With baby boomers set to retire and a labor shortage looming, cities should start thinking about attracting and retaining college-educated 25- to 34-year-olds, says a new study by CEOs for Cities. Dubbed "The Young and Restless in a Knowledge Economy," the study argues that cities will need young adults because they are the most entrepreneurial, well educated, adaptable, mobile and relatively inexpensive age group. The cities best positioned to draw young adults are the ones with attractive close-in neighborhoods and ethnically diverse populations — young adults are disproportionately located in the center of metro areas and much more diverse than the overall U.S. population, according to statistics cited. The study recommends officials focus on economic development by investing in higher education, vibrant urban neighborhoods and cultural arts, and by promoting initiatives that will help women and minorities achieve their goals. >Link (PDF)
Saturday, April 23, 2005
12 noon - 5 p.m.
Indiana Institute of Technology
Andorfer Commons
1600 E. Washington Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46803
No admission charge
Sample foods from different countries
Enjoy the music and dance of various lands
Contact Zenovia Pearson 427-2625 for additional information
Foundation takes snapshot of new arrivals
By Rick Farrant in The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Fort Wayne and Allen County are among the national leaders in the percentage of certain languages spoken in households, a report released this week by the U.S. English Foundation revealed.
The Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical Area, defined as Allen, Wells and Whitley counties, ranked first among 203 metropolitan areas in the percentage of people speaking Burmese, 10th for those speaking German and 20th for those speaking Serbo-Croatian, said the foundation, which promotes English comprehension and literacy.
Of 3,141 counties studied by the foundation, Allen ranked fifth in the percentage of people speaking Burmese, 13th for those speaking Macedonian and 46th for those speaking Serbo-Croatian.
By far, Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the region behind English, but foundation and local officials say it is the other languages that illustrate the vast linguistic diversity of the Fort Wayne area. Local officials also note that the study was based on an analysis of the 2000 census and the area?s diversity has grown in the past four years.
The trend, perhaps fueled by the Fort Wayne area's accommodating nature, presents both advantages and challenges, local officials say.
"It allows our students to have exposure to students all over the world, and that has got to be a good thing," said Greg Slyford, manager of academic support for Fort Wayne Community Schools. "But it is challenging because of the nature of the demands that are required of a diverse population."
Among those demands is teaching English to students from other countries while at the same time preserving their native languages and cultures.
The process, he and others say, is costly.
Of the roughly 32,000 FWCS students, Slyford said, 3,200 are classified as language minority students, which generally means they have either successfully completed English-as-a-second language courses, are taking them, or have opted to not take them. There are 1,300 FWCS students currently enrolled in ESL classes.
A year ago, about 1,000 FWCS students were enrolled in ESL classes.
The numbers are also growing at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, said Connell Nelson, director of International Student Services.
Although he did not have comparative statistics, he said the university now has more than 150 foreign students attending on study visas and more than 200 non-English speaking immigrants and refugees.
When the foreign students first arrive, he said, many need to take ESL courses to help with their school work and assist them in getting employment so they can support their education.
Hospitals have also had to make adjustments to meet the needs of non-English-speaking people.
In 2001, St. Joseph Hospital contracted with a service called Intrepretphone at the Texas Medical Center in Houston so physicians and nurses locally could communicate with patients speaking languages other than English.
Jernice Watson, director of the St. Joseph Hospital Emergency Department, and Barbara Schoppman, vice president of community and adult services, said interpreters are usually on the line within seconds.
Watson said the number of non-English-speaking patients has doubled in recent years. It used to be that most non-English-speaking patients spoke Spanish, she said, but now the hospital is seeing a rise in Burmese and Laotian speakers.
Fort Wayne's police department is another agency that has taken a step toward removing communication barriers, although public information officer Michael Joyner said the agency is behind the curve.
The department about a year ago purchased an electronic mobile translator. The ultimate goal, Joyner said, is to hire staff members who can speak other languages.
"Our department needs to look like our community," he said, "and we are diligently working toward that eventuality."
Numbers from the U.S. English Foundation and local statistics don't align perfectly. The foundation reported that 43 languages are spoken in the Fort Wayne area. FWCS's Slyford said more than 70 languages are spoken in the schools.
Slyford said the difference might be because of a number of things, such as varying distinctions between a language and a dialect or simply that the number of languages and dialects have grown rapidly.
IPFW's Nelson would agree with the latter. He said the university is seeing a burgeoning number of students from the African nations of Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
Nelson believes the language diversity in the Fort Wayne area stems largely from local residents' propensity to welcome people from other countries.
"What we do to accommodate in terms of services is above and beyond what a lot of cities are doing," he said.
There are also special circumstances that bolster the diversity, and one of those is the long-standing efforts of Catholic Charities to resettle Burmese in Fort Wayne.
Debbie Schmidt, Catholic Charities executive director, isn't sure why Fort Wayne was initially chosen as a Burmese resettlement site in the early 1990s, but the influx has snowballed.
Fort Wayne became better prepared to handle Burmese refugees, she said, leading the federal government to send even more. At the same time, some Burmese living in their native Myanmar began asking to be reunited with relatives already resettled in Fort Wayne.
In the past four years, Schmidt said, 346 Burmese have been resettled in Fort Wayne. She expects 100 more to arrive this year.
Like other local organizations, Catholic Charities provides ESL classes for the people it serves.
And like the other organizations, the emphasis is not on erasing the language and culture of newcomers; it's on adding English to their bank of knowledge.
Schmidt said that despite all the inherent work and cost involved in helping people from other countries feel at home, having a language-diverse community is enriching.
The diversity is reflected in her own agency, where 15 languages are spoken.
"It gives us," she said, "a broad perspective of our world."
Words spoken
This is how the Fort Wayne area is ranked nationally for the percentage of people speaking certain languages in 2000, followed by the percentages and the number of people:
1. Burmese -- 0.11 percent; 410
10. German -- 1.2 percent; 4,200
20. Serbo-Croatian -- 0.13 percent; 480
53. Laotian -- 0.07 percent; 260
54. Greek -- 0.12 percent; 415
80. Hindi -- 0.07 percent; 260
82. English -- 93.3 percent; 336,160
106. Spanish -- 3.3 percent; 11,965
108. French -- 0.4 percent; 1,455
146. Chinese -- 0.11 percent; 400
Source: U.S. English Foundation
October 2 - November 28, 2004
The Fort Wayne Museum of Art in conjunction with Indiana University/Purdue University Fort Wayne Multicultural Services proudly present the exhibition Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos in the upstairs gallery of the Fort Wayne Museum October 2 through November 28, 2004. >Link
The Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank
The entire community is encouraged to read this moving story. The Allen County Public Library is offering opportunities for people to meet at a library or online to discuss the themes of this year's book. The Fort Wayne Jewish Federation, the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, and Cinema Center are also sponsoring and hosting events.
Check ACPL's One Community, One Story web page for book discussions, related web sites, and other local events.
Sponsored by Allen County Public Library Foundation, Friends of the Library, Beers Mallers Backs & Salin LLP, MSKTD & Associates, and WPTA-21 Alive. >Link
When: Wednesday, March 31 -- Register Now
Charles Kincannon, National Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, and Richard Rodriguez, Author and National Humanities Medal Recipient, to speak at the 4th Annual Latinos Count Community Conference
Fort Wayne, Ind.— Charles Kincannon, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, will be one of three keynote speakers addressing the attendees of the 4th Annual Latinos Count Community Conference. The 4th Annual Latinos Count Community Conference will be held Wednesday, March 31, at IPFW’s Walb Student Union (see attached fact sheet).
Kincannon will speak on the Hispanic/Latino Community: “Getting the Stories Straight.” Using the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Mr. Kincannon will discuss the future of America and the role the Hispanic/Latino community will play in shaping our new identity.
The purpose of Latinos Count is to provide a platform to better understand the strengths and needs of the Hispanic/Latino community in Indiana and around the country. The one-day conference initiates conversation regarding the inclusion and advancement of Latinos in today’s society and identifies programs, strategies and frameworks that are useful when working with the Hispanic/Latino community.
Richard Rodriguez, one of America's most respected essayists and a master of the "personal essay," received the National Humanities Medal in 1993. As a journalist, Rodriguez worked for more than two decades for the Pacific News Service in San Francisco; he has also been contributing editor for Harper's magazine and the Sunday Opinion section of the Los Angeles Times. Rodriguez is also known for his works Hunger of Memory and Brown.
Latinos Count 2004 will take place at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), Walb Student Union, 2101 E. Coliseum Blvd. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 31, and the conference will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The registration fee is $40.00. Lunch is not included, but a boxed lunch can be purchased for $10.00. Advance registration is preferred, but individuals may register the day of the event. To register, please call DeSoto Translation & Marketing, at 426-3000, or register online at www.desototm.com.
We'd like to thank last year's sponsors:
IPFW, National City Bank, Comcast, State Farm Insurance, D.O. McComb & Sons, BankOne, General Motors, Wells Fargo, Lincoln Financial Group Foundation, MidWest America Federal Credit Union, United Way, Grabill Bank, Lutheran Health Network, Taylor University, Parkview Health, Republican Party of Allen County, FW Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Scott's, Gladieux Consulting, CANI and OmniSource.
Sponsorship Opportunities Available-Call Now!
From Marketing Intelligence:
Joanna L. Krotz
In case you haven't noticed, every state in America now hosts multicultural communities.
Whether you translate diversity into African-American, Asian-American, disabled, ethnic, female, gay, immigrant, Latino, minority, Native American, seniors, special needs, urban or any other group besides so-called mainstream white male, rainbow demographics are a fact of business life.
This is dramatically spelled out in a recent U.S. Department of Labor report, called "Futurework: Trends and Challenges for Work in the 21st Century":
"By 2050, the U.S. population is expected to increase by 50% and minority groups will make up nearly half of the population. Immigration will account for almost two-thirds of the nation's population growth. The population of older Americans is expected to more than double. One-quarter of all Americans will be of Hispanic origin. Almost one in 10 Americans will be of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. And more women and people with disabilities will be on the job."
What does this mean to you? Any company that wants to stay competitive must come to terms with diversity — inside and outside the organization.
Of course, the legal and moral arguments for diversity are unassailable. Discriminatory hiring practices not only demean the human spirit, they've been against the law for decades. Nonetheless, employers have been notoriously slow to change.
No one thought much about making the business case for diverse employment until reports of the changing workforce and consumer demographics added up to a new math as the table below shows.
United States Race/Ethnicity (2002)
White, Non-Hispanic 195,794,463 68.1%
Black, Non-Hispanic 34,827,233 12.1%
American Indian, Non-Hispanic 2,125,972 0.7%
Asian/Pacific Islander, Non-Hispanic 11,223,569 3.9%
Two or more races - Non-Hispanic 5,588,320 1.9%
Hispanic / Latino 37,980,261 13.2%
At the same time, social and political policies like "minority quotas" and "affirmative action" turned controversial for advocates and critics alike, and even ran afoul of the law, as with university admissions polices.
Nowadays, global corporations are busy recruiting diverse work groups because of profit motives. It's good for business. Small and mid-tier firms would be smart to follow that example.
Here are five key business reasons to hire a diverse staff.
All business is now international. There's no such thing as a local company anymore. "The Internet has influenced all commerce," says Ilene Wasserman at ICW Consulting. "I may be a Mom and Pop shop, but I can't afford a localized or provincial attitude about what we carry and serve."
Every business, whether small-town retailer or international marketer must be savvy about the future generations and how we will trade goods and services across national borders and in multiple languages.
Conflict is a good thing. Small-business owners may hesitate to hire qualified candidates different than themselves or the rest of the staff because of worries about resulting tension. But think about it. New ideas only emerge from friction and need. Innovation only arises out of conflict. Comfort zones are hardly the birthplaces of creativity. Plus, a company's values and culture begin at the top.
"Small businesses often grow up around a founder and lots of family members," says Adrian Savage, president of PNA, an e-business consulting group. "It's hard for outsiders to come into such a cozy environment. You either fit in with them or you don't fit in at all. But that makes the resulting business extremely inflexible." Diverse groups of people, points out Savage, will have better antenna to see opportunities that you will miss.
Small pools run dry. With competition fierce and markets international, why narrow your search for skilled help to shallow areas of the talent pool? "We often hire people because we 'like' them," says attorney Carol Merchasin, national director of training at Seyfarth Shaw, a labor law firm. "And we 'like' them because they look like us." Instead, suggests Merchasin, take away the screen of 'liking.' Focus on precise skills, competencies and experience to do the job you need done.
While you're at it, evaluate your preconceived notions. For example, Joyce Bender runs a 17-year-old technology consulting company, which partners with larger firms to provide employment for people with disabilities.
She often faces the perception that workers with disabilities are "sick" or "absent" a lot. The reality? "I offer a $400 bonus to workers each year who don't miss a day of work. And I can't tell you how many bonuses I've given to employees who haven't missed a day of work in five years. People with disabilities have to overcome obstacles and discrimination. They have to figure out how to get into and out of buildings. They've been in tough situations and it's made them flexible problem solvers. They're really good workers for small businesses."
Diversity drives sales. Nearly 80% of Fortune 500 companies now have some kind of diversity efforts in place, says Fred Miller in his book, "The Inclusion Breakthrough: Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity". Increasingly, government and corporate vendors will contract only with suppliers that can demonstrate "cultural readiness," according to Miller.
"The world is changing," says Miller, who runs the Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group. "If it's not on your doorstep now, it will be soon. You can't wait. Reaction time must be instantaneous."
Stable staffs are cost-effective. Suzanne and James Faustlin purchased their Tucson, Ariz., franchise for the Maids Home Service about five years ago. The business then had 13 employees and $250,000 in revenues, says Suzanne. By 2001, the couple had a staff of 34 people and $750,000 in revenues.
Like many home cleaning services, the staff is all female and more than 50% minority, in this case Hopi Native American and Hispanic. But unlike many such services, the Faustlins play up the cultural differences. "We think it's fun and the uniqueness of the traditions is an advantage," says Suzanne.
Every workday starts with an early potluck breakfast. "We get tamales from different types of corn and Hopi blue marble bread," she says. "We encourage intermingling of the teams. It's a way to deal with the stresses." Suzanne says the staff also celebrates many different holidays.
She credits those management policies with low staff turnover and easier recruitment. "We encourage employees to refer people and we offer a finder's fee." The result: A very stable staff. "We have several family members working together."
Creating an inclusive company culture that values and respects individual difference is likely to yield tangible, bottom-line results. "Nobody can afford a workforce that doesn't contribute its best work," says Miller. "Why settle for a sprint when you can win the marathon?"
The third annual Romanian Festival will be held at the Scottish Rite Auditorium from 2pm to 7pm on Sunday, October 19, 2003.
The festival combines Romanian and Macedonian music, Balkan dance, Romanian food and drink. It is a benefit for child relief programs in Romania and supports St. Mary's parish programs. Tickets are $15. Children 12 and under are free.
Festival organizers expect 1,000 to 1,500 people to attend the festival.
Many participants are descendants of Romanian families that moved to Fort Wayne in the early 1900s.
For more information or tickets contact:
Becky Flesher at 432-5917 or Simon Dragan at 723- 5131
More festival information is available at www.romanianorthdoxchurch.org
by Christopher SwopeIs a gay population an engine of urban revival? Cities are beginning to think so. Link
Posted by Admin at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)
Date: Saturday, September 6, 2003
Time: 12:00 noon - 11:00 pm
Place: Headwaters Park
Cost: FREE 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm, $5.00 admission from 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm, Kids three and under get in freeFiesta Fort Wayne promises to be a celebration of all Hispanic cultures and will include food, music and activities from many nationalities. Link
Join us as we kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with Fiesta Fort Wayne. Continuing and expanding upon the long tradition of Fort Wayne's yearly Hispanic heritage festivals, DeSoto, along with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, El Mexicano Newspaper, Hispanic Leadership Coalition, M.A.Y.A. Unity Center and several other organization, will be presenting music, food, games and other activities.
Fiesta Fort Wayne takes the place of La Gran Fiesta, which previously occurred annually in September.
Fiesta Fort Wayne is in need of 15-20 volunteers to help with the set-up on Friday, September 5th from 3 p.m.-8 p.m. and with the day-of activities on Saturday, September 6th between 10 a.m.- 11:00 p.m.. If you would like to volunteer, please contact me ASAP. Thank you in advance for your help.
Email: Salvador Soto, phone: 260-426-3000, fax: 260-426-3100
Wednesday 7/23 All the Real Girls 6:30, The Shape of Things 8:30. Thursday 7/24 All the Real Girls 6:30, The Shape of Things 8:30 (Last Shows for Both Films)
L’Auberge Espagnole
“Two thumbs up!” Ebert & Roeper "Director Cedric Klapisch lets Xavier's year abroad unfold with the right wandering touch of pleasure, nostalgia and wistful exploration.” Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly "A love letter to the erotic pleasure of Barcelona” David Denby, The New Yorker. “Blissfully funny, terrifically intelligent and tender when you least expect it to be." Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal. 122 min., Rated R.
Friday at 6:15 & 8:30PM, Saturday at 6:15PM & 8:30PM, Sunday at 2:00 & 4:15PM, Monday at 7PM, Tuesday at 7PM, Wednesday at 7PM, Thursday at 7PM
L’Auberge Espagnole
L’Auberge Espagnole is being presented as part of our Lesbian Gay Film Series Cedric Klapisch takes the old cliches of culture clash, college roommate chaos and a young adult's education outside the confines of the classroom and turns them into a vision of the new European Union as communal household. We open with Parisian economics major Xavier (Romain Duris) running like a rat in a bureaucratic maze. Klapisch plays it for cutesy laughs, a zippy time-lapse slapstick, but this is the world Xavier has created for himself. The play-it-safe student with the carefully ordered life is headed straight for a corporate future. He'd just as soon stay comfortably on home soil, but on the advice of a finance professional he takes a year of study in Barcelona to learn the language and the economy. He has no idea of the education that awaits him. Klapisch is less concerned with the big life lessons in Xavier's first year of independence than the ease at which he most unexpectedly finds himself. After crashing on the couch of a couple of French newlyweds -- a garrulous brain surgeon and his elegant but so-poised-she's-petrified wife Anne-Sophie (Judith Godreche, who moves as if she's made of glass) -- he interviews for a spot in a dumpy apartment filled with attractive, ebullient, comfortably co-existing college kids from all over Europe. The chaotic, crazy household is the opposite of everything he's ever lived, and he loves it. Where so many odd-couple-type movies make a big deal about overcoming differences, this community finds its balance with an easy effortlessness. It's only when sour notes sound -- Xavier's equally well-ordered girlfriend (Audrey Tautou), who finds it "a major drag," and a boorish visiting Brit who apparently learned cultural sensitivity from Monty Python -- that the harmonies become apparent. Klapisch doesn't make a big deal of any of it. As in his breakthrough film "When the Cat's Away," his strength lies in his warm portraits of community and family relations and the quiet insights of his characters. Xavier's odyssey is really a journey to a person he never knew he was. 122 minutes, Rated R.
Coming Soon: Spellbound
Opens Friday, August 1st One of the best "sports" documentaries of the year, "Spellbound" follows eight young people as they race towards the top--and only--prize in the world's toughest, most unforgiving challenge--the National Spelling Bee. Spelling is, in its quaint and uniquely American way, the great equalizer--if you can spell, nothing else matters. By the same token, it is the only competition with absolutely no second chances--one misspelled word anywhere along the way, and you are gone. From Emily, hailing from the pampered suburbs of Connecticut, to Ashley, child of the projects in D.C.; from Ted, born of a poor farm family in Missouri, to Harry, the lovable spaz from New Jersey, all eight youngsters are drawn from the diversity of this country--with an assortment of anxious parents as well. It's a true cross-section of America rarely captured so well in film. Each of the children is given screen time enough to impress us, not just with their talent but with their personalities. In addition, a parade of interesting side characters--from the faithful teacher-mentor to past champions--flesh out the straightforward story of pressure and the razor-thin margin between triumph and failure. The timelessness of this tale and the skill and love evident in its making rank "Spellbound" as a classic. As the finals wear on and contestants start to fall, the audience's hearts will be in their throats. The contest is intense and merciless, and we feel the pressure right alongside the parents. Expect a few tears shed at the emotionally cathartic finale. This is a documentary that will involve you, these are kids you will love, this is a picture of America at its most American. It's a powerful reminder that our future is in our children--and that the kids are all right. “Two thumbs up!”--Ebert & Roeper. “Irresistible!”--Los Angeles Times. “Wonderful!”-- Entertainment Weekly. “A work of art! More suspenseful than any Hollywood thriller.”--The New York Times. 97 min., Rated G.
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Source: Cinema Center Listserv
When: July 26, *noon to 5 pm* (UPDATED from previous info)
Where: Parking lot of Trinity Lutheran Church, 7819 Decatur Road
What: These will be foods prepared by cooks of various African countries. Have a multi-cultural epicurean experience.
For more information, phone Rev. John Loum, 260-705-2734.
June 7, 2003
One Summit Square, Downtown Fort Wayne at Wayne and Calhoun
FREE!!
Come Downtown to DIDFest and celebrate the arts with performances on stage all day, and FREE evening entertainment from the Fort Wayne arts community, including: the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Fort Wayne Ballet, Embassy Theatre, Cinema Center, New Millennium Jazz Orchestra, and more!
While you are there, enjoy hands-on family activities at KidDID and visit some of Fort Wayne’s favorite restaurants at Taste of the Town. Click for more info and a schedule
"Unifying the Community"
When: Saturday, April 26, 2003, Noon - 5pm
Where: South Side High School, 3601 S. Clinton St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802
- No admission charge
- Sample foods from different countries
- Learn about the culture and customs of others
- Enjoy the music and dance of various lands
- Contact Zenovia Pearson 260-427-2625 for additional information
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Sponsored by the City of Fort Wayne and Towr Bank with representatives from over 20 countries that have chosen Fort Wayne as their new home!
The Fort Wayne Women's Bureau presents the International Women's Club
Thursday, April 24 : Lucy Narvaez, "A Woman's Life in Mexico"
Thursday, May 29 : Hedayah Samavati, "A Women's Life in Iran"
Future meetings to feature "A Woman's Life":
India China Israel Sri Lanka Bolivia and Peru
All meetings are from 6 to 8 pm at the Fort Wayne Women's Bureau, 3521 Lake Ave., (260-424-7977) (Located in the Professional Plaza at the corner of Lake & Laverne, across from the Catholic cemetery, mid-way between Coliseum and Hobson)
Join other women the last Thursday of the month to share cultural information and make new friends. This event is free and open to the public. Free-will donations will be accepted.
For more information, Please call Fina Beck (260) 427-7072 or Kathy Clark (260) 373-1999
by Matthew A. Doss, Esq.
I applaud the efforts of the many persons who had the vision to bring Dr. Florida to Fort Wayne. I was reassured by his comments that Fort Wayne can, once again, become an economic and cultural leader of the midwest. I was also reassured of my choice to return from a Chicago Law School with a goal to challenge the status quo, to identify and overcome obstacles to create a more successful city and to enhance our postive aspects to ensure economic vibrance.
Dr. Florida used Austin, Texas as a model of a city influenced by it's "Creative Class". I served as an Infantryman in the Army at Fort Hood, Texas which was located just 50 minutes North of Austin. If you were young and wanted to be a part of vibrant community, Austin was the place to go! I believe Fort Wayne can be too. We honestly have the fundamentals and we must capture them before they depart.
At his speech, I had suggested that his creative class approach had many similarities as the "Smart Growth" development approach. In fact, Smart Growth can be one of the many tools to make Fort Wayne the kind of community that our brightest and most talented creative minds would want to reside.
As a current member of the Executive Committee of the NAACP I have come to realize that our community is in trouble:
Economically,
Culturally, and
Politically
The answer is not to weaken our city by continuing this current direction or lack thereof. More importantly, the answer is also not to weaken the diversity that we share in this city.
The answer is to strengthen it with a change in thought and to celebrate our ethnic and cultural mixture through progressive restructuring of our small business development plans.