Leadership

WOW!  What a difference a month can make, eh?  Last time we spoke the mayor was still the mayor and now he is a candidate to be one heartbeat away from the Governorship!  Although this is great news for Mayor Duffy, Rochester and the upstate region, the bigger question is what does it mean for the future of our city?  From my humble perspective, the next mayor needs to do and be the following type of individual:  focus on poverty, continue with economic development of downtown Rochester and beyond, focus on jobs, be very familiar with all neighborhood needs, be a unifier, be open to new ideas, be creative and be independent, amongst other things.  These are some interesting times we're living in.  I truly believe that Rochester will rise up and respond to the challenge!

Community Conversation:

As stated in my last message, I am truly excited about the potential for a community-wide dialogue on those issues which most afflict us.  This forum will be called the World Café and will kick off the initial dialogue at the end of June '10.  This is NOT a one-time media event.  We intend to dialogue AND act until substantive change is made!  In connection to the World Café, we sent out a survey to 19^th Warders to better understand your needs.  We we're very pleased with the number of responses!  We are currently compiling your responses and will give you the results as soon as possible.

Old 7/11

The plans of real estate developer Mohammed Selah appear to be moving forward.  As he mentioned when he attended our delegates meeting in April, he plans to build a "7/11 style" convenience store which meets the high standards of our community.  Is there a chance that he may falter?  Of course there is.  But there is a BETTER chance that, with the communities watchful eye, he, and thus we, can be very successful.  We must live the clichés that we love to speak, i.e., am I my brothers keeper..., it takes a village..., etc.  Thus, after much thought and deliberation I can definitively say that I support Mr. Selah's real estate endeavor and will do whatever's necessary to serve as the head "watchdog" to ensure that Mr. Selah is meeting the community's standards.

Spelling Bee

I couldn't remember if I wrote about this last month, however, since I am so excited about it I don't mind repeating myself!  As you know, from day one I've been speaking about how I'd like to create a Ward wide spelling bee.  Well, I'm happy to report that we had our first prototype spelling bee on Friday April 30 at School 16.  It was a smashing success!  The kids were hyped, the teachers were amped, and the parents were overjoyed!  The tentative dates for the preliminary rounds of the official Bee are around the third/fourth week of November '10 with the finals being near the last week of February '11.  But before we get there we need YOU, the community, to help by volunteering your valuable time to help the kids with their preparation.  This "BEEs in Training" series will begin the second week of September and continue through the finals.  Please be on the lookout for more information!

Conclusion:

I wish that all of you have a wonderfully safe, peaceful and relaxing summer!!!  As Update 19 is on hiatus for until August I will not be speaking with you for some time.  However, I do urge you to continue check with our website, 19wca.org, check out Location 19, and look for announcements in your regular email over the summer so as to keep abreast of the most timely updates in the 19^th Ward and beyond.  Enjoy!

God Bless,

JB