Category Archives: Intentional Communities

The Minneapolis-St. Paul region is set to receive $1.14 billion from the American Rescue Plan, which local leaders say should be used to close the racial wealth gap that has existed for far too long.

The Center for Economic Inclusion held a virtual panel and discussion Thursday on strategies and opportunities that would aid in distributing funds in a way that eliminates long-existing gaps in the immediate and long-term future.

Earlier this year, the American Rescue Plan was signed into law. It directs $1.9 trillion toward rescuing the nations economy from pandemic-related fallout. Its funding a nationwide vaccine program, personal stimulus checks, increases in the child tax credit, small-business support, extended unemployment insurance and more.

As we recovered from the last economic downturn, Minnesotans, in particularly this region, failed miserably at doing so in an inclusive way, according to the Urban Institute, who ranked Minneapolis and St Paul last in a record of 274 cities in our ability to ensure that all people moved forward and are coming forward out of that economy, said Tawanna Black, CEO and founder of the Center for Economic Inclusion.

The rescue plan was design in a way that elevates solutions that address the pandemics disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color, said Joseph Parilla, a fellow with the Brookings Institutions Metropolitan Policy Program.

The funds are being distributed in two rounds. An estimated two-thirds of funding from the first round, which was distributed in the spring, went to public health, stabilizing government budgets, and housing and homelessness, he said.

Several priorities could be funded in the second round of the rescue plan which is set to be distributed next spring that elevate inclusive rebuilding momentum. To achieve this, funds should be direct to stabilizing and improving the upward mobility of low-income communities, like funding programs that close the digital divide, Parilla said. Additionally, money could help secure a better rebuilding of the economy by being directed toward initiatives that fund workforce services, emergency financial assistance, and the racially equitable creation of jobs.

Being inclusive goes beyond funding and planning, said Aarica Coleman, housing and redevelopment authority administrator for the city of Bloomington.

Governments need to work with organizations, nonprofit and for-profit leaders who are already established in the communities to reach other community members, Coleman said.

The first thing is to make sure that just as the country and this region has been intentional about excluding and extracting, lets be intentional about including and growing, she said.

Government entities can also use the funding to lay a foundation for how they operate in the future, while also being more innovative and creative in their solutions for challenges identified in a citys long-term comprehensive plan. For example, in the housing sector, city staff in charge of housing or zoning decisions may have more resources to look at creative solutions to housing shortages, like tiny homes, Coleman said.

In his work with other Minnesota mayors, Edina Mayor James Hovland said he found that they recognize the need for communities to pool resources when planning for the distribution of rescue plan funds. Their communities have shared interests, like housing, workforce development and racial equity.

If we can really leverage these resources, we can really make some significant inroads, he said.

But local governments likely want to stabilize their budget problems first. Once these problems are solved, local governments could establish networks between other local entities to target issues that challenge numerous communities. This is where the second round of rescue plan funding could come into play, Hovland said.

We can create these pooled resources, particularly out of that second [round], I think where people are going to feel more comfortable committing some of that to the common good and to develop a strategy that gets all boats rising, he said.

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MN leaders reflect on missed Legislative opportunities

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Panelists urge inclusion focus in American Rescue Plan - Finance and Commerce

Climate change is the kind of problem that requires a massive, coordinated effort from everyone. No one person, group or country can solve it on their own because our collective actions perpetuate the problem. So, we need to work together, come up with a game plan, get on the same page about what were going to do and make the necessary changes to those collective actions.

Admittedly, this is easier said than done. Even if we all could agree on what needs to happen say, moving away from fossil fuels by electrifying everything and powering our society with clean renewable energy there are still a lot of unanswered questions. (How do we ensure that this massive transition will be fair? How do we protect against creating winners and losers? How do we give everyone access to the clean air, good jobs and electricity savings benefits of the new clean energy economy?)

These are the questions that the NAACP has decided its time to answer.

As one of the most well-known, historically impactful, civil rights organizations in the country, when the NAACP calls attention to an issue, we all better pay attention.

Eco-apartheid

In 2008, CNN analyst Van Jones wrote in his book The Green Collar Economy, that it is not too early to sound the alarm against the possibility of eco-apartheid. In that scenario, on one side of town, there would be ecological haves, enjoying access to healthy, morally upstanding green products and services. On the other side of town, ecological have-nots would be languishing in the smoke, fumes, toxic chemicals, and illness of the old pollution-based economy.

Unfortunately, his words were not heeded, and over a decade later, his fears are coming to fruition.

A 2019 study from Tufts and UC Berkeley found massive disparities of where solar energy is deployed based on race and ethnicity. Communities of color have a greatly diminished amount of solar deployed compared to their neighbors. African American communities are less likely to have solar than white communities by a factor of two-thirds, even after accounting for income disparity.

On the job front, a 2019 survey from the Solar Foundation found that the solar workforce is 73 percent white (and 74 percent male).

Tufts University professor Deborah Sunter, a lead author of the report, described the inequity like this: Unlike the fossil fuel industry, where energy injustice was attributed to exposure to negative consequences like pollution, with rooftop PV the injustice is more that certain communities are missing out on these economic benefits.

Thankfully, the NAACP has recognized that this injustice must be stopped, and theyve stepped up to fight it, as they have with every major civil rights issue for over a century.

A more equitable path

In 2018, the NAACP, led by Jaqui Patterson, senior director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, launched the NAACP Solar Equity Initiative to dive into these questions. They brought together leaders from across the solar industry and climate justice advocacy community including SunRun, Solar Energy Industries Association, Vote Solar, Solar United Neighbors, RE-volv, Solstice Initiative, Institute for Local Self Reliance and many more.

The goal of the initiative was to increase solar installations in communities of color and to connect these communities to skills training for solar jobs, all supported by strengthened solar equity policies.

The NAACP recently released its Solar Equity Principles to try and right the ship by helping guide policymakers, industry leaders and communities toward a more equitable path forward. Over many months the group met to discuss and come to a shared understanding of what equitable solar energy policies look like, focusing particularly on the issues of transparency, ownership and accountability. They boiled it down to these eight principles to help advocates and policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels to craft policy solutions that are holistic in nature and ensure benefits flow to Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), and other frontline communities.

Denise Abdul-Rahman, national field organizer for the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, said "Low-income and communities of color have suffered disproportionate harm from the fossil fuel economy. The new clean energy economy is an opportunity to address past injustices, but only with intentional policy decisions such as those outlined in the Equitable Solar Policy Principles."

Now while the Biden administration has made addressing environmental justice a key part of its climate strategy with its Justice40 initiative, which intends to allocate 40 percent of the overall benefits of its clean energy and climate solutions strategy to disadvantaged communities, the good news is we dont have to wait for the president to solve this. We can start acting in our communities.

Seeds of change

The 2019 Tufts study I mentioned describes a way to do just that. In the report they found that PV installations often result in a feedback loop: When a few residents in a community get solar, known as seed customers, it compels others to join. Communities without those first-mover customers show delayed solar adoption. The study also found that when seeding does occur in communities of color, deployment significantly increases compared to other racial or ethnic groups.

In other words, if a concerted effort is made to start building solar projects in BIPOC communities now that will have a ripple effect of more solar demand. That means creating jobs, electricity savings, and environmental and health benefits today, regardless of what happens in Washington.

One example of this intentional effort in communities of color is Green the Church, led by Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll. The organization brings solar energy and other climate and energy solutions to African American churches around the country.

I felt like the black church needed to have an organization that they felt was their own, where they could talk about environmentalism through different lenses and with different language, he told CNN.

Ultimately, solving the climate crisis will not be solved under the eco-apartheid conditions Van Jones warned us about, which were now seeing unfold. We have to ensure that everyone will benefit from the just clean energy transition and that we are all empowered to be a part of and benefit from these solutions. But that wont happen just by wishing for it.

Like every civil rights battle won in this country, it will need to be hard fought. We must work together, in the ways described by these Equitable Solar Policy Principles, to ensure that the new energy economy doesnt look like the old.

Andreas Karelas is author of the book Climate Courage: How Tackling Climate Change Can Build Community, Transform the Economy, and Bridge the Political Divide in America published by Beacon Press. He is also the founder and executive director of RE-volv, a nonprofit climate justice organization that helps fellow nonprofits across the country go solar. Follow him on Twitter: @AndreasKarelas.

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A clean energy transition won't be equitable unless we make it that way | TheHill - The Hill

When disparate groups convene around a common goal, exciting things can happen.

That is the inspiring story unfolding in Malden, Massachusetts, a city of about 60,000 nearly half people of color where a new type of community coalition continues to gain momentum on its plan to build a climate-resilient waterfront park along its river. The Malden River Works (MRW) project, recipient of the inaugural Leventhal City Prize, is seeking to connect to a contiguous greenway network where neighboring cities already have visitors coming to their parks and enjoying recreational boating. More important, the MRW is changing the model for how cities address civic growth, community engagement, equitable climate resilience, and environmental justice.

The MRWs steering committee consists of eight resident leaders of color, a resident environmental advocate, and three city representatives. One of the committees primary responsibilities is providing direction to the MRWs project team, which includes urban designers, watershed and climate resilience planners, and a community outreach specialist. MITs Kathleen Vandiver, director of the Community Outreach Education and Engagement Core at MITs Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS), and Marie Law Adams MArch 06, a lecturer in the School of Architecture and Plannings Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), serve on the project team.

This governance structure is somewhat unusual, says Adams. More typical is having city government as the primary decision-maker. It is important that one of the first things our team did was build a steering committee that is the decision maker on this project.

Evan Spetrini 18 is the senior planner and policy manager for the Malden Redevelopment Authority and sits on both the steering committee and project team. He says placing the decision-making power with the steering committee and building it to be representative of marginalized communities was intentional.

Changing that paradigm of power and decision-making in planning processes was the way we approached social resilience, says Spetrini. We have always intended this project to be a model for future planning projects in Malden.

This model ushers in a new history chapter for a city founded in 1640.

Located about six miles north of Boston, Malden was home to mills and factories that used the Malden River for power, and a site for industrial waste over the last two centuries. Decades after the citys industrial decline, there is little to no public access to the river. Many residents were not even aware there was a river in their city. Before the project was under way, Vandiver initiated a collaborative effort to evaluate the quality of the rivers water. Working with the Mystic River Watershed Association, Gradient Corporation, and CEHS, water samples were tested and a risk analysis conducted.

Having the study done made it clear the public could safely enjoy boating on the water, says Vandiver. It was a breakthrough that allowed people to see the river as an amenity."

A team effort

Marcia Manong had never seen the river, but the Malden resident was persuaded to join the steering committee with the promise the project would be inclusive and of value to the community. Manong has been involved with civic engagement most of her life in the United States and for 20 years in South Africa.

It wasnt going to be a marginalized, token-ized engagement, says Manong. It was clear to me that they were looking for people that would actually be sitting at the table.

Manong agreed to recruit additional people of color to join the team. From the beginning, she says, language was a huge barrier, given that nearly half of Maldens residents do not speak English at home. Finding the translation efforts at their public events to be inadequate, the steering committee directed more funds to be made available for translation in several languages when public meetings began being held over Zoom this past year.

Its unusual for most cities to spend this money, but our population is so diverse that we require it, says Manong. We have to do it. If the steering committee wasnt raising this issue with the rest of the team, perhaps this would be overlooked.

Another alteration the steering committee has made is how the project engages with the community. While public attendance at meetings had been successful before the pandemic, Manong says they are constantly working to reach new people. One method has been to request invitations to attend the virtual meetings of other organizations to keep them apprised of the project.

Weve said that people feel most comfortable when theyre in their own surroundings, so why not go where the people are instead of trying to get them to where we are, says Manong.

Buoyed by the $100,000 grant from MITs Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) in 2019, the project team worked with Maldens Department of Public Works, which is located along the river, to redesign its site and buildings and to study how to create a flood-resistant public open space as well as an elevated greenway path, connecting with other neighboring cities paths. The parks plans also call for 75 new trees to reduce urban heat island effect, open lawn for gathering, and a dock for boating on the river.

The storm water infrastructure in these cities is old and isnt going to be able to keep up with increased precipitation, says Adams. Were looking for ways to store as much water as possible on the DPW site so we can hold it and release it more gradually into the river to avoid flooding.

The project along the 2.3-mile-long river continues to receive attention. Recently, the city of Malden was awarded a 2021 Accelerating Climate Resilience Grant of more than $50,000 from the states Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the Barr Foundation to support the project. Last fall, the project was awarded a $150,015 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Action Grant. Both awards are being directed to fund engineering work to refine the projects design.

We and in general, the planning profession are striving to create more community empowerment in decision-making as to what happens to their community, says Spetrini. Putting the power in the community ensures that its actually responding to the needs of the community.

Contagious enthusiasm

Manong says shes happy she got involved with the project and believes the new governance structure is making a difference.

This project is definitely engaging with communities of color in a manner that is transformative and that is looking to build a long-lasting power dynamic built on trust, she says. Its a new energized civic engagement and were making that happen. Its very exciting.

Spetrini finds the challenge of creating an open space thats publicly accessible and alongside an active work site professionally compelling.

There is a way to preserve the industrial employment base while also giving the public greater access to this natural resource, he says. It has real implications for other communities to follow this type of model.

Despite the pandemic this past year, enthusiasm for the project is palpable. For Spetrini, a Malden resident, its building the first significant piece of what has been envisioned as the Malden River Greenway. Adams sees the total project as a way to build social resilience as well as garnering community interest in climate resilience. For Vandiver, its the implications for improved community access.

From a health standpoint, everybody has learned from Covid-19 that the health aspects of walking in nature are really restorative, says Vandiver. Creating greater green space gives more attention to health issues. These are seemingly small side benefits, but theyre huge for mental health benefits.

Leventhal City Prizes next cycle

The Leventhal City Prize was established by the LCAU to catalyze innovative, interdisciplinary urban design, and planning approaches worldwide to improve both the environment and the quality of life for residents. Support for the LCAU was provided by the Muriel and Norman B. Leventhal Family Foundation and the Sherry and Alan Leventhal Family Foundation.

Were thrilled with inaugural recipients of the award and the extensive work theyve undertaken that is being held up as an exemplary model for others to learn from, says Sarah Williams, LCAU director and a professor in DUSP. Their work reflects the prizes intent. We look forward to catalyzing these types of collaborative partnership in the next prize cycle.

Submissions for the next cycle of the Leventhal City Prize will open in early 2022.

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Finding common ground in Malden - MIT News

The almost-100-year-old company is being intentional about how it engages with its fashion-minded consumers without alienating or taking away from its core customers: manual laborers.

It's not exactly news that utility-focused workwear has been embraced by troves of people who admire it for style over function. For the past several years, brands like Carhartt, Dickies and Wrangler have been hanging in the closets of artists, musicians, fashion editors, art directors, influencers and Urban Outfitters shoppers. Never mind that these jumpsuits, carpenter pants, overalls and chore jackets were originally designed for manual labor something that probably isn't in the job description of most of the creative coastal elites driving this trend.

A pretty-stylish male friend of mind who works as a graphic designer at an agency in Los Angeles is the sort of person you might expect to wear Dickies pants or Carhartt jackets to work, but he has a hard stance against them: Ethically, he takes issue with the glamorization of the "working-class" uniform. As someone with a relatively cushy desk job, he feels it would be like dressing up in a costume.

This take got me thinking. How do the brands themselves navigate engaging with and catering to the more fashion-minded consumers who've chosen to adopt this aesthetic (because it would be bad business not to) without straying from their workwear roots, because doing that might alienate that core, blue-collar customer, without whom they wouldn't exist?

Zoe Kravitz wearing Dickies in Hulu's "High Fidelity."

Earlier this summer, I stopped by beloved L.A. boutique Fred Segal to check out Dickies' first-ever pop-up shop within a fashion-centric retailer, and it became clear that this question has also been top of mind for the Fort Worth, Texas-based workwear brand, which turns 100 next year. The pop-up was a big deal for the brand, which only has a handful of branded stores in the U.S., all of which target those who specifically rely on it for functional workwear. It signaled a big step towards embracing that fashion customer.

Story continues

Not that it needed to: As with so many other brands that have been adopted by communities other than the ones they were originally intended for (see: Vans, Patagonia, Champion), Dickies had little if anything to do with that initial outside adoption.

"We've been adopted by some cultures for decades and decades; the music community has been adopting us for as long as we can remember. And if you think about it, not only the artists love us, but the people behind the scenes who build the sets, who build the stages, they're also wearing Dickies," says Kathy Hines, Dickies VP of marketing. "Also, different sub-cultures in the West Coast, like the L.A. Latino community, have been adopting us for a really, really long time." There's also, of course, the skateboarding community, where so many fashion trends start: "They need the most longstanding, durable apparel in the world while they're skating, and there's nothing more durable than a product intended for heavy manual labor. It just so happens that it works for skate as well."

Kaia Gerber in a Dickies jumpsuit at Paris Fashion Week.

Dickies has engaged with fashion more in the past five years or so. It had a long and successful partnership with Opening Ceremony (R.I.P.) and collaborated with the likes of Stussy, Madewell, L.A. menswear boutique Union, Toga and more. Most recently, in July, it partnered with Halsey's About Face makeup line to create two handbags. These helped revitalize the brand and grow its consumer base.

In 2017, Dickies was acquired for $820 million by VF Corp., a public company that also owns Vans, North Face, Wrangler and, as of last year, Supreme. Clearly, the company saw an opportunity for Dickies to grow even more.

As Hines explains, authenticity has been crucial to hold onto through all of this, because losing that would ultimately mean losing the brand's initial appeal. "One of our greatest strengths is our authenticity and our truth as a workwear brand, and that's something that we really, really hold very central and we're very disciplined about, because that's why we're embraced," she says.

Take collaborations rather than allow other brands to put the Dickies logo on anything, the brand approaches these partnerships carefully and strategically.

"One of the things that we try to consider is rooting it in things like our iconic product, because that keeps it really unique and connected to us," Hines says. "If we invented some collection I don't know, I'm just gonna make it up, but outdoor jackets and boots and sweatshirts, something that's not strongly connected to our iconic blue-collar workwear, then that could put us at a risk of them going away from the brand, because then you're just putting your logo on something that's not true to who we are."

Dickies Icons campaign.

Dickies recently debuted a campaign spotlighting what it calls its five Icons: the 874 Work Pant, Work Shirt, Coverall, Bib Overall and Eisenhower Jacket. It's these iconic products that have been adopted by fashion the most and, though Dickies doesn't disclose financial figures as a brand, they've likely also driven the most revenue. Dickies likes to describe them as "a blank canvas for self-expression" they're also what shoppers can pick up at the Fred Segal pop-up; throughout it's duration, there have also been opportunities to have these items customized on-site with different illustrations and embroideries.

"Dickies had actually never celebrated the five iconic products," says Hines. "We just felt like it was a really, really good opportunity to introduce them formally, to talk about them and showcase them, both from a workwear perspective as well as a more work-inspired or lifestyle perspective. The timing is also intentional because we're celebrating our 100 years starting March of 2022."

Another tactic Dickies uses to ensure it's still prioritizing and honoring and not alienating its original workwear consumers is by having separate product teams, one that focuses on performance workwear and one that focuses more on the workwear-inspired apparel.

"The way that we don't alienate them is we take them very, very seriously," Hines says. "We call our workers our athletes, because they are: They bend, they lift, they're doing heavy-duty things that require performance. Keeping that front and center and always knowing that we're there to serve the workers and enable them to do their work more effectively with our performance workwear, that really serves us well."

Inside the Dickies pop-up at Fred Segal.

In addition to catering more to fashion-minded consumers, Dickies has also, in the past couple of years, made more of a conscious effort to cater to women, starting by addressing a growing cohort of underserved female workers.

"We always say it: Without workwear, there's no workwear-inspired," says Hines. "If we don't start from a place of authenticity and for that woman who's doing blue-collar work or heavy-duty work then we would be entering the women's market without authenticity."

She draws a parallel to the athleticwear industry, which is still only in the early stages of catering to women in the same way it caters to men: "Men's product was the priority. I remember we would say that you would 'shrink it and pink it.' We're seeing this in the workwear industry; it's historically very male. As we see women coming in, if we're just conscious and treat her with the respect that she deserves as a worker who requires performance on the job, that's our place of truth, that's our place of authenticity. Then, when we do lean into lifestyle or work-inspired [product], it's from a place of a strong foundation."

Hines is careful not to reveal too many details about what Dickies has planned for its 100th year, but it's clear that more womenswear and fashion-centric activations are on the horizon, while its commitment to those iconic products and manual laborers hopefully remains steady. Still, with the backing of a public company and the responsibility to shareholders that comes with it, there's always pressure to chase growth and a risk of overextension. (Say, too many collaborations, or ones that don't quite fit.) At least for now, Dickies seems to be on steady ground: It's accessible and respectful of the people who think it's cool, and the people who originally made it cool.

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Dickies Is Leaning Into Fashion While Staying True to Its Workwear Roots - Yahoo Lifestyle

Central Ohio renters increasingly have an option between apartment flats and rental homes.

A growing number of rental communities are featuring single-story, ranch-style, attached homes, giving tenants the feel of a house without a mortgage.

Although such communities have been around central Ohio for decades, they have boomed in recent years, led largely by three rapidly expanding companiesRedwood Living, Wilcox Communities and Treplus Communitieswith help fromseveral other developers.

Each offers its own variations, but all target what they see as a growing audience: empty nesters who want the convenience of renting but with a front and back door, attached garages and no neighbor above or below.

"Our largest demographic are downsizers, people who don't want to buy a condo but who have lived in a home, who want that home lifestyle,"saidNoelle Smith,one of Redwood Living's two central Ohio managers.

Because ranch-style apartments cost far more to build than stacked apartments, they tend to cost more to rent, typically starting above $1,500 and rising in some cases north of $3,000 a month. Tenants say the premium is worth it.

Shannon Shorie and her husband moved from a walk-up apartment into The Residences at BrownsFarm, a Wilcox Communities' development in Grove City, in late July. They're paying $1,700 a month for the largest model, which gives them more than 1,300 square feet.

"It's so much worth it," said Shorie, whose husband asked not to be named.

"It's a much better value than our apartment. It's more like living in a house, even though you have people on both sides of you. It's very private. You have a two-car garage so you don't have to worry about parking, and it's very spacious."

Wilcox, Redwood and Treplus have built 23central Ohio communities containing about3,500 apartments, and together they are planning at least10additional communities in the Columbus area.

Developers say completed communities are full and typicallyhave waiting lists. Those under construction prelease quickly. Browns Farm, for example, was two-thirds leased by the time the first apartment opened, said Jonathan Wilcox, managing partner of the developer, Wilcox Communities.

"We think there's a long runway with this," he said. "We believe this isn't a trend, it's a shift."

But, he added, the communities can be challenging to build. They require a lot of landdevelopers want at least 20 acres for each communitywhich makes them hard to economically build inside the Interstate 270 beltway.

Treplus Communities, however, is looking for sites inside the beltway and has been in talks with the developer of the former United Methodist Children's Home property to be part of that project in the middle of Worthington.

"I just want 10 acres," said Jane Arthur Roslovic, a partner in Treplus. "To get into Worthington, we'd shrink our footprint in a nanosecond. We just love that site. It's hard to find niches like that."

A closer look at single-story ranch options:

Redwood Living, based in Independence, Ohio, operates more than 10,000 rentals across seven Midwestern and Southern states. Founded in 1991, Redwood entered the Columbus market in 2012with a Pickerington development and quickly ramped up.

Today, Redwood operates 13 communities in central Ohio with more than 2,000 apartments, and has no plans to slow down.

Since we built our first Columbus neighborhood in 2012, this area continues to thrive, and we are thrilled to keep growing with the market,said Redwood Chief Operating OfficerDavid Conwill.

Redwood's basic product has changed little since it entered the market: Single-story rental homes, attached, with front doors, rear patios andattached garages. All Redwood homes include two bedrooms (some with a bonus or flex room) andrange in size from about 1,100 square feet to more than 1,600 square feet.

Redwood rent ranges from about $1,500 a month to more than $3,300. When considered on a square-foot price, rent isn't much more than conventional apartments, said Smith, manager of Redwood's eastern central Ohio region.

Redwood is building a community in Marysville and expects next year to start communities in the Groveport, Obetz, Etna, West Jefferson and London areas.

"We can't build fast enough right now," Smith said. "Our product really fared well during the pandemic. ... We prelease almost everything."

Redwood's communities commonly offer ponds and walking paths, but noother community amenities such as pools, clubhouses or gyms.

Treplus Communities, based in Columbus, operates three ranch-rental communities in central Ohio but expectsto vastly expand with a new funding partner, the $36 billion Toledo-based housing and health care company Welltower.

"Our plan is to go from coast to coast," said Treplus partner Roslovic. "The reason the deal with Wellower and us makes senseis that they had the same vision we had: to be a national player."

Treplus plans to start its expansion later this year with two new central Ohio complexes Sugar Maple Commonsin Grove City and Spruce Commons on Central College Road on the Northeast Side adding about 270 apartments to its mix.

After that, the company is looking to expand into other markets, starting with Cincinnati and Indianapolis (in addition to the complex it already operates in Centerville, outsideDayton).

"We're looking very heavily into the Carolinas, Michigan andTennessee," Roslovic said. "There's still plenty of opportunity in Florida, and Texas is a huge active adult state."

Treplus offers one- or two-bedroom apartments with optional dens, one bath per bedroom plus a half bath, along with a two-car garage. Apartments range from about 1,200 square feet to about 1,600 square feet.

Unlike Redwood and Wilcox communities, Treplus apartments are restricted to those 55 and older. The complexes boast a full menu of amenities and services targeting the age group, includingcommunity centers with fitness facilities and offices, concierge services, and programs that include education, social, fitness and entertainment events.

"We always wanted to have a brand associated with active adults," Roslovic said. "The amenitiesand programs we offer, it was very intentional."

The amenities and some of the finishes and landscaping raise the starting price of Treplus above some of its competitors. Apartments range from about $2,100 to $2,800 a month.

Wilcox Communitiesof Worthingtonpivoted from building condominiums to single-story apartments several years ago and hasn't looked back.

"We got serious about this seven or eight years ago when we saw a shift among (baby) boomers to renting by choice," said Jonathan Wilcox. "We said, 'Let's come up with a new concept that would meet this emerging demand.' "

The company has builtfour ranch-style rental communities in central Ohio and is completing three more, in Marysville, Grove City and new New Albany, fora total of about 1,100 apartments. The company plans to build in four more locations for another700 apartments, Wilcox said.

Wilcox Communities split the difference between what Redwood and Treplus provide. They offer clubhouses, fitness centers, coffee bars and other amenities including dog parks but not the full menu of services and programming offered at Treplus.

Wilcox's apartments run from about1,100 to 1,400square feet with two bedrooms, two baths and a two-car garage. Rent ranges from about $1,400 to $1,700 depending on model and community, though Jonathan Wilcox expects rising construction and land costs to push up rents to $1,500 to $2,000 in future communities.

Although Wilcox complexes are not age restricted, they tend to draw a specific audience.

"They really attract the above-50 renter who rents by choice," he said.

Other developers with similar products includeRockford Homes, which just opened the Ponds at Madison in Canal Winchester;Schottenstein Homes, which has developed a two-story, amenity-rich version of the idea;and Mid-Ohio Development.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

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Ranch-style apartments offer the feel of a house without the mortgage - The Columbus Dispatch

Nightcap Village area to be developed.

At its upcoming Council meeting, the Tweed Shire Council (TSC) is seeking to remove the option of Rural Land Sharing Communities (RLSC) which includes multiple occupancies (MO) and community title (CT) through an amendment to the State Environment Planning Policy (SEPP) 2019.

The TSC has already removed RLSC from the Tweed Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2000, and the Tweed Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2014. They voted to remove RLSC from the SEPP in March this year which was followed by public exhibition of the planning proposal (PP21/0001). If they approve the removal from the SEPP then there will be no basis on which future RLSC can be developed in Tweed Shire, however existing RLSC will continue.

The intention of the planning proposal is to protect the rights of existing lawful RLSCs and prohibit any future such development, says the report summary submitted for the upcoming meeting on 5 August.

Thirty-three submissions were received from a range of perspectives with the majority in support of the removal of RLSCs.

Comments were also received in support of the need for affordable housing and smaller scale RLSCs for the purpose of providing additional housing for extended family, workers or for rental purposes, states the report.

RLSCs were originally recognised in State planning policies as a means of providing low cost dwellings and an environmentally sensitive approach to communal based rural settlement Over time the emphasis on communal low cost living and the publics development expectations have change considerably, with anecdotal evidence emerging through development applications (DA) showing contemporary expectations toward more traditional residential housing and settlement patterns akin to regular subdivision design; a trend that has significantly impacted the low-cost housing principle and communal-design and the argument in support of retaining their planning permissibility on these basis.

Draft sub-division for Nightcap Village DA proposal.

This pattern has been seen in the failed Bhula Bhula intentional community and the current DA for the contentious $39m Tweed Nightcap Village MO that is going before the Northern Rivers Planning Panel (NRPP).

During the March debate it was highlighted that the MO structure allowed housing development in areas that were rural where higher density housing was not supported.

The report highlights that Councils challenge going forward is how best to address the broad spectrum of housing pressures in a strategic, coordinated, and deliberate way that takes account of the many competing land-use pressures in a way that benefits the Shire holistically and as sustainably as can reasonably be achieved within the planning framework.

To achieve this Council must avoid facilitating the use of planning permissibility, such as RLSCs, by curtailing their availability when it is apparent their objectives are no longer being genuinely pursued and delivered, but have become more akin to a misapplication of their intended purpose.

Additional rural dwellings randomly located in rural areas is not considered to be a solution to provision of low cost accommodation for disadvantaged persons in need of ready access to public transport, services and facilities.

You can attend the meeting online this Thursday at 5.30pm here.

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Will Tweed Council remove final option for RLSC in Tweed Shire? - Echonetdaily

Janniry Cabrera Belens favorite memory is climbing trees with her cousins in the Dominican Republic and basking in the beauty of the nature aroundher. Janniry is bringing that feeling of peace and pure happiness to the Lehigh Gap Nature Center this summer as a Fellow in the Delaware River Fellows Program. By building a native plant demonstration garden that tells the story of the Centers Superfund restoration work through bilingual displays and signage, she hopes to attract more Spanish speaking visitors to the Center.

Adriana Amador-Chacons favorite memory of nature is exploring the woods and creek near her home in Tennessee as a child. Fascinated by the critters, she and her friends once caught a snapping turtle and took a selfie with it before releasing it into the creek. Adriana is bringing that same fascination and love of nature to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation Gateway Park in Camden this summer as a Fellow in the Delaware River Fellows Program. In an effort to attract more of the local community to the beautiful green spaces in Camden, Adriana is hosting a series of art classes that combine painting lessons with information about stormwater management and the importance of clean, healthy water. An exhibition at the end of the summer will showcase the art.

The Delaware River Fellows Program gives young adults the opportunity to get valuable, first-hand experience in habitat conservation and environmental education in the Delaware Watershed. This summer, 30 Fellows are working on individual capstone projects focused on environmental issues and engaging local communities. They gain knowledge of conservation and share their passion with others, encouraging the enjoyment, use, and care of the natural areas in the watershed.

Janniry, Adriana and the other Fellows are paid to work on their projects at the 23 environmental education centers in PA, NJ and DE that comprise the Alliance for Watershed Education (AWE). AWE seeks to intentionally engage diverse communities, especially those who have been historically left out of conversations about protecting our shared environment. It promotes equitable access to its Centers and fostering socially responsible practices that will result in a healthier natural environment.

Jahya Gale-Cottries, a Fellow at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge understands the importance of building community in the neighborhood around the Refuge: Forming a connection over a common interest like nature can really strengthen and bond a community. By encouraging local residents to help clean litter from the waterways, Jahya will teach them about the environmental harm caused by illegal dumping.

Robin Irizarry, Fellowship Coordinator for the Alliance for Watershed Education (AWE), is excited to work with a full cohort of Fellows this year: Last year the Fellowship program was limited due to the pandemic. While we cant say things are back to normal, we are incredibly grateful for a cohort of 30 Fellows working at all of the AWE environmental education centers this summer. These young people are eager to learn all about restoring and protecting their local waterways and to share that knowledge with their communities.

The Fellowship Program, now in its fifth year, builds on a growing national momentum for more diversity and equity in environmental leadership and enjoyment of the outdoors. Most of the AWE centers are in urban areas and many of the Fellows come from nearby BIPOC communities that have been historically underrepresented at the centers and in the broader environmental movement. The Fellows gain invaluable conservation and environmental experience that may not otherwise have been available to them.

Irizarry says, Racial equity and representation in the field of environmental conservation has been a priority of the Fellowship program since its beginnings in 2017. In reflecting on the events of 2020, (AWE) has come to recognize that the Fellowship program is one place where we can be the most intentional in our efforts, dialing in our recruitment efforts to present these opportunities first and foremost to community members around our environmental centers, in communities that have historically been excluded from conversations around watershed protection.

The 2021 Fellows are passionate about the environment and are working hard to connect neighborhoods and groups of people with nature across the Watershed.

Lesslie Montiel, Fellow at Camden Childrens Garden, is teaching the local Spanish-speaking community about the importance of insects, particularly native pollinating insects, in a healthy watershed. Bilingual staff and resources will encourage participation in the construction of pollinator houses that will be installed at community gardens throughout Camden.

By leading kayaking trips and photographing the trash and waste in the Delaware River with an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that heis constructing, Anthony Lara, Fellow at the Camden County Environmental Center, hopes to educate the local community about how litter affects the health of a river.

Adrianni Herrera and Priscilla Rios, Fellows at The Center for Aquatic Sciences and New Jersey Natural Lands at Pettys Island, respectively, hope to expose more Camden residents to the Delaware River by leading live and virtual educational kayaking tours around Pettys Island and the Cooper River.

Mafanta Swaray and Edgar Rivera, Fellows at The Watershed Institute, are designing mini butterfly gardens (butterfly barrels) in Trenton neighborhoods to enhance the urban environment with native pollinator plants. Mafanta and Edgar will also host a program where Trenton residents can learn more about butterflies and receive supplies to build their own mini butterfly gardens.

Recognizing that many people in the Trenton area live close to the DelawareRiver but dont have the opportunity to interact with it, Fabio Yales, Fellow at the D&R Greenways, Tulpehaking Nature Center is educating residents about the history and ecological importance of the river. Using his storytelling skills and passion for photography, he is creating virtual kayak trips to encourage the local community to participate in the Centers growing kayaking program.

Saada Wing, Fellow at First State National Historical Park and The Nature Conservancy, is creating a trivia game to help people of all ages understand the importance of the Delaware River Watershed. Saada will be hosting a live version on July 31st at Brandywine Creek State Park, where she will be spinning a game wheel and giving out prizes. Visitors will also be able to play the game on their own at any time.

Maria Dupnock, Fellow at the DuPont Environmental Education Center, is developing a toolkit for the Centers Trail Ambassadors (select Wilmington youth who are trained to educate the public). It will include a pocket field guide on common wildlife species and local fish as well as engagement tips. The toolkit will enrich the Ambassadors knowledge and assist in the delivery of their public education programs.

Using 21st century tools, Sandy Phuong andBrandon Chaingam, Fellows at the Discovery Center, hope to attract and engage more visitors to the Center. Sandy is expanding the Centers social media platforms to attract more young people in the Strawberry Mansion community, while Brandon is developing a series of QR codes equipped signs to help visitors identify and learn about native plants in the garden using their cell phones.

Andrew Drew Atkerson, this years Senior Fellow is helping pilot a new mentorship component of the Fellowship Program to connect past and current Fellows with environmental professionals who share similar life experiences, cultural and racial identities, interests, and professional goals.

To educate the local community about the impacts of illegal dumping in the waterways, John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge Fellow Jahya Gale-Cottries is engaging other AWE Fellows and the community to help remove tires from the Darby Creek and Refuge through her Tire Round Up Program. She hopes that the education and engagement will result in less illegal dumping and more appreciation and care for local waterways.

Amira Parkerand Jon'avin Freeman, Fellows at the Fairmount Water Works, are developing an educational activity book for high school students on watersheds and river health. The activity book will be offered in English and Spanish and will be used as a tool to engage high school students in a local Hispanic high school community.

Vary J. Soth, Fellow at Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center, is engaging local teens to help measure the health of the water in Cobbs Creek and working to recruit local community members to become part of a team that will monitor environmental issues in the area.

Learning how to forage local edible plants is also a lesson in how pollution harms our environment. MyKyah Vessels, Fellow at the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership at Tacony Creek Park, is teaching visitors how to identify plants and safely forage in Tacony Creek Park, as some plants are unsafe to eat because of pollutants carried by stormwater runoff.

Jamel Shockley, Fellow at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, is helping to revitalize the Centers gardens by removing weeds and invasive plants and repopulating with native plants. The hope is to create an engaging dialogue around the impacts of invasive plants and the benefits of switching to a native plant palette.

Julianna Roseo, Fellow at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, is using pedal and paddle events to highlight the environmental dangers and impacts of plastic pollution and to encourage people to cut back on single-use plastics.

Janniry Cabrera Belen and Alexis Matos are creating new educational outreachtools centered around theLehigh Gap Nature Centers (LGNC) native plant gardens. With bilingual (English/Spanish) signage, Janniry will tell the story of LGNCs Superfund restoration work. She is also creating bilingual videos focused on watershed stewardship and is hosting Nature in Art classes. Alexis is developing a field guide to the 150+ species of native plants surrounding LGNCs visitor center with information highlighting the sensory appeal of each plant, hosting virtual native plant lectures, creating plant spotlight YouTube videos, and designing signs for the gardens and trails.

Gabriel Jacobs , Fellow at the Bristol Marsh - Heritage Conservancy, hopes to introduce members of the Lower Bucks County LGBTQ+ community to environmental conservation by creating a safe space to learn how to become environmental stewards. They are highlighting the restorative power of nature by hosting picnics, nature walks, and mindfulness activities to promote emotional well-being and to help connect people to the natural spaces in their community.

Brian Frey and Xzy-Nay Campbell, Fellows at thePocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC), are hosting PEEC Day activities in the East Stroudsburg area to establish a stronger relationship between the community and their Center. Through their efforts they hope to bring a bit of the Pocono Environmental Education Center experience (hands-on, nature-themed activities and crafts) to the libraries and parks in order to inspire community members whove never visited PEEC to come out and experience nature rich trails with them.

Gilliam Lorenzo, Fellow at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, is helping establish native plant gardens at three local schools to increase biodiversity in the area, help restore healthy soils, and prevent river pollution. Working closely with Centro de Cultura Arte Trabajo y Educacion (CCATE) in Norristown, she is engaging Spanish speaking students, teachers and families to enhance their understanding about ecological restoration.

The Delaware River Fellows Program is funded by the William Penn Foundation, which has supported five cohorts and more than 120 individual Fellows, many who have gone on to continue working in the environmental field.

The Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River is a regional initiative of 23 partnering environmental education centers located along waterways in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The Delaware River watershed is a 13,500-square mile system which provides clean drinking water for 13 million people. Through aligned communications, joint programming and shared best practices among the centers, the Alliance works toward inspiring a healthy Delaware River watershed with diverse communities and people empowered to sustain it. For updates about AWEactivities, sign up for a newsletter and learn moreabout the Fellows and their projects on AWEs Facebook page and on Instagram.

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Delaware River Fellows raise environmental awareness in their communities - PhillyVoice.com

By Dalila Wilson-Scott

Northampton, MA --News Direct-- Comcast Corporation

Every two years, we have the honor of proudly coming together across the company to bring the thrill and excitement of the Olympic and Paralympic Games home to millions of Americans and support Team USA.

Together, we unite to watch the worlds best athletes compete to achieve the extraordinary. But beyond each event, broken record, and the many unexpected moments lies an incredible story of each competitors dedication and determination on their path to greatness. We highlighted this in our recent ad titled Lines, which features remarkable U.S. Olympic gold medalist swimmer and Team Comcast athlete Simone Manuel sharing a powerful message about breaking barriers and working towards a day where the only lines we will need to cross are finish lines.

In preparing this ad, it was especially important that we leverage the historic moment presented by The Olympics and use our platform to drive an important conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion. This is a commitment we will never shy away from and one we are proud to highlight during this global event.

Simone recently captured the importance of continuing to advance this work and reminded us just how proud we are to have her partnership:

I hope to inspire all people to pursue their passion regardless of what society tells them that they should or should not do. As a minority in swimming, it was really hard for me because sometimes I questioned if swimming was the sport for me because I didn't see many people that looked like me. So my hope is that I inspire people to pursue their passion regardless of what stereotypes or biases may be stacked against them.

Without a doubt, Team USA and The Olympics inspire the dreams of future generations to come and we recognize we must do our part to help support the Team of Tomorrow. Thats why were on a mission to address digital inequity because in order to have an equal shot at success, everyone must have equal access to essential tools and resources to succeed in a digital world.

Story continues

Ten years ago, we launched Internet Essentials to bring affordable, high-speed Internet to low-income families. Today, Internet Essentials is the largest and most comprehensive Internet adoption program in the United States. Weve connected more than 10 million individuals to the Internet, providing them with the resources necessary for succeeding in our increasingly digital workforce and economy.

Last fall we launched Lift Zones across the country, neighborhood-based centers helping underserved communities connect to the Internet at no cost and access the tools they need to complete homework, grow their digital skills, and apply for employment opportunities. We are well on track to exceed our goal of 1,000 Zones by the end of 2021 and will enable millions of hours of homework and remote learning this year.

And through intentional design, we are prioritizing providing grants to digital equity-focused partners that are both led by and serving communities of color with a goal of advancing strategies that help create pathways to economic mobility.

As proud as we are of our decade of work in this space, we know there is still much to do. To accelerate our efforts, we have committed to investing $1 billion over the next 10 years to impact 50 million people and help bridge the digital divide.

I hope you take time to celebrate the extraordinary, to cheer our champions, and to reflect on the many unique paths taken to get to this moment. I look forward to our continued work ahead as we chart even more milestones in advancing change, helping pave the way for future success and building a stronger, better tomorrow.

Learn more about Comcasts comprehensive efforts to advance digital equity in the communities it serves around the country.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Comcast Corporation on 3blmedia.com

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/celebrating-team-usa-at-the-olympic-games-and-championing-digital-equity-973188806

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Celebrating Team USA at The Olympic Games & Championing Digital Equity - Yahoo Finance

The other day my husband and I were out for a drive, listening to a news station on the car radio. How did we get here? I asked, not talking about our geographical location, but the state of society and culture. How did we become so hatefully divided and divisive? So anti-everything?

So polarized and tribal, so demanding to be heard yet so unwilling to listen to others, especially to those whose views we dont share? How did we become so filled with vitriol and fury? Umbrage we take umbrage at one another. We are indignant and outraged. Im talking about our society as a whole, which includes us Christians.

In 2013, a pastor went into a Costco store and saw a Bible in the fiction section. He thought it was funny, figured it was just a shelving error and not intentional, took a photo and put it out on Twitter. In lightning speed it was retweeted hundreds of times.

Fox News picked it up, giving it the headline: Costco The Bible is Fiction and then ran with the idea that the pastor had uncovered a Costco conspiracy against Christians and the Bible. Outraged Christians across the nation immediately clamored for a boycott of Costco.

In a November 2013 Christianity Today article, Another Day, Another Faux Christian Outrage: Costcos Fiction Bible, Ed Stetzer interviewed the pastor, Caleb Kaltenbach, and reported that Kaltenbach was, indeed, not outraged.

It was a labeling error, not a theological statement. Its like when the sticker for corn is accidentally put on the beans, Stetzer wrote. If you get outraged over a labeling mistake, maybe its time to ask if you need to be more discerning, less gullible and need some new sources of information beyond constantly-outraged websites and social media outlets.

Let me add, he said, when Christians are constantly outraged by fake controversies, we look foolish and have no credibility to speak to real issues. He also wrote that people are drawn to outrage and often they dont care if its based on misinformation.

Who cares about facts when you can have outrage? Stetzer wrote. We are addicted to outrage we like the fire. Unfortunately, outrage for the sport of being outraged too often leads to peoples reputations or character being ruined, businesses and families being hurt, churches and communities being torn apart.

Jesus told his followers, You are the light of the world...Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

The gospel calls us to reconciliation, to soft answers that turn away wrath, to speaking the truth in love, not hate.

Outrage forgets or ignores the grace of Jesus, Stetzer wrote. It seeks to drown out the possibility of mercy or grace, demanding retribution instead. Its unapologetic, quick and severe.

Its a shame Christians often follow this cultural pattern of reacting vengefully instead of mercifully.

These words from 2013 are even more relevant in 2021, when the entire world is a tinderbox. We Christians need to be water for people dying of thirst, salve for those who are hurting.

If we stop contributing to the outrage du jour, stop flaming people on Twitter and Facebook and start showing the same mercy and kindness that Christ has shown us, maybe then theyll see Jesus in us.

Thats what we are called to do.

Nancy Kennedy is the author of Move Over, Victoria I Know the Real Secret, Girl on a Swing and Lipstick Grace. She can be reached at 352-564-2927 or via email at nkennedy@chronicleonline.com.

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We need to be salve for those hurting - Evening News and Tribune

Like some last-century dream, the circus isrollinginto town. Instead of atrain atopwheels, Up Up Up Inc. will roll in on the heels of a 30-foot-tall, old-school, hand-cranked crane mounted onto the flatbed of a 24-foot Isuzu truck.

We've become crane mechanics, performer Sadye Osterloh said. I learned everything there is to learn about the crane by taking it apart and putting it back together.

In a similar way, Eugene Cultural Services hadto reshape a minimized budget by working withcommunity partners like the Hult Center for the Performing Arts and the Lane Arts Council to bring a vibrant Visual Arts Week to town, running throughnext Friday.

With more than 50 participating art centers, artists, galleries, and bars and restaurants, the arts council aspires that Visual Arts Week fires economic momentum, supports local businesses, energizes public spaces and reconnects us to each other and our community, according to LAC executive director Stacey Ray.

The arts will be a second responder as we begin the slow process of healing, Ray wrote in an email. Sustaining support for arts and culture in Eugene is essential to our community's recovery.

In acting as a curative, VAW also promises to be fun. There will be multiple platforms for aesthetic exploration including in-person and virtual galleries. With Lane Arts Council's ArtTalks, creative professionals will dish about the inspiration and process behind their work. With Windowfront Exhibitions, onlookers can catch the citys 2020-2021 installations and catch up on 20x21 murals. And with educational workshops provided by seasoned artists at the Maude Kerns Art Center, eager hands can expand artistic skills.

'Escapism as experience': Local breweries, wineries get creative with summertime drinks

VAW begins with a bang on Friday night, the first live First Friday ArtWalk in 15 months. After opening remarks from Mayor Lucy Vinis, poet Jorah LaFleur will present her new spoken word piece,Emergence, a tenuous, complex topic right now with COIVD-19 infection rates rising again. Like any art worth its weight, LaFleur intends the work to be a mirror instead of a megaphone.

We are deep in a process that is so full of uncertainty. My mouth is a waterfall of questions, not answers, LaFleur said.

LaFleur was asked to stir the crowd with words about surfacing from the pandemics shell. In preparing for the show then, she crowdsourced.

I realized, in even a small sample of answers, that metaphor doesn't extend as far as it needs to, LaFleur said. We're not cleanly coming out of COVID. We're somewhere further along in a process that is still uncertain and affecting people unequally. How do we heal from multiple illnesses that have risen to the surface?

After LaFleur probes the zeitgeist, UP UP UP Inc. will take overto prodpleasure centers with circus acrobatics, live music, Spanish web, the world's largest wedgie, feats of strength and more.

UP UP UP Inc.s "dream team"of seven performersall coalescedin Bellingham, Washington, in 2019.

We knew each other, schemed our dream cast and then put the call out, Osterloh said. Everyone said, Yes, so it's like a dream come true.

UP UP UP Inc. wants to make this vision available to everyone, which is why this years tour began on bicycles, riding to rural, coastal Washington communities like San Juan Island, Port Townsendand Chimacum.

We always want to include how to make circus and laughter and joy and performance art accessible to folks who might not be able to pay for a ticket or afford to transport themselves to a show, Osterloh said.

Most of UP UP UP Inc.s shows are free with a "pass the hat"donation system. The company will receive a stipend from ECS for bringing its wondrous experience to town.

In this lovely way, it connects it all together, ECS downtown program assistant Chanin Santiago said. We're able to do more together than separate.

While the city will fund UP UP UP, LaFleur was one of five artists awarded individual LAC grants in June 2020 for projects to be presentedduring VAW. The 2020 grant cycle launched this third LAC grant program, in addition toCommunity Arts Program Grants and Project Grants.

There are very few grant opportunities available to individual artists, so we were excited to be able to expand the grant program to support local artists, Ray said.

Each artist received $475 to install interactive work. These will include LaFleurs compilation of pandemic-inspired poetry performance at the Eugene Public Library;a mixed-media installation project that invites dialogue around race, place and art;a traditional, wet plate collodion portrait series featuring local artisans working in historic processes;A Portrait of Cottage Grove solo art exhibitionand published art book;and an interactive musical album.

"The grant strengthens our arts ecosystem,creating opportunities for Eugene artists, ensuring accessible opportunities for arts engagement for Eugene residents and visitors, Ray said.

Canceled: Whiteaker Block Party canceled, organizers cite Lane County's rising COVID-19 cases

All of this was not possible without civic collaboration with nonprofits, exhibit locales andartists to generate the art.

Its a tough time to bring support for the arts working with a greatly reduced budget, but were committed to it. We need the arts, ECS public art manager Kate Ali said.

In articulating this artistic proffer to the public, VAW organizers not only considered the quality of work being offered, but howproductions reflect and challenge contemplation ofthis historic moment.

It's about choosing for artistic merit, which is what you think about when you're making art," Mayors Art Show juror Sandra Honda said."But more than artistic merit, there's this obligation to examine the value of the work to the greater community."

More than one hundred artists applied among the 38 chosen for the art showby jurors Honda;University of Oregon professor and head of jewelry and metalsmithingAnya Kivarkis; and Hiba Ali, a digital artist, curator andexperimental music producer focused on surveillance, womxn/womyn of colorand labor.

Hondas studio practice withArtCity Eugene completed a 2018 return to her Pacific Northwest roots post a speechwriting and scientific career in Washington, D.C. Her highlyabstract, jazz-influenced, gestural drawings process her "sansei"(third-generation Japanese-American) heritage. Honda found that introspection within 2021 submissions, reflective of a tumultuous year that only began with the physical, emotional and isolation of COVID.

And then we were smacked in the face with George Floyd murder. And it seemed like one after another, after another …, Honda said. So there's this reckoning we saw through the eyes and the hearts of the artists who submitted.

Matt's Picks (Aug. 5-8): Very Little Theatre's 'Ministers of Grace,' First Friday ArtWalk

For an interactive interaction with art, the Maude Kerns Center will hold both free and paid workshops throughout theweek. Participants can plan, create and consummate clay coffee mugs, cool prints and cultural collages with 12 workshops.

This continues the art centers artistic education programming, which remained available even during the pandemic. Small class sizes and mandatory masks stressed student and instructor safety and allowed for constructive, crafty activity accessible to all.

It has been a true pleasure to be able to work in person with people of all ages, getting experimental in the printmaking lab there, workshop coordinator Krista Raasch said in an email. The education coordinator and I (talked) about that space as an intentional 'laboratory' vibe, in which the mindset is based on discovery and learning through making."

This point of view, the critical need for collective art that transcends separation, spurs collective comprehension and encourages growth from destruction, runs from arts week poets to trapeze performers through coordinators and art commentators.

I hope our choices reflect the stance that we all get to talk through our art, we all get to have a conversation with the viewer and the public through art, Honda said. In my opinion, it's well worth listening to.

What: Eugene Cultural Services' 2021 live and virtual celebration ofthe visual arts, with events providinga platform for aesthetic experimentation, experienceand dialogue.

When: Through Friday, Aug. 13

Where: Throughout galleries, bar/restaurants, art centers, public spaces and additional venues in and around downtown Eugene.

Details and information:eugene-or.gov/3934/Visual-Arts-Week

Follow Matt on Instagram @CAFE_541. Questions or comments? Email him mdenis@registerguard.com.Want more stories like this?Subscribeto get unlimited access and support local journalism.

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Eugene Cultural Services' 2021 Visual Arts Week promises to be a creative extravaganza - The Register-Guard