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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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Grant Monies & The Main Street Program



               A well put together Business plan is a must, and mastering
the skills of developing one can net an eager entrepreneur the needed funding
to go forth. Startup capital, grow your business capital and readily available
working capital is a must in order to conduct a successful and thriving
business.

    The National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded 4 million dollars in 2010 to over 240 qualifying organizations. The essence of this trust is to preserve old historical buildings and landmarks. One major movement happening right now is the Main Street programs. Main Street Programs across America are qualifying for grant funding to preserve the down town districts of America.

In the down town districts we will find buildings; some
standing for 100 years or better and those buildings qualify for funding. There
are millions of dollars set aside for this very cause.

 The Main Street movement aims to secure funds to renovate, revitalize and restore spending activity in the down town area; this objective is made a reality with funding designed to preserve the historical buildings found in the down town district. Hence, this effort rewards the historical building owner and the promising entrepreneur that seeks to operate a business from the historical building and/or land mark district area.


While the funding is a true grant, it is not awarded to an individual but rather the Main Street authorities  of which  has written an award winning grant  submission.  The Main Street organization will then set forth criteria by which individuals must meet in order to qualify for those monies. 

While the funds are coded grant for the city, the city can elect to turn the grant funding into a revolving loan to individual recipients; meaning individual recipients will be a required to pay back   the monies; however, the payback amount will be less and predicated on the success of your business along with a very low APR and monthly installments. Many cities elect to implement this plan in order to
keep readily available funding on hand for future new businesses.


In short if one desires to operate a traditional brick & mortar business; consider operating it in the downtown district where funding is available simply because it is located in the downtown area. Contacting your Main Street coordinator and asking for information will allow you to discover what is available in your area  While having a well-developed business plan will assist you in being ready to obtain what is available in your area.