NorCalUrban

EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. (KCBS) -- More than 900 people have signed a petition urging the city council to require a developer interested in building a supermarket in East Palo Alto to provide community benefits in order to build. Members of Youth United for Community Action, the group sponsoring the petition, rallied on the steps of city hall yesterday before presenting the signatures to law makers. They are calling for Barry Swenson Builder to provide jobs, affordable housing, and money to fund youth programs. The city council is set to discuss the supermarket deal at its April 3 meeting. City Manager Alvin James questioned whether the city had the leverage to put any of those conditions onto the company. He said that unlike certain environmental issues, the legal framework doesn’t exist to require companies to provide the kind of economic assistance the teenagers were championing. Interesting... I like what YUCA does... However, we have to walk a fine line here. If too many requiremen...

Bishop Patterson has a MySpace page... whoddathunk? I guess it says something about the man. Whomever put the page together did a good job. They posted some of his messages on video from youtube. Good stuff. Being a new 'elder' in the COGIC world, I'm still becoming familiar with some of our leaders. Bishop Patterson was a great preacher - and I'm not one to say that often. I particularly like the message he did on a communion Sunday. There is so much wealth and history in COGIC. Great preachers, great music. I still feel blessed to be part of this great church. Please pray for our denomination. With Bishop Patterson dying there will be a whole process to decide on the new presiding Bishop. Some say our local Bishop Hamilton is a viable candidate. Either way - this is a critical time for the Church of God in Christ.

Sad News... Leader of Church of God in Christ Dies MEMPHIS, Tenn. - G.E. Patterson, the presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ and a minister for almost 50 years, died of heart failure Tuesday, the church announced. He was 67. More about the Church of God in Christ here.

I recently 'discovered' Neil Young. I couldn't get beyond his voice. (I know, it's sort of hypocritical for a Dylan fan to say that...) However, I recently started listening to his classic Harvest and went from there. The hype is true - he is an amazing lyricist and songwriter. Just picked up his new release 'Live at Massy Hall '71'. It's Neil at his prime. It almost feels appropriate for the times we live in now with all that is going on in the world.

When is Ryan Adams coming out with a new record? I mean, 3 in 2005 than nothing... Anyone know?

Thanks for supporting us in your thoughts and prayers last weekend. By all accounts the meeting with CTCU went well, thanks to all who played a vital role, especially Stu Fisher (Addison Ave. CU), Keith Troup (Stanford Federal CU), Katie Fantin and Jenni Ingram. The group we presented to, in their CEO's words was "unanimously in favor of proceeding." This means the next step will be to present, discuss and hopefully approve the Memo of Understanding (MOU) we are drafting with the credit union attorney. I want to pause and thank God that this vital step has been taken. There are still more hurdles to jump in the coming weeks, please keep up the prayers, good will and thoughts! I truly appreciate all of your support. We're getting closer to realizing the dream of fostering financial independence and empowerment to East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park.

NPR reports: The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that migrant workers from Latin America sent home $62 billion last year — more than all foreign aid and investment in the region. The number could hit $100 billion by 2010. How much are they spending in transaction fees? How much money can we save them?

I'm soliciting your prayers for NCUD this Saturday. Without going into too much detail - we're making a critical pitch to the group that can give the green light to the credit union project. If in this meeting our plan is approved, then we should be pushing toward opening this summer, perhaps as early as June. I don't believe we'll recieve a decision on Saturday, but we should hear something back within a matter of days or weeks. Our portion of the meeting will be Saturday from 11:00 to 12:00. This is the culmination of almost two years of hard work and organizing - so your prayers for the right outcome and the peace of God would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for standing with me through this process. Your support and prayers have been a great encouragement. I'll let you know what happens from here...

Yes folks, it's time for our week of district meetings. Each year, every Church of God in Christ (COGIC) local district has a week of meeting where all the local churches come together. Last night ours began at our church. Last night was a 'musical' where each church choir represented. Our own Elder Tyron Mcgee gave a short sermon. A good time was had by all!

Last Saturday I attended two events, both very different and I had certain reservations about each. On Saturday morning I attended the 'Goin' Smart' East Palo Alto Youth summit on violence. Goin' smart is a play on words, taking from a form of dance, 'goin' dumb' which is part of the Bay Area hip-hop movement called 'hyphy'. This movement is 'live' and I suspect it'll soon be a national hip hop fad. Here is a news article about the event. If you remember I previously blogged about some of my concerns about the event. You can read them here. For the most part, the event was a success. Many kids came out and the organizers did a fabulous job including my friends and colleagues Malcom, Khabral and Marina. There was a positive vibe all day. One thing I've learned, when East Palo Alto comes together it really becomes a party. This is a tight knit community that has a clear feeling of family and love. One of the workshops was mediated by...

The Harsh Side of the Housing Boom Luis Mapula was living in a converted garage with his wife and two daughters and earning $54,000 a year as a fence company construction worker. Then, almost like magic, he became the owner of a $543,000 home with no down payment. Situated on a quiet cul-de-sac off Quimby Road in East San Jose, the two-bedroom home was to have been his family's piece of the American dream. Instead, it became a financial trap that consumed most of Mapula's income. He got out only after his real estate broker took back the home and paid off the loan as part of a legal settlement. Renters once again, the family has no plans to buy another home. "Better a garage than live without enough to eat," Mapula's wife, Cristina Plata, said through a translator. The couple are among a growing number of Latinos in Santa Clara County who say they've been victimized by a dark side of the housing boom in which people who speak limited or no English bought home...

Thanks Jeremy. Make sure you listen to the end. Bono preaches about the role of the church with the poor and encourages the African American church to play a role in stopping world poverty.

I really love Hip Hop. I believe in the power of postive and Godly art to change the world. Music is one of my passions - hip hop included. While I love all music, Samuel perfes hip hop and rap over others. Now that he's getting older, I'm always looking for new music for him (and me). The other day I came across two new acts that I'm grooving on right now: Ohmega Watts from NYC and Strange Fruit Project. Check them out.

The other love of my life, that I don't talk about too much in this blog, is motorcycles and motorcycle racing. Jay Springsteen, Harley Davidson racer and former racing idol of mine is back after a crash. Springsteen at Full Speed DAYTONA BEACH -- Jay Springsteen is pretty much a "vintage" type, much like the No. 9 1972 Harley-Davidson he rode Monday and Tuesday in American Historical Racing Motorcycle Association events at Daytona International Speedway. Indeed, the 49-year-old Motorcycle Hall of Famer is even older than a lot of the riders against whom he competes. "Some of them could be my son," Springsteen said. "I'm going to be 50 in April." Generally speaking, the older one gets, the slower bone fractures will heal -- and motorcycle racing generally isn't prone to particularly cushy landings when one is hurled from a seat. Springsteen's recovery rate was taxed nearly to its limits in the aftermath of a serious late-July wreck last yea...

Here are excerpts from a piece in today's San Jose Mercury. ( emphasis in article mine) Schools need to teach basic financial concepts By Assemblyman Ted W. Lieu and John Hope Bryant Every year we graduate millions of high school students who are financially illiterate. Nationwide financial literacy tests administered during the past decade by Jump$tart, a coalition of financial education organizations, show that the average score for a high school senior continues to hover in the low to mid-50 percent range -- a score that equates to an F-minus. These graduates enter the workforce or go to college lacking basic financial survival skills. They do not know how to balance a checkbook, let alone understand the difference between a stock, a bond or a certificate of deposit. They will later become part of the mass of 25- to 34-year- olds who have an average credit-card debt of $4,088, with 1 in 10 owing more than $7,000, and will spend nearly a quarter of their income just on debt p...

Unreleased Jimmy Page Guitar Riff To Be Retrieved From Secret Vault To Save Rock And Roll Calling it the planet's last, best hope for saving rock music, the Guardians of the Protectorate of Rock announced Monday that they would take the extraordinary step of unleashing a never-before-heard Jimmy Page riff, hidden for decades in a mythic, impenetrable vault. The Guardians said recent developments in the music world, such as the unaccountable popularity of the Dixie Chicks and Sufjan Stevens, have created a "perfect storm of lameness" from which rock might never recover. While Iommi refused to say when the vault would be opened, hard rock sources believe it will take place just prior to next month's Fall Out Boy–Honda Civic tour, which many fear will suck the remaining lifeblood from all that still rocks. "Citizens of Rock, we refuse to stand idly by any longer," ZZ Top founder and Protectorate High Elder Billy Gibbons said. "When a (whimp) like James Blu...

Found this off another blog - I forget the name - but I linked to it from Chris Brook's blog. It's a great look at mega churches...

Tearfund.org

Oh man, this is going to create some waves... I need to think about this one... I'll comment later. Let me know your thoughts. Local Nonprofits Taken to Task Push for results is the new benchmark for donors Throughout the field of philanthropy, and perhaps nowhere more so than in Silicon Valley, donors are increasingly demanding evidence of results. "Evaluation of effectiveness has been a growing trend in philanthropy," said Michelle McGurk, a spokeswoman for the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which provided $10,000 for the Feb. 3 march and rally. "And certainly Silicon Valley has been on the cutting edge of return on investment in giving," McGurk said. "They don't look at charitable donations; they look at investments in the community." In East Palo Alto, the face of philanthropy is changing as a result. This year, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which formed on Jan. 1 following the merger of the Peninsula Community Foundation and C...

Out of Ur blog interviews Paul Visher, one of the founders of Veggie Tales about impact and leadership. Paul Says : Near the end we were selling a gazillion [Veggie Tales] videos and I was getting four hundred fan letters a day, but one day I was reading my Bible and I came across the verse that lists the fruit of the Spirit. It occurred to me that none of those things were present in my life. It didn’t say the fruit of the Spirit is impact, large numbers, or selling lots of videos. I realized something was not right. I began asking, how am I supposed to live? I thought I had that figured out, but evidently I was completely wrong. So over three months I went through all of Paul’s letters and wrote down every directive or instructive statement he made. And when I read all of those statements it became clear that the gospel I had was a sham. It was more the gospel of Benjamin Franklin than the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was more about self-improvement, and pulling yourself up by your bo...

Another teenager from our community, Ophylia Mona Lisa Afuha'amango, committed suicide this week. She was friends of Seema Singh and Maikeli Iongi who both died tragically last month. A local young leader put it into descripttive words this week when he said, "Our community is on fire." Most especially, the Pacific Islander community has gone through many trials. Please continue to pray for the youth in East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park. While there are less gunshots and homicides right now, kids are still dying. This is the second suicide of a young person, both hangings, in the last two weeks. The Palo Alto Daily News reports : Students Mourn Classmate At the start of her sophomore year at Menlo-Atherton High School, Ophylia Mona Lisa Afuha'amango wrote a letter to one of her teachers. "Something that I'd like you to know is that I'm striving to get back into AS English next year and hopefully AP Lit my senior year. ... I'm excited for this yea...

Jeremy Del Rio speaking on courage at the Shift conference.

British band... I like them... Beatles, Beach Boys influence... with a indie touch.

Rick Warren recently blogged an excellent article on the church. I've appreciated what he's been saying recently now that he has new perspective about poverty. I've thought a lot about this topic, especially this week with all the local discussion about the violence summit and the role of the church in the summit. As progressive (some would call liberal) my views are, I still believe the the answer to the world's problems is the church and the Gospel. Not to say that we haven't been sidetracked and lose our focus at times. However, I still believe the church is called to be the visible hands and feet of Jesus to the world. Recently CCDA has begun to reiterate that that Christian community development endeavors should be church based. I agree. The is nothing as powerful as a socially active, Bible based congregation that embodies empowerment, reconciliation and living among the poor. This is one of the reasons we involved ourself in church planing a few years back ...

Sharpton's Ancestor Was Owned by Thurmond's "The Rev. Al Sharpton, the prominent civil rights activist, is descended from a slave owned by relatives of the late senator and one-time segregationist Strom Thurmond, a genealogical study released Sunday reported. "It was probably the most shocking thing of my life," Sharpton said of learning the findings, which were requested and published Sunday by the New York Daily News. He called a news conference to respond publicly to the report. "I couldn't describe to you the emotions I have had . . . everything from anger to outrage to reflection to some pride and glory." Sharpton, 52, said he had suspected that his forebears may have been slaves but had never attempted to confirm that or find out any details. "I had never really traced my family history, particularly on my father's side, since my parents separated when I was going on 10 years old," he said. The newfound knowledge that his great-...

Almost made me cry... Please don't let my son see this!