sites around Chicago, with no requirement that people who come in for the tests be showing symptoms. People who are about to travel, who worry that theyve been exposed to someone who has COVID-19 or who are planning to see at-risk family members often will get tested even if they arent showing symptoms.

1:42 p.m.: US surpasses 4,000 deaths in a single day from coronavirus for the 1st time

The U.S. topped 4,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day for the first time, breaking a record set just one day earlier, with several Sun Belt states driving the surge.

The tally from Johns Hopkins University showed the nation had 4,085 deaths Thursday, along with nearly 275,000 new cases of the virus evidence that the crisis is growing worse after family gatherings and travel over the holidays and the onset of winter, which is forcing people indoors.

Deaths have reached epic proportions. Since just Monday, the United States has recorded 13,500 deaths more than Pearl Harbor, D-Day, 9/11 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake combined.

1:20 p.m.: Joe Biden to speed release of coronavirus vaccines, ending Trump practice of holding back shots for second dose

With COVID-19 surging and vaccinations off to a slow start, President-elect Joe Biden will rapidly release most available vaccine doses to protect more people, his office said Friday, a reversal of Trump administration policies.

The president-elect believes we must accelerate distribution of the vaccine while continuing to ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible, spokesman T.J. Ducklo said in a statement. Biden supports releasing available doses immediately, and believes the government should stop holding back vaccine supply so we can get more shots in Americans arms now.

Bidens plan is not about cutting two-dose vaccines in half, a strategy that top government scientists recommend against. Instead, it would accelerate shipment of first doses and use the levers of government power to provide required second doses in a timely manner.

1:15 p.m.: 9,277 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 126 additional deaths reported

Illinois health officials on Friday announced 9,277 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 126 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 1,017,322 and the statewide death toll to 17,395 since the start of the pandemic.

Officials also reported 118,665 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide rolling positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 8.5% for the period ending Thursday.

12:59 p.m.: Chicagos public health commissioner: City residents 65 or older can get COVID-19 vaccine in the next distribution phase

Chicago residents 65 or older will be eligible for the vaccine in the next phase, but vaccination sites will prioritize the seniors by age and risk factors, Chicago officials said Friday.

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a news conference that the city is absolutely on the same page with the state, whose Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that people 65 or older will be part of phase 1b, which includes the elderly and front-line essential workers, effectively lowering federal guidelines for the first group by 10 years. The city is currently in phase 1a, which includes health care workers and long-term care facility staff and residents, and the next stage may not start until February.

The city and the state are not in opposition here, Arwady said. We are thinking here about how just as weve done in every phase so far, well continue to do, how to further prioritize within that phase.

10:29 a.m.: The Magnificent Mile is not invincible. Water Tower Place faces its biggest challenge since the North Michigan Avenue mall opened.

How effectively Water Tower Place can fill its empty spaces amid a pandemic that has devastated the retail industry and accelerated changes in how people shop, as well as looting incidents that have tested the city will help determine the health of Chicagos premier commercial street.

Macys exit is not a surprise, but the fact that its happening is still a bucket of cold water in the face because of what it symbolizes, said David Stone, founder of retail brokerage Stone Real Estate. Michigan Avenue has been seemingly invincible, and this is telling us that its not invincible.

9:38 a.m.: 25 have died of COVID-19 in Wisconsin prisons, with more than half of inmates infected

Two additional inmates have died from coronavirus in Wisconsins prison system, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to 25, according to corrections officials.

The additional deaths come as more than half of the states roughly 20,000 prisoners have been infected.

8:42 a.m.: The best place for charity is often at home, as Chicago artists join forces to help each other manage the COVID shutdown

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, so too do its dire effects in the citys, states, and countrys arts community. Few are as hard hit as the citys underground arts community, which continues to operate on the fringes. Lacking the sort of visibility or size of larger venues and entities, many within the DIY community have had to organize and fundraise on their own. Friday, the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) will hold a benefit show in support of the DIYCHI Mutual Aid fund, which provides much-needed financial relief to members of the underground arts community.

For Zoey Victoria, a co-founder of the mutual aid fund and an organizer for Fridays event, her love of the citys DIY scene dates back to high school, when she took trips into the city to see underground shows. I think what appeals to me about DIY and about underground arts and music spaces is just the freedom to grow and explore and to learn more about yourself and your community, she said.

Now, years after moving here, she has become a firm fixture in the community and continues to advocate for its members. I love the idea of creating intentional spaces and creating intentional communities for artistic exploration. I think art is a very central part to how our country and society evolves and grows, she offered. I think in order for art to prosper, communities need to be safe without influence from capitalism or just any sort of oppression. I think those are values of a good DIY community.

7:39 a.m.: More PPP loans are on the way for small businesses in need of coronavirus relief. Heres what you need to know.

In the latest round, businesses that received loans last year will be able to borrow up to $2 million as long as they have no more than 300 employees and suffered at least a 25% drop in quarterly revenue. First-time borrowers with no more than 500 workers will be able to borrow up to $10 million.

7:05 a.m.: Lightfoot, Jackson to give update on CPS reopening plans

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson were scheduled to give an update on CPS reopening plans, after the school districts 350,000 students have been in remote learning since the beginning of the pandemic.

Lightfoot and Jackson were scheduled to speak Friday morning at CPS headquarters downtown.

The update comes after the Chicago Teachers Union proposed that the Chicago Board of Education delay in-person learning until all employees have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and for the union and school district to develop a mutually agreed-upon schedule for an extended school year.

In the meantime, the union proposes, CPS could allow in-person learning by pairing staff who opt in voluntarily with students who want to return.

6 a.m.: As drivers license offices reopened again, those braving the long lines also had to deal with freezing temps

Many drivers license offices reopened again this week after being closed for nearly two months because of the coronavirus pandemic. But this time, those braving the long lines also had to deal with freezing temperatures.

Olivia Trojan, of the Dunning neighborhood, braced herself Thursday afternoon for the inevitable wait at the Chicago North Illinois Secretary of States facility on Elston Avenue. She donned tall winter boots, a puffer jacket and a beanie for the occasion.

I just turned 21 and my passport also expired so I dont want to get left on thin ice without a valid form of ID, Trojan said, rubbing her hands together. I get cold so easily.

Wait times were expected to be near two hours, Trojan said. Lines weaved down the sidewalk of the Jefferson Park facility while customers stood feet apart.

5 a.m.: Black Caucus social justice agenda, Speaker Madigans future top items as Illinois lawmakers return to Springfield

The Illinois General Assembly returns to Springfield on Friday for a lame-duck session that gives embattled Speaker Michael Madigan a final opportunity to make his case to remain at the helm of the House, while the Black Caucus makes a push for its wide-ranging social justice agenda.

The session is the lead-up to Wednesdays inauguration of the 102nd General Assembly, which will touch off the official process of choosing the next House speaker. For the first time, Madigan faces enough opposition from fellow Democrats to deny him another term in the post hes held for all but two years since 1983.

While Madigans fate provides political intrigue, the Black Caucus agenda, which covers a range of education, criminal justice, economic and health care issues, figures to be the legislative centerpiece of the session.

Friday marks the first time lawmakers will convene in Springfield since a May special session, where they met for four days to pass a host of pandemic-related measures and a spending plan for the budget year that began July 1.

Since then, Madigan has been implicated in a federal bribery investigation in which Commonwealth Edison agreed to cooperate and pay a $200 million fine. Madigan has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged.

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Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Heres what happened Jan. 8 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area - Chicago Tribune

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico On September 20, 2017, a Category 5 hurricane named Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. According to a Harvard University study, Hurricane Maria killed 4,600 people even though the official death toll was 64. This natural disaster also destroyed many homes, businesses and communities and left most Puerto Ricans without electricity, food and fresh water from September until June. This article will discuss how a class from Drexel University worked with the organization Plenitud PR to install rainwater collection systems in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

In December 2019, Steve Dolph, Ph.D., taught a Community-Based Learning course called Disaster and Resilience in Puerto Rico. Steve Dolph is an assistant teaching professor of Spanish at Drexel Universitys Department of Global Studies and Modern Languages. When Hurricane Maria happened, he had just begun teaching at the university with a specific interest in environmental vulnerability and environmental resilience. The hurricane inspired him to teach a course on the island.

As a part of this class, he and his students visited Plenitud PR, a nonprofit educational farm dedicated to service and environmental sustainability in Puerto Rico. A group of graduates from the University of Florida, who wanted to educate communities about how to use resources in a sustainable way, created this organization in 2008.

Professor Dolph decided to partner with Plenitud PR because he had a personal connection with the organization. In 2018, he visited Puerto Rico for three days to observe the organizations work and meet the people on the farm. Then, after a few conversations, he came up with a course about environmental disasters with a focus on rainwater harvesting and filtration.

While the organization has hosted students from several major universities, Professor Dolph said this was the first one where there was a full curriculum developed that included a pre-departure coursean on-site intensive, rainwater harvesting and filtration workshop and then, post-return project development in collaboration with the organization.

For example, before visiting Puerto Rico, students had the opportunity to take a class called After Maria. This course explored how the social, economic and political structures of Puerto Rico worsened the consequences of Hurricane Maria.

We looked at school systems. We looked at agriculture. We looked at political representation said the professor. And in every case, the connecting idea was that the swift move to privatize previously publicly owned institutions was making the situation worse and not better on the island.

This knowledge helped the students prepare for their trip in which they helped develop rainwater collection systems in Puerto Rico.

According to Raymond Balaguer, the liaison on the trip to Puerto Rico, the purpose of rainwater collection systems is to collect as much rainwater as possible to provide the people in a household or in a building with a renewable water source. In times when natural disasters wipe out resources, having access to rainwater collection systems can be the difference between life and death, according to students on the trip.

However, people cannot safely consume water from rainwater collection systems without filtration. Rainwater must first pass through rocks to remove solids from the liquid. Then, it passes through sand to remove bacteria and dissolved solids from the rainwater. Finally, the water must pass through biochar. Biochar is an activated charcoal that emerges when biological plant material burns. It helps purify water by removing any remaining solids or bacteria before consumption.

Drexel students helped produce the second batch of biochar at Plenitud PR. They did this by gathering and cutting dried coffee tree branches into smaller pieces. Then, they placed these pieces with kindling into a metal barrel and burned the wood. To ensure that oxygen did not interact with the burning wood, they used the top-lit, up-draft method. This left them with biochar at the end of the process.

According to Raymond Balaguer, it can cost about $350 or $400 to install rainwater harvesting systems for a family of four. However, there may be annual maintenance fees depending on whether or not something breaks. While installing rainwater collection systems in Puerto Rico can be expensive for those who are especially vulnerable, they are a fairly inexpensive way to provide fresh water to communities around the world.

This Drexel University trip to Puerto Rico had a profound impact on the students. According to Professor Dolph, many students felt overwhelmed and supercharged emotionally when they first arrived in Puerto Rico. The course was fast-moving and physically demanding because the people in Plenitud PR are very much dedicated to being productive and meeting deadlines.

However, as the week progressed, the trip ended up altering the students academic and professional careers. According to Professor Dolph, one student who was on the trip is now working at Plenitud as an Americorps Vista doing logistics for the organization. Another student who is an engineer is doing sustainable design and intentional community design as part of their senior project. Another student who had an interest in public health is now at the University of Pennsylvania studying the very same things that we were working on the island. Two other students created an entire curriculum around ecofeminism based on conversations that they had withone of the founders there. And so, it had a major impact, not just at the moment, but it continues to shape the students personal and professional lives for many months after our return.

This trip also had an impact on the people of Puerto Rico. According to Raymond Balaguer, it was very inspiring and surprising to see students from so far away in such a different context be so interested in something thats so ours.

This shows how this trip was a success in more ways than one. Not only did it bring two diverse groups of people together to achieve a common goal, but it also served as an inspiration to global institutions as to how they can change the world for the better.

Rida MemonPhoto: Provided by Professor Steve Dolph

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Rainwater Collection Systems in Puerto Rico - BORGEN - Borgen Project

Jane Watt| Sarasota Herald-Tribune

The new year is upon usand sadly there are more people in need in our community than ever before. The year 2020 wasdifficultfor all of us, but for already underserved populationsitwas devastating and numerous nonprofits in Sarasota and Manatee counties have been working harder than ever to address the overwhelming needs of so many people.

Uniting in collective giving to benefit local nonprofits can have an extraordinary impact. Thats the fundamental reason I was inspired to get involved with Impact100 and become one of the founders of our local Sarasota chapter. An all-volunteer nonprofit organizationfounded in 2017, our mission is to empower women to collectively fund transformational grants to nonprofits in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Our model is simple:At least 100 women join, each donates $1,000and 100%of their donations are awarded in grants of at least $100,000 annually.

As one of nearly 60 chapters worldwide, Impact100 SRQ joins our sister chapters in the local collective giving model. Each one of our members stop-and-think $1,000 annual donation strengthens the power of intentional giving and makes a sustainable difference in our community. In just two short years of being fully operational, our chapter hasawarded nearly $600,000 to five community nonprofits.

In 2019, our first giving year, our membership was 228 women strong and we were able to fund two $114,000 grants. One of those grants wasto The Haven, which was able to renovate its preschool in record time; the other grant was to Mothers Helping Mothers, which through Impact100 SRQ funding was able to payoff the mortgage on its building (which in turnenabledthe organization to react more efficiently when the pandemic beganlast year).

In our second year we grew our membership to 342 passionate and generous women, which allowed us to have an even greater impact in the community. In 2020we awarded three $114,000 grants and provided assistance to Mayors Feed the Hungry, Sky Family YMCA and The Childrens Cancer Center.

Seeing all of these organizations turn their dream initiatives into funded realities for the communities they servehas personally impacted me in ways I never even imagined.

It is crystal clear to me and all the women of Impact100 SRQ that our work and the fulfillment of our mission is now more important than ever. Our goal is to fund at least five grants each year one in each of our five focus areas: arts and culture, education, environment and recreation, familyand health and wellness. There is no limit to the number of members we can havenor to our ability to impact the community through this collective giving model.

The more women who join us each year, the more grants we can award each yearand the more nonprofits in our community we can impact. This yearour goal is to grow our membership to 500 women as we Strive to Fund All Five. Impact100 SRQ welcomes all women in our community to join our mission by becoming a member of our chapter or by giving the Gift of Impact through a donation to our sponsorship program, which affords other women the opportunity to join.

There is a quote by H. Jackson Brown Jr. a popular author known for his inspirational books that truly resonates with me: "Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.

Founding Impact100 SRQ and having the honor of serving aspresident of the Sarasota/Manatee chapter is one of the most fulfilling things I have ever been part of. Through the power of collective giving, there is no limit to the impact we can make.

For more information, visit http://www.impact100srq.org.

Jane Watt is the president of Impact100 SRQ, a Sarasota-based nonprofit.

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The power of 100 women - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Credit: Jessica Fender, IG: @travelerbroads; Co-credit: Where Black NOLA Eats

Its been a rough few days for grocery store owners in New Orleans. Whether it is fair to free enterprise or not, many consumers shop, not only with their wallets, but with their consciences, as well. In these situations, politics of many stripes plays a role.

Would you shop somewhere you are not welcome? Would you spend your dollars in a place that doesnt share the same views and concerns as your community? Would you shop with a business that would make such a barbaric decision? Would you spend money with someone who doesnt mind the country being divided? Ajiajade Winslow Thomas says, when asked why one should spend their money on black-owned businesses instead of Rouses or Breaux Mart.

Right now, Breaux Mart and Rouses are two grocery store businesses that are supported or owned by people who move in the same circles as white supremacists. Both businesses have commented in previous articles.

In addition, there is the issue of food deserts: places that seemingly deprive local communities of real quality food thats healthy for people to consume. Instead, we have easily accessible gas station and convenience store junk food keeping people alive, but making them sick as well. Meanwhile, the best grocery stores are often made available to more affluent neighborhoods.

Or as Jalence Isles, the founder of Where Black NOLA Eats puts it:

Grocery stores are anchors in their communities and impact the entire supply chain. Our black grocers have smaller operations and often not only live in the communities they operate in, they help to keep dollars circulating in our community and, they are more in tune with community needs and resources. Because of their smaller operations, they are also more likely to source from smaller growers and manufacturers within their community, which helps to cut down the cost associated with importing goods.

In addressing the controversy regarding Rouses and Breaux Mart, Isles adds, Systemic injustice is perpetuated by people in power who seek to enshrine their values and beliefs in the systems they control. The continuous support provided to the current presidential administration by the owner of Rouses, not just by attending the most recent treasonous rally, but through his years of financial contributions off the backs of black people is a slap in our faces. We cannot afford to continue to knowingly fund our oppression.

Says Dana Blandin, a member of Where Black NOLA Eats on why she supports black-owned businesses:

When you support black-owned grocery stores you also help to support the communities and people in which they serve. The revenue that these groceries earn will allow them to grow, bringing a number of benefits to the black communities they likely serve, including the creation of jobs and greater food access. People should not support Rouses because their leadership clearly dont stand for or support the communities in New Orleans who contribute greatly to their success through their patronage. But support for black groceries shouldnt be in spite of anything. Theyre deserving and in need of support on any given day. It should be an intentional effort to support the small black businesses that help to drive our local communities.

New Orleans not only has a rich black culture, but a thriving industry run and supported by people of color. Thanks toWhere Black NOLA Eats, Big Easy Magazine would like to present to you these businesses for your groceries and other food items.

For more information on these conversations, please go toWhere Black NOLA Eats

Special thanks to Jessica Fender for the graphic. Her Instagram account is @travelerbroads

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Black Owned Food Markets in New Orleans: An Alternative to Breaux Mart and Rouses - Big Easy Magazine

The Oracle interviewed public health professor and Senior Associate Dean of the Morsani College of Medicine Jay Wolfson about the challenges posed by COVID-19 for the spring semester as well as essential safety precautions to slow down the spread of the virus.

1. What risks do you think the new variant of the virus poses to the community?

Were learning about it every day. Its brand new, we only have a few hundred cases of it to look at. Weve only known about the core COVID variant since January of last year, and were still learning about that. So we have to be able to monitor and understand how it works, and whether or not it will be susceptible to this vaccine or whether its going to pivot again and do something different. The fact is, its extremely contagious. So it doesnt appear to be any stronger, it doesnt make you any sicker. But it makes more people sicker faster.

2. What does a higher transmissibility rate mean?

If I have a cup of poison, and that cup of poison could make 1,000 people in Hillsborough County very sick, but then I get a different variety of it, and I take one-third of a cup of that poison and it can make 1,000 people, or 2,000 or 3,000 people sick. Its a more powerful poison only in terms of its ability to get into peoples bodies and infect them. It doesnt make them any sicker, but it gets more people faster and it spreads more easily. So it requires less exposure. Thats why its dangerous. And again, were still learning about it, we dont know enough so were building that airplane as were flying it.

3. What are some of the dangers associated with noncompliance of the safety protocols, including the use of face coverings and avoiding large crowds, as the new semester starts?

Well, the dangers are especially high because most of our students are fairly young and healthy, and they would be most likely, if they were exposed to and contracted the disease, to have minimal or no symptoms, be asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, so they wouldnt even know it. And then they could spread it.

So its not so much that weve had a problem on campus, weve been very good on campus But what happens off campus before classes, after classes and on weekends is the great danger. And as you said, our students like to be able to chill out [but] this time, weve got a silent, deadly killer. And the silent, deadly, infectious agent that will make a lot of people sick.

The sad part of this, not just for our students but for our community at large, is that it doesnt seem to hit home until somebody has had it come into their life, directly or indirectly because its invisible.

So, the university is a safe place. We want it to be safe in a lot of ways. Its a safe place for the spread of disease on campus, but its not being generated on campus. Its being generated off campus and when people do get sick, or if theyre asymptomatic and they come into the classroom, even though were social distancing within the classroom, it increases the risk.

I think were still doing a really good job of separating folks, checkerboarding people in the classrooms and giving people the option and appropriate classes of doing asynchronous learning, teaching from home if they can until we get a better handle on this disease. Again, were learning as were going and whatever we do, we should not imagine that just because there is a vaccine that Oh, its OK now. I dont have to worry now more than any other time. We have to be even more diligent, more vigilant because these next two months are when we project the disease to skyrocket. Then were in worse trouble than we can imagine so we have to find a way to push that curve down, and the only way, the only way to do this, which is the very hard way, is through personal discipline and responsibility.

The challenge is that even when we have [a vaccine], we dont know if it is going to confer long-term immunity. So we still have to be careful. This is an alien. This is a creature that has come to us from outer space. Its like its traveled billions of light years through wormholes, and its really smart, and it knows how to sneak up on us and change. This COVID thing is like nothing else weve ever had and we have to play by the rules based on how it behaves because its not going to change this behavior, and it doesnt care if were older, young, black or green, tall or short. Its going to come into us, its going to attach to one of our organs and either immediately or sometime in the future is going to erupt and give us respiratory illness, kidney disease, brain disease or heart disease. Thats what its doing. And just being young does not exempt you at all.

4. When do you think the college student age group will get to take the vaccine?

Well, first we have to have enough vaccines. I expect by April to May well have enough being produced. We need tens of millions of doses, so by April and May for sure, unless something happens with the production, we should have enough available to begin to vaccinate, but then we have to get over that hump and we have to vaccinate 75% of the population to achieve what we believe to be a successful herd immunity, assuming that the herd immunity lasts.

5. What message do you have for students as they return to campus for the spring semester?

Its not over yet, were right in the midst of it. Dont imagine that the vaccine, which you dont have access to yet, is going to protect you. The only thing we can do is develop this team spirit and USF has the capacity to organize itself around being a team thats going to protect itself and its community and its family members from this horrible disease, which were still learning about every day and which is growing and affecting our community. But, it has to be a conscious, intentional, responsible and respectful effort that we engage in. And each one of us, as a student, faculty member and staff member is a member of this team. And while we have to work together, the key is that each one of us has to actively be present and make this happen.

We have to tell ourselves and each other, We can do this together. Because if we dont, the downside is economically, politically, and from a health perspective, horribly devastating. Its our responsibility. If we screw it up, weve screwed it up. Lets get USF, as a major research university, to take the lead and demonstrate that we are one, and were one not just in terms of sports and academics and research. Were thriving and growing as a community that recognizes that were on the same team against that enemy which is out to kill us and hurt us, and hurt our families and our communities. The sooner we can do that, the better chance we have of coming through this thing and demonstrating that we really are pretty cool.

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A Q&A with Dr. Jay Wolfson The Oracle - The Oracle

Now we know who the real thugs are, and they are not just the ones who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. President Trump publicly condoned the use of the term thug when he referenced Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists whose disdain for the more recent negligent and unwarranted police shootings of Black people led them to protest. Despite seeking some redress and accountability from law enforcement, Trump and his administration have ignored and politicized their calls for police reform. He also regularly referred to them as thugs before and after an incident where he plowed through BLM activists outside of the White House with the National Guard and Bible in his hand to show his rebuke.

But the true thugs were revealed during and after fervent Trump supporters and far-right, white supremacist, and Neo-Nazis factions took over the U.S. Capitol.

The thugs on that day were not just the rebellious, lawless, Confederate-flag-toting Trump supporters turned domestic terrorists who took over the building. They were directed by the leading thugsDonald J. Trump and his co-agitators, Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani, to wreak havoc on our democracy. The four-year trance of Trumps misinformation about stolen elections, the denial of COVID-19 as a public health threat, among other un-related online conspiracy theories, led his supporters to storm the heart of official national business, vandalize memorials, ransack private offices, position pipe bombs near DNC and RNC headquarters, and attempt to break into the congressional chamber with force, leaving five people dead when it was all over.

But on this same day, other individuals joined the list of thugs, like a U.S. Capitol police officer who was recorded taking selfies with insurgents, and another video appearing to show a soft breach of the security gate, allowing hundreds of protestors to walk into federal property. The day following the incident, the Capitol police chief, and two security officers resigned in response to the criticism of their lax handling of the coup and the double standard treatment when confronting peaceful BLM protestors.

The day-of visuals of this uncontrolled mob were the highest level of contemporary thuggery done by Americans. With one exception. Because they were not Black, Latino, or Native American, there were no visible arrests, riot gear, dogs, or batons until District of Columbia police stepped in to curb the melee and make arrests. Trumps thugs were destroying and trespassing on Capitol property. They were not fighting for the inalienable right to vote, walk safely in their community without being profiled by neighbors and the police, or have full accessibility to the rights of citizenship mandated by the U.S. Constitution.

The decision by some Capitol police officers to be less confrontational before groups of angry, predominantly white mobsters that were trying to break into the nations most important building with members of Congress inside showed the persistent irony of equitable treatment in the United States. Angry Black Americans have been attacked, bullied, lynched, and killed by police for exercising their civil rights, like attempting to vote, enter a public school building, or ride on a public bus, starting after slaverys abolition.

The activities that America and the world witnessed did not happen in a vacuum or overnight. Trumps thugs reacted to the cumulative build-up of rhetoric from a long list of more powerful thugs who have leaned heavily into Trumps divisive and racist rhetoric over the last four years. A few of them are in Congress, like Trump-enablers Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who refused to concede to their pronouncements of election fraud hours after a failed coup of Congress orchestrated by their leader. There are Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and other Republican leaders who sided often with Trumps insatiable appetite for power and lack of empathy for Americas more vulnerable populations, especially people of color. Many of these Republican legislators and administration staff thwarted the appropriate and rapid response to COVID-19, stalled delivery of the necessary economic relief to struggling citizens, fed into the campaign to invalidate the 2020 presidential election, blocked legislation for police reform, supported cuts to federal safety-net programs and universal health care, and rejected proposals to remove Confederate monuments of slave owners and other oppressors who are the stimuli for current day right-wing aggression.

On the thug list are also non-elected officials, including some owners of professional sports teams who initially banned NFL players from taking a knee in support of Colin Kaepernicks demonstration of solidarity with efforts to reduce Black racism. Some CEOs of major corporations also make the list, especially the leaders who increased their contributions to the Trump campaign, despite his misleading claims and policy assaults on communities of color. Many of these companies would later seek redemption after watching the reckless murder of George Floyd by a Minnesota police officer by contributing millions of dollars to racial equity organizations.

The bad apples in local law enforcement departments join the list of thugs due to their lack of empathy for the communities that they serve, which for decades have led to countless shootings, murders, and home invasions, including the one that killed Breanna Taylor. But these deaths under Trump were more likely to go unpunished because of protective police unions and the lack of federal legislation establishing more accountability in policing.

Let us not forget those people across the nation, also known as the Karens or Kens, who have come to epitomize white privilege because they find it acceptable to call the police on Blacks walking, dining, shopping, smoking, talking, birdwatching, and sometimes just minding their own business. Their explicit racism and cowardice make them eligible for the thug list.

Finally, there are the nameless thugs whose unconscious bias allowed them to sit silent and numb to the Trump administrations hardline immigration policies that separated immigrant children from their parents or refuse to wear face masks even though minorities are more likely to get and die from COVID-19.

These are all the real thugs. Some of them carry loaded guns and others spew loaded rhetoric under the protection of white privilege.

Our society will always have a population of irreconcilables who do not respect the law and engage in intentional acts of malfeasance. But contrary to the skewed realities of Trump and his allies, not all thugs are people of color. In fact, the people who rushed the Capitol and the ones that contributed to Trumps four years of upheaval come from all educational and income levels. While some people can make the case that the coup was reminiscent of the Civil War period, I would tend to disagree. Thankfully, Black people have been granted full citizenship since then, at least on paper. We just found out that thugs are everywhere, and white privilege allows for anonymity and validation.

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The thugs that stormed the Capitol just joined a long list of others - Brookings Institution

Transportation activist and two-time Portland mayoral candidate Sarah Iannarone will lead The Street Trust into their next era. Iannarone has been hired as interim executive director on a six-month contract. Her main focus will be a strategic planning process that will help the nonprofit advocacy group determine what type of leadership model they need.

Iannarone, whos often seen at community events riding her electric bike with an Ortlieb pannier slung over her shoulder, comes to the position fresh of her second mayoral campaign where she garnered a respectable 41% of the vote (to incumbent Ted Wheelers 46%). No stranger to cycling advocacy, Iannarone is an outspoken member of the City of Portlands Bicycle Advisory Committee. She also represents cycling on the Portland Bureau of Transportation Budget Advisory Committee.

In a statement released today, The Street Trust board member Thomas Ngo said, Iannarone brings the global expertise, commitment to equity, and passion for the work these times demand.

Heres more from The Street Trust:

An urban climate policy expert notable for her candidacy for Portland mayor in 2020, Iannarones visionary leadership will help The Street Trust tackle unprecedented challenges facing transportation in the Portland region. Traffic fatalities are at a 24-year record high; the ongoing pandemic has gutted transit ridership and funding; and the current recession has exacerbated disparities for BIPOC and low-income communities around jobs, housing, and transportation. As local jurisdictions tend to the most immediate crises, theyre struggling to make the necessary investments to advance mobility justice and tackle climate change.

After The Street Trusts previous executive director Jillian Detweiler stepped down last summer, the organization named three staff members as co-directors. It was an embrace of a new leadership model that reflected the changes we would like to see in society. the organization said at the time.

Iannarone will not be a co-director. Asked whether she sees herself staying on past the six-month contract, Iannarone shared with me this morning that, If its a good fit for me depending what comes out of the strategic plan Im committed to this work. I want to make sure the organization is stable because theres such a strong need for leadership in this space.

Before running for mayor in 2016 and 2020, Iannarone was associate director of First Stop Portland, a program at Portland State University that showcased local urban planning innovations to visitors from around the nation and globe. An urban policy expert, Iannarone is also well-versed in politics. Late last year she launched the Our Portland Political Action Committee (PAC) to promote progressive policies.

The Street Trust launched a PAC of their own in 2017 when they changed their name from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. Iannarones mix of political acumen, experiences in community organizing, and passion for cycling and transportation advocacy should make her an effective addition to The Street Trust at a time when theyre in desperate need of vision and leadership.

In recent years staff turnover and departures have become the norm at The Street Trust. Theyve struggled to find a balance between appealing to donors and conservative elements of the community while still being effective with the type of activism needed to move the needle for cycling growth in Portland.

In 2017 the organization had 15 paid staff. In May 2020 that number was down to 10. Back in August when Detweiler stepped down, The Street Trust named their existing development, advocacy and financial directors to co-director roles. All three of those former directors are now gone. Before Iannarone was hired The Street Trust was down to just three full-time staff: an education program manager, an events director, and a communications director (who joined the organization in November).

According to 2018 tax filings (for a period through August 2019), The Street Trust earned $963,092 in revenue and spent $972,972 a loss of $9,880. Their revenue included $97,606 in membership dues and $457,958 in government grants.

If Iannarone is able to work on advocacy strategy in addition to the strategic planning work, her style would mark a major departure for The Street Trust. Since its scrappy roots in the 1990s, The Street Trust has become much more conservative in recent years. Past leader Rob Sadowsky told us in 2014 that the sidelining of an aggressive advocacy style was an intentional strategy to forge productive, long-term relationships with electeds and policymakers. Detweiler, who came from a background in real estate development with TriMet, continued that trend.

That shift to the center at The Street Trust gave rise to Bike Loud PDX, an all-volunteer group that has tried to fill Portlands bike activism gap. While Bike Loud has done impressive work without any paid staff, the need for a respected and feared cycling advocacy organization in Portland has never been stronger. Cycling has been flat for years in Portland. The latest U.S. Census bicycle commuting numbers put Portlands bike commuting rate at a paltry 5.2 percent, down from a peak of 7.2% in 2014. 2019s bike commute rate was down from an average of 6.3 percent over the previous five years and the lowest single-year estimate since 2007.

Iannarone isnt likely to stand on the sidelines while current trends continue. Shes one of the most ardently progressive voices ever to be taken seriously in Portland political circles and has made a reputation for herself in taking on the local status quo. One of Iannarones main policy planks in her recent mayoral campaign was a detailed Green New Deal plan that blasted, tepid leadership and centrist incrementalism.

If The Street Trusts board of directors give Iannarone the green light to do for cycling and active transportation advocacy what she has done for progressive politics in Portland we could be in for a very interesting next six months.

Iannarone has an opportunity to set The Street Trust on a new path at a very opportune moment. With the incoming Biden administration promising big investments in infrastructure, several new faces at Portland City Hall, and new leadership at sister nonprofits Oregon Walks and the Community Cycling Center, Iannarone will take over a once-powerful organization in a city that used to be known as one of the greatest cities for cycling in the world. If Portland is to ever shake itself out of its cycling stupor, Iannarone could be just the type of fearless, focused, and experienced leader to do the job.

Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org Get our headlines delivered to your inbox. Support this independent community media outlet with a one-time contribution or monthly subscription.

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Sarah Iannarone picked as new leader of The Street Trust - BikePortland.org