NorCalUrban

Left San Jose for Miami yesterday for the  CCDA board meeting and conference. 7:30 AM flight, the sky was beautiful as we took off. After a long delay in Chicago I arrived at the hotel at 9:30 pm. On Wednesday lots of EPA folks arrive. Jenni and Gil from our office at NCUD, Joe, Linda and Phil from Community Trust Credit Union, Heather from FYBY, and Rolando and Amy from BCM. I'm looking forward to hanging with all the EPA folks in Miami. I'll post updates as often as I can throughout the week.  If you're coming to the conference please don't miss the specific 'emerging' CCDA leader's track that I've been organizing. Heather and I are also doing a workshop on leadership transition on Thursday. I'm also leading a panel discussion on Thursday at lunch. Here's some details: - Emerging Leader Panel: CCD and Shalom as Implemented by the Next Generation of CCDA Leadership - Thursday, 11:45am - 12:45pm - When the Sand Shifts: Personal Leadership Tr...

No, not Sargent Pepper, but 20 years ago today Melissa and I were married!  It was a long time ago. We were young, idealistic and in love. Looking back, I wouldn't change that decision for the world! However, looking at the picture maybe I should have cut out a cheeseburger or two;)  I've been reflecting on this great milestone and how we got here. As ususal, music connects with me and my feelings. There are two songs that put my feelings into words.  Fred Hammond's "Lord Your Grace" and Dylan's "Covenant Woman".   (No video for Dylan, bummer.) In many ways it's only due to the grace of God and our commitment (and in many way's Melissa's patience) that we're still together. I give all honor to my Lord and Savior.  Melissa, I love you. Let's go for 20 more!  Covenant Woman - Bob Dylan Covenant woman got a contract with the Lord Way up yonder, great will be her reward. Covenant woman, shining like a morning star, I know I can trust...

Dylan Just released a new bootleg record called "Tell Tale Signs" and Oasis just released "Dig Out Your Soul". - great stuff! Just in time for the trip to the CCDA conference. New Ryan Adams in a few weeks!  New records, one reason to love the fall!

A recent AP / Yahoo / Stanford University poll says it may. USA Today reports: WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks. The poll, conducted with Stanford University, suggests that the percentage of voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004 — about 2.5 percentage points. Statistical models derived from the poll suggest that Obama's support would be as much as 6 percentage points higher if there were no white racial prejudice. But in an election without precedent, it's hard to know if such models take into account all the possible factors at play. What do you think? Is race an issue in this election? Is the US ready for an African American president?

Yesterday I listened to an excellent episode of the PBS show 'This American Life". In layman's terms they described the current major concerns (mortgage meltdown, commercial paper, credit default swaps) and discussed the pros and cons of the bailout. This was VERY helpful to me as I've been trying to understand the current pickle we're in. I encourage you to listen. You can find it here or on itunes. The episode is called "Another Frightening Show About the Economy". They also recommend the "Planet Money" podcast which gives a day to day recap on what's happening. You can find it here or also on itunes.

This morning I read a great San Francisco Chronicle editorial by Robert Reich on economic policy focused on the middle and lower class. The article states:  "Bailout or no bailout, we're heading into deep recession. One of the first initiatives that Congress and the next administration will need to take will be an economic stimulus package. But not even this will remedy the underlying problem: The earnings of most Americans haven't kept up with the cost of living. That means there's not enough purchasing power to keep the economy going. Adjusted for inflation, the incomes of nongovernment workers are lower today than in 2000. They're barely higher than they were in the mid-1970s. The income of a man in his 30s is now 12 percent below that of a man his age three decades ago. The long-term answer is for America to invest in the productivity of our working people - enabling families to afford health insurance and have access to good schools and higher education, whil...

OK - so I'm just going to say it. I'm supporting Obama this year. I certainly have issues with each candidate's platform, but in the end I believe that Obama is better suited for the job, especially at this point in our nation's history.  My friend Stewart Hyland sent this to me that was a striking comparison of the candidates backgrounds. I felt that it underscored why I'm supporting Barak. I've heard some of my more conservative friends question Barak's qualifications and touted McCain's. This directly addresses those concerns and asks whether Obama is being discounted because of his race. Perhaps that is going to far, but It's still an interesting comparison.  What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review? What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class? What if Obama were a member of the Keating Five? What if McCain were a charismatic, eloquent speaker? What if McCain were still married to the f...

See the entire article at  Christianity Today. Imagine that we elected all the right people to all the right offices—President, congress, governors, right down to school board, city council members, and dog catcher (is that still an office anyone gets to vote for?). Let's imagine that all these ideal office holders instituted all the right policies. Let's imagine that we got all the propositions right. (In California, we vote on lengthy and complicated propositions for everything you can imagine. Nobody understands them all.) Every piece of legislation—from zoning laws to tax codes to immigration policy to crime bills—is just exactly the way you know it ought to be. Would that usher in the kingdom of God? Would the hearts of the parents be turned toward their children? Would all marriages be models of faithful love? Would greed and pride be legislated out of existence? Would assistant pastors find senior pastors to be models of harmony and delight? Would human beings now at las...

Out to a homicide tonight. Pastor Bains went. He and I are police chaplains. Pastor knew the family. How can there be so much violence in 2.5 square miles? Sure, EPA is much better than years before - but we still need Jesus. Posted with LifeCast

I'm sitting at home watching the last game at old Yankee Stadium. They hosted a wonderful pre-game ceremony where many of the living Yankee greats came out including Yogi and Whitey Ford, as well as the families of Babe Ruth and others. The Yankees do a great job of honoring the past players.  The New York Daily News has a great photo set of the day's events. I'm so glad Samuel and I took the time this year to return to the Stadium for a couple of games. We returned to NYC and attended two games, one with our friend Jeremy and his son Judah.   Also, a few years ago when I was traveling for work Sam came with me and we squeezed in a tour of the stadium (it was winter, so no games were being played). Sam and I got to see the press box, club house, dugout, walked around the field and monument park. While in the clubhouse we saw the lockers of DiMaggio, Ruth, Jeter and the forever empty locker of Thurman Munson. When the guide turned his back Sam snuck a feel of Jeter's je...

CCDA board member Bob Lupton from FCS Urban Ministries in Atlanta regularly emails and posts an article called Urban Perspectives where Bob share insights from his work in the South. Bob has been very much leading the conversation around 'gentrification with justice' and empowerment. Today he sent out an article that relates very well to the redevelopment conversation going on in East Palo Alto and like communities. The underlying question is, "How do we reconcile redevelopment with the needs of the poor?"  Thanks for your insights, Bob. Here is Bob's thoughts ( emphasis mine ): “This city has a definite anti-church bias,” the pastor declared, leaning forward across his cup of steaming Chinese tea, brow furrowed with frustration. At every turn he had faced city resistance to his church’s plan to build a worship-community center on the five acre site they owned free and clear. Zoning hurdles, city planning department stonewalling, uncooperative building depa...

They Yankees, geez. What a horrible season evidenced by my lack of attention to them on this blog. I'm just plain frustrated by the Yankees. We'll - at least I can still count the 26 championships. By Jeter - what a ball player. The New York Post reports: The Yankees captain tied Lou Gehrig for the most hits all-time at Yankee Stadium, with his third hit of the day - and 1,269th at the House that Ruth Built - a home run over the right field wall to lead off the fifth inning of the Bombers' 8-4 victory over the Rays. "Jeter is chasing the ghost, and he's chasing it very well," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "I'm happy that I don't have to see him again this year." The home run was part of Jeter's third straight three-hit game and the highlight of the Yankees' second straight victory over the AL East-leading Rays. Jeter singled and doubled in his first two at-bats, then delivered his celebratory blast in the fifth off Rays phenom D...

Check this out. This is something that  Jeremy Del Rio  has been spearheading in NYC. I'm praying that this idea will take hold in Nor Cal. If you think you have an interest in 20/20 - please contact Jeremy or I...

I've learned a lot from  Guy Kawasaki over the years. His book, 'The Art of the Start" taught me much about starting things, raising money and making presentations. He recently did a blog post that contrasts two types of approaches to venture capital. One is with up front money is one is raising money after a product is brought to market. You can read his thoughts on 'Plan B' fundraising here. To me there are many parallels to the non profit sector. Many of us think 'money first, programs after.' We like to project what we feel will be the best case scenarios, articulate the community need are then try to build the capacity around the idea. In my career I've started things only to find the need was not what I expected it to be, and had to go back to donors or stakeholders and explain what happened. That's not too fun. Staffing in non profit work is as or more important than in the for profit world because of the relationship factor. Staffing is als...

Here is an important editorial in the New York Times called "The Great Seduction by David Brooks. You can read the original post here.   Thanks to Dr. Amy Sherman from Ele:Vate for the head's up. The people who created this country built a moral structure around money. The Puritan legacy inhibited luxury and self-indulgence. Benjamin Franklin spread a practical gospel that emphasized hard work, temperance and frugality. Millions of parents, preachers, newspaper editors and teachers expounded the message. The result was quite remarkable. The United States has been an affluent nation since its founding. But the country was, by and large, not corrupted by wealth. For centuries, it remained industrious, ambitious and frugal. Over the past 30 years, much of that has been shredded. The social norms and institutions that encouraged frugality and spending what you earn have been undermined. The institutions that encourage debt and living for the moment have been strengthened. The co...

Labor Day weekend... Thank God for you!  We really needed the three day weekend. While the weekend before we moved into our new place, we still had a bunch of junk in the old one. We spent the weekend clearing out the old apartment, and continuing to work through the boxes and set up our new house. When we left Modesto we down sized a three bedroom small house to a tiny apartment. We got rid of much of our furniture. Now we're having to upsize into a new place, so we're begging, borrowing and stealing as much furniture as we can. Melissa's friend Karen was headed to a missions stint in Russia and she long term lent us a bunch of nice stuff. Phil and Jen were getting rid of some couches and the chair I'm sitting on right now, so thanks to them we have a living room. We found a very nice 'scratch and dent' dining room table a Sears, so we outfitted them with four chairs from Ikea. So - other than some odds and ends, we're set. We also have rented our upstairs ...

I'm sitting in my office listening to the Democratic National Convention. Whatever the politics, I think it's truly amazing that today, 45 years to the day after MLK's "I Have A Dream Speech" we now have our first African American major party presidential candidate. In a big way, 'the Dream' is being fulfilled.  I cannot help but stop and recognize the significance of this event. It really brings hope to many of the people I love and serve. 

My coworker Jenni Ingram (aka 'Reflections of Reality) recently blogged about her job at Northern California Urban Development (NCUD). See her blog here. We've recently been blessed to bring on two new staffers. Gilbert Chaidez came on as a program developer to work with the development of our youth programs. He was funded through a generous grant from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. As Jenni mentions in her blog, she was doing double duty as admin support and Youth Program Manager. Through her leadership our programs have grown so much we were able to bring Cynthia Ruiz on as admin support. This frees Jenni to focus her attention on the youth programs. Jenni's blog has a great update on what we're doing. Check it out!  I've known Cynthia for many years through my time at  BCM. She's a wonderful young leader who has grown up in East Palo Alto. We're blessed to have both Gil and Cynthia on our team. You can see more about them on our website here...

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