As you know, if you’ve been following Baltimore Rising, we’re doing our best to encourage all-inclusive economic development that will, sooner rather than later, dramatically reduce unemployment and poverty in the City of Baltimore. That’s still our objective, but we all know that the fortunes of great cities like Baltimore are not independent of their surrounding, suburban economies. Like it or not, no major city or county stands alone. We’re all in this mess together.
Why you should vote against yet another increase in the minimum wage.
You would think that, given Baltimore Rising’s focus on jobs creation through all-inclusive economic growth that eliminates poverty, we would be huge fans of an increase in the minimum wage. Well, you’d be wrong.
By state law, the minimum wage in Maryland is $8.25 per hour. On July 1, it’s rising to $8.75, then to $9.25 on July 1, 2017 and to $10.10 on July 1, 2018.
JOB$ Creative Financing…
…It’s the big reason why you should talk to Baltimore Rising about getting the money you need to grow your business.
By “your business,” we’re talking about the one you want to locate in Baltimore’s neighborhoods that are what we like to call “Opportunity’s New Frontier.” Click here to see a printable list of the neighborhoods we’re talking about.
Baltimore City New Car Dealers
Hey. As you know from other articles we’ve published, literally thousands of Baltimore’s unemployed and under-employed people could find jobs – good jobs – if only they had affordable transportation to get to work. Unfortunately, bus and rail transportation are not sufficient for many people living in Baltimore to get to jobs at a distance inside the city and certainly not in the suburbs.
Where would you put a new car dealership in Baltimore?
We need to help people get to work, literally.
There are thousands of available jobs throughout the greater metropolitan area that unemployed people in the city can’t take without the personal transportation they need to get to work. They don’t own a car and can’t qualify prospectively for the financing they can afford now that they are working. (Credit approval for new car purchases is a retrospective process based on your credit history – and that’s something we need to change.) Commuting into the suburbs by bus and/or rail isn’t an option. Buying an older used car, without a long-term warranty, is an expensive and ill-advised alternative. Many unemployed people need an affordable new car – or late model used car, just 2 or 3 years old, protected by a manufacturer’s or franchise dealer warranty.
JOB$ Map of Neighborhood Unemployment Rates
Thanks to the exceptional work of the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, we can now show you a map of Baltimore neighborhood unemployment rates. It’s at the bottom of this post. Neighborhoods with unemployment rates of 10% or higher qualify for our JOB$ Employer Funding Service.
To Lobby Or Not To Lobby For Maryland Election Reform
With the primary behind us… Well, not exactly. The Maryland State Board of Elections has still not published data for provisional votes or the second round of absentee ballots. Presumably it will before the winners are formally certified on Friday. But okay, with the primary almost behind us and the general election just six months ahead, we can’t be the only ones thinking that our election process could stand improvement.
JOB$: Which neighborhoods qualify?
Over the weekend, we published our new flier for “JOB$, The Employer Funding Program From Baltimore Rising.” The purpose of the program is to help employers obtain bank financing for $100,000 to $10 million that they need to relocate or expand inside Baltimore neighborhoods that are struggling.
JOB$ – The Employer Funding Service from Baltimore Rising
Hey. We have an exciting program to tell you about. Just click on the link below to see the flier. And then, if you’re interested – and you will be – come back to fill out our form.
Thanks. Don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions. And please, if you’re not personally interested, help us spread the word.
Now what? (Results revised to include final count.)
Note: The original text of this piece has been updated to reflect the final count published by the Maryland State Board of Elections on Friday evening, May 6, 2016.
First of all, our sincere and enthusiastic congratulations to Democratic Nominee for Mayor Catherine Pugh. Senator, soon to be Mayor Pugh has worked long and hard over a noteworthy career of public service. Hers is a well-deserved victory. We wish her luck and can only hope that she lives up to her potential and to the promise of her candidacy. …One more comment about Ms. Pugh in a moment.
The Last Reason To Vote
Waiting to vote., A small price to pay to assert control over our city government.
By now, candidates, your mother, friends – who seriously believe that their participation in the election makes them superior – and others have given you the standard reasons why you should vote. Let’s review them briefly…
A Tale Of Two Candidates
Hi. A lot has been said of late about the costs of running for Mayor and about two candidates in particular. One is self-made millionaire venture capitalist David Warnock. The other is a government employee, attorney Elizabeth Embry. Mr. Warnock is wealthy. Ms. Embry is not.