Let's Get Honest! Absolutely Uncommon Analysis of Family & Conciliation Courts' Operations, Practices, & History

I have been looking** at the Port Authority of NY/NJ (some articles, some self-description, some considerations) and among those articles — this was also a basic search result — the article recommending splitting it up between the two states, by the organization “NEXT CITY.”

The history of this Philadelphia-based New York Legal Domicile (?) organization “Next City, Inc.”) reporting on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey shows why the coordinated tax-exempt foundations must NEED the smaller, or desperate (unable to make ends meet without sponsorship) 501©3s to conceal the handover of control to those who had it all along from previous decades of corporate monopolies, wealth storage, and with the financial clout, that political influence, too.

** “..have been looking” here means in August/September, 2016.  

The following post was fully written in 2016 as you see below (except this update in this background-color) but, through my oversight, was not published until now, 2019.  

It’s a lot of work to remain in draft, and I see no good reason not to post it now, although this is not my main project. [See Footnote “Update 2019” “Not my main Project” at bottom of this post] This type of content remains rarely covered on social media, still, although it’s basic, critical information for the public to become aware of. Especially in the United States.

This is in part about publishers and small (like this) publishing nonprofits backed by some of the billion-dollar tax-exempt foundations, most of whose names most readers will I hope recognize, in deciding how cities should look and be run, and keeping this information close to the top of people’s consciousness.

Along with the multi-national corporations which tend to have such billion-dollar tax exempts (even if owned and legally domiciled in the US), the focus is keeping the workers in the cities, globalization, and controlling the infrastructure and workforce OF those cities.

How I discovered the “still in draft” oversight” From Twitter point of reference (MarketUrbanizationReport.com, #Yimby) citing a “CityLab.com” article, looking for my older posts on Detroit’s “Creative Corridor Center” (“Detroitc3.com, UNESCO Cities, etc.) recently (2019). I also have a continuing interest in the erosion of political jurisdiction (State/Federal/National especially), private organizations taking over planning of government operations, and, with this, the progressive undermining of representative government — and accountability for tax receipts — when tax-exempts aggressively coordinate to take over basic infrastructures and what to do with them.

ESPECIALLY when it comes to planning and in urban areas, where I have spent much of my adult working life, married and had children, and through lack of basic representative government, had a profession destroyed needlessly and am now (2019) a senior, still seeking to establish a personal safety zone (including housing) long enough to get back to the work life or A work life after my participating profession (perfectly viable, even post-separation from domestic violence, and 100% legal) was destroyed (now) a decade ago, that is (in my case) by about 2008, despite all efforts to prevent this from happening.

ALL nonprofits are reliable upon and basically more accountable to their funders than those they “serve.”  As such, it seems the only recourse if one’s particular concerns are NOT being addressed (see previous paragraph) is to go create another nonprofit and compete for funding.  Certainly legal and governmental systems aren’t particularly big on listening to individuals about mass violations of basic legal and civil rights..

Two of them, from Fall, 2016:  http://wp.me/psBXH-4Ie and http://wp.me/psBXH-4hX (Links are case-sensitive after the “wp.me/” )

Specifics change with time, but this post illustrates basic, ongoing principles and visuals (including of those billion-dollar backing tax-exempt foundations).  The only update is posting the subject organization’s later tax returns (FYE 2014-2016, versus 2012-2014 on the original) and adding the usual “Post Title with Shortlink” formula I made standard practice, apparently, later on in this blog. Some links or graphics may have expired; however, plenty remain. Read with nearby (Sept/Oct. 2016) blog posts for better understanding!

Post Title and Shortlink: How 501©3 “The Next American City,” with help from at least Five BIG Foundations, lost its “American,” while Devastated Detroit’s DESIGN is Anointed by UNESCO (Written Sept. 2016, but Published Mar. 2019). (short-link ends “-4iT” and this post is about 8,600 words)

Filename: “LGH FCM NewPost|NEXTCITY’org EIN#223886351 (2002ff, NY org with Phillie address) FY2014 Form 990, Line 4a “Program Service Accomplishmts” is MissionStatemt, so Line4a “WhatU Did” Q DODGED on IRS Form ~~ SShot 2019Mar04 PST @ 2.46.22 PM”
Next City buries its only TWO (2) program service ACTIVITIES (not “ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR EACH OF ITS 3 LARGEST PROGRAM SERVICES (i.e., tax-exempt function-related activities) AFTER 3 lines of prose about its mission and vision, then fails to break out corresponding expenses (out of the $1.1M shown) for each!
What a cop-out!

Read this next annotated image (from page 2 of an IRS Form 990 2014 tax return the full page where organizations are supposed to break out DETAILS in what they are, in fact, doing as tax-exempts (Line 1 Mission, Line 4 Program Service Accomplishments) not only shows what it does, but how it tells the IRS what it does. I see this a lot on Form 990s, BUT it’s still disregarding the key instructions on the page — and withholding this information from any public who might be curious about it.Link to five years of “NEXT CITY” tax returns (minus my comments) in two tables right below.  Click on organization name for any year to read its whole tax return for that year.

UPDATED “Last Three Tax Returns”(note, not ‘up to date’ from this source at least; I’m writing in early 2019, so FYE 2017 should show by now).

Total results: 3. Search Again.

And as shown in the post below, these are its FYE 2012-2013 (click on any organization name through to the related tax return).  Not a very large entity, obviously.

(“See also…FORD, ROCKEFELLER, SURDNA, KNIGHT, and JOHN D. & CATHERINE T. MacARTHUR FOUNDATIONS, BACKERS”)

Cover photo as viewed 9/6/2016 (lead story 9/5).  Motto at top:  “Inspiring Better Cities” – appeal at bottom: “Support Independent Journalism for Stronger Cities” next to a “Donate” button.

NextCity.org story “How Voting Laws Squelch Urban America’s Vote”  “Millions have been denied the right to cast a ballot after getting out of prison, but now they’re organizing a return to the polls.”  Photo William Widner; Story Katie Reckdahl. 

From That Article, and mainly for a sense of the writing and focus of the journal:

Disproportionately concentrated in the country’s urban centers, America’s disenfranchised felons number 5.85 million, according to a report from The Sentencing Project. But a burgeoning get-back-the-vote movement is gaining strength, with ex-offenders like Finney and Johnston at its center. …

In a handful of states with the most draconian laws that permanently disenfranchise felons, more than 7 percent of the adult population is disenfranchised, according to a 2012 Sentencing Project study. …..

A recent, preliminary ZIP code analysis by the advocacy group Voice of the Ex-Offender, or VOTE,## found that in some New Orleans neighborhoods, the proportion of voters disenfranchised was well into the double digits.

## That link is simply to the organization’s website, not any particular study.  However, this nonprofit it says was formed in 2003, and like “The Sentencing Project,” an assembly of powerfully-connected (and more than) Board of Directors (including one Retired Judge) (expressed in almost invisible ink font, I wonder why…) and showing signs of foundation backing among some of them, also.  Use that link to get to History Page.

And for tight-knit urban communities, disenfranchisement hits close to home, says Cory McCray, the Baltimore legislator who pushed Maryland’s voting rights restoration bill. “These people are our families,” McCray, a Democrat, told the Baltimore Sun. “They’re our friends, our neighbors. They have kids who go to our schools and they shop in our grocery stores.”

That link was a 2015 article in Baltimore.  The rest of this “feature-length” article is hovering between some footnoted (but mostly not) information regarding New Orleans, and more paragraphs, some very long ones, promoting Christopher Uggen and Jeff Manza’s work (see below), with two more links dating back to 2003, ‘ASA News.’   Christopher Uggen’s work has a sponsor., the first link’s pdf (not mentioned in the article) admits.  More of the article then quotes the Executive Director (of The Sentencing Project) “Maurer,” and after a long page of this, I get the sense I am either dealing with an ad disguised as an article — or a very young writer.

After a second link to “The Sentencing Project” from this NEXTCITY.org Summer 2016 article quoting Summer 2012 report on a 2010 survey or study, I’m wondering about the in-common funders, possibly, involved here.  The pdf linked to the second quote from “The Sentencing Project Study” at NEXT CITY’s article, above (which starts out, however, featuring an man in Lousiana):

State-Level Estimates of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States, 2010

Christopher Uggen** and Sarah Shannon, University of Minnesota

Jeff Manza, New York University July 2012

A remarkable 5.85 million Americans are forbidden to vote because of felony disenfranchisement, or laws restricting voting rights for those convicted of felony-level crimes. The number of disenfranchised individuals has increased dramatically along with the rise in criminal justice populations in recent decades, rising from an estimated 1.17 million in 1976 to 5.85 million today

**Look at the references (after about 18 double-spaced pages with tables) for this short report.  Majority are by Christpher Uggen, with others.  Lastly, a disclaimer:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT  Uggen is currently supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Health Investigator Awards Program.

Up front, helping produce the report (? how — the above writers don’t appear to be “The Sentencing Project Staff, at least not now) were these foundations, which support “The Sentencing Project” itself.  This is Acknowledgments page, which tells us that two out of three authors were sociology professors, and the third, a PhD Candidate (in sociology also?):

This report was written by Christopher Uggen, Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota; Sarah Shannon, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Minnesota; and Jeff Manza, Professor of Sociology at New York University.

The Sentencing Project is a national non-profit organization engaged in research and advocacy on criminal justice issues.

The work of The Sentencing Project is supported by many individual donors and contributions from the following:

Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation
Ford Foundation
Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation
General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church

JK Irwin Foundation

Open Society Foundations
Public Welfare Foundation
David Rockefeller Fund
Elizabeth B. and Arthur E. Roswell Foundation
Tikva Grassroots Empowerment Fund of Tides Foundation

Wallace Global Fund

Working Assets/CREDO

Copyright @ 2012 by The Sentencing Project. Reproduction of this document in full or in part, and in print or electronic format, only by permission of The Sentencing Project [bolding, mine.  Irregular spacing — complain to WordPress/LGH]

(See Fair Copyright Use notice at bottom right of this blog):

Here, “The Sentencing Project” links to another nonprofit, this one in Washington, D.C., similar very large font “in your face” descriptions, solicitation — and of course a logo.  It’s also a 501©3.

The Sentencing Project is a leader in changing the way Americans think about crime and punishment.

Founded in 1986, The Sentencing Project works for a fair and effective U.S. criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration.

Our work includes the publication of groundbreaking research, aggressive media campaigns, and strategic advocacy for policy reform. As a result of The Sentencing Project’s research, publications, and advocacy, many people know that this country is the world’s leader in incarceration; that racial disparities pervade the criminal justice system; that nearly six million Americans can’t vote because of felony convictions; and that thousands of women and children have lost food stamps and cash assistance as the result of convictions for drug offenses.

Angela J. Davis of “The Sentencing Project,” Law Professor, Howard and Harvard (J.D.) grad

Angela Yvonne Davis, 1960s radical associated with Civil Rights, SDS, Black Panthers, Feminism and more, but not “The Sentencing Project“

(Check out their “Staff and Directors” including two retired judges, people with background at Safe Horizon, and Angela J. Davis, who I looked to verify she was or was not the famous Angela Y. Davis, (No, but look at the impressive background; see also the attached C.V.)

Search Again. (for tax returns below).

(Small Organization, Contributions-Dependent (have to fill out a Schedule B it says), only one paid officer, and he’s paid $131K.  It says “no employees” but sites other salaries paid). I can see from their Wiki (despite the “reads like an ad” flag) that it apparently spun off from the well-known “NLADA” (still going) when funding from the NCCD (I’ve blogged it, this really ODD organization is taking international grants and helping “digitize” the justice process; it’s based in Oakland, California currently, has been a contractor with NY-based (ACLU lawyer instigated) “Children’s Rights, Inc.” and so forth.  NCCD is also a very OLD organization.  It’s CRC division (so to speak — it’s a nonprofit!) in Madison Wisconsin last I looked was just around the block from AFCC HQ under Peter Salem… Anyhow: WIKI says:

The Sentencing Project grew out of pilot programs established by Malcolm C. Young in the early 1980s. In 1981, Young became director of a project of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) designed to establish defense-based sentencing advocacy programs. These programs worked with defense attorneys to provide judges with sentencing proposals that contained an assessment of the defendant’s social history and an individualized sentencing plan that was responsive to the needs of both victims and offenders. The NLADA project successfully developed sentencing advocacy programs in six cities over the next several years. In 1984, the project came under the sponsorship of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, which continued until 1986.^{[1] [i.e., NOT very long..]}

In 1986, [When that NCCD funding stopped] Young incorporated The Sentencing Project as an independent organization to continue the program training and development work. Through the mid-1990s The Sentencing Project provided training and technical assistance in sentencing advocacy to programs in more than 20 states. Beginning in the late 1980s, The Sentencing Project became engaged in research and public education on a broad range of criminal justice policy issues.

Now look at the NLADA “Advancing Justice for as Century” and understand that it takes responsibility for the creation of LSC (Legal Services Corporation), a big deal in the pro bono and low-income access to counsel.  Joint Statement (from this past July 14, 2016) with Shriver Center:

“We Stand for Racial Justice”

We affirm what should be undeniable—Black Lives Matter. The recurring violence against Black people is but an extreme manifestation of our society’s persistent racism, which denies the Black community, and other communities of color, the right and opportunity to be safe and healthy, to work and live with dignity, and to flourish.

We live in a country where those tasked with protecting our communities too often possess unfounded biases, whether implicit or explicit, that Black people pose a constant danger. This has led to situations where having a broken taillight or selling cigarettes or CDs is punishable by death; where reaching for a wallet is an act of aggression warranting a lethal response.

Our country has always been plagued by these beliefs—that Black communities and other communities of color are criminal and untrustworthy. This is not limited to one part of the country; it is a systemic national problem stretching from New York to Minnesota, California to Florida, and beyond. Our solutions must also be national and systemic. We must address the significant role that race plays in policing practices. Members of the legal aid and public defender community must form genuine and sustainable, community-led partnerships aimed at bridging the racial divide in our country.

Print and On-line Media is a very competitive field, and this one’s fortunes didn’t start taking off til around 2007 (the tax returns, which have Schedule A showing prior four or five years of  support make it clear.  Also, this organization was originally in New York State, which charity system is set to provide detailed financing history — where those records are indeed uploaded.

This is the NYS Corporations Registry record for this 2002-forward corporation.  If that link doesn’t remain active, see next image and pdf link (showing two pages) or search again: nys-entity-information-for-next-city-inc-address-philadelphia-inc-2002-namechange-from-thenextamericancityinc-on-march-23-2013-2pp <=click to see full-size image (and 2nd page showing the “American” was dropped from the name only in 2013):

Total results: 3. Search Again.
(Click on the column headers to sort.)

FORD, ROCKEFELLER, SURDNA, KNIGHT, and JOHN D. & CATHERINE T. MacARTHUR.

Look at the simple size (and understand that listing the main tax-exempt and its “VEBA Trust,” for Ford, by now means shows the entire scope of controlled foundations.  However it’s at least a wake-up call to wealth accumulation and (if you read the returns) redistribution through the facility of tax-exemption.  By spreading the influence so widely, it’s also hard to discern just what that influence is, and where it might be (or has been) stepping over the lines assisting government in provision of services, or simply, coordinated with like-minded wealth, running government from the sidelines, or through professionals who first make their career (and personal financial “sustainability” as well-paid employees) working for one of the foundations, and then rotate into government, and/or universities (public universities technically speaking, being “government” and private not, although from what I can see, the foundations fund both private and public universities as well.

FORD FOUNDATION — $12.5 Billion & their VEBA Trust (pays medical/dental/life for employees who enroll) $52.9 Million:
Search Again

ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION — $4B + its VEBA Trust, plus a stray “Rockefeller Foundation” from Louisiana (maybe unrelated, through interesting directors (Michael and Allyson Sanderson in Covington, LA), street address matches a certain LOLA Restaurant, organization purpose to donate for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), first donee, “Linda Rockefeller.”  The Sandersons have an 8,000 s.f. spread in the area and are showing up in some lawsuits regarding family trusts…as well as on articles regarding their home and property).  Search Again:

SURDNA FOUNDATION, based in NY, Fiscal Year begins July 1, just topped $1 billion:

Search Again:

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation – $6.4 Billion.

Search Again

Program-related Investments for top row (of first two, one is $5,000,000 and the other over $5M):

1 HOUSING PARTNERSHIP EQUITY TRUST –TO CREATE A NEW FINANCING MODEL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRESERVATION OF AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING THAT CAN BE USED TO ACQUIRE AND TRANSFORM DISTRESSED MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES

2 OPPORTUNITY FINANCE NETWORK -IN SUPPORT OF MAJOR FUNDING FOR PREMIER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT WILL BE SELECTED THROUGH THE WELLS FARGO “NEXT” AWARDS FOR OPPORTUNITY FINANCE

All other program-related investments See instructions

KNIGHT FOUNDATION –  $2.2Billion, This one is in Florida:

Search Again

See page 7 of the 2014 return, Part IX, “direct charitable activities.” I’d print the page, but my print-to-pdf is cutting off the left margins for this one (IRS image itself is not evenly spaced between margins). here’s the descriptions, not including the $$ spent for each:

1. CIVIC INNOVATION TO NURTURE, ADVANCE PROMOTE CIVIC INNOVATIONS THAT ACCELERATE TALENT, OPPORTUNITY AND ROBUST ENGAGEMENT TO CREATE SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES THERE ARE TWO MAJOR COMPONENTS 1 THE CITY OBSERVATORY IS A WEBSITE AND URBAN THINK TANK DEVOTED TO DATA-DRIVEN ANALYSIS OF KNIGHT COMMUNITIES AND CITIES MORE BROADLY AND THE POLICIES THAT SHAPE THEM THE WEBSITE FEATURES POSTS THAT TACKLE MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT CITIES, BREAKS DOWN THE LATEST URBAN RESEARCH, HIGHLIGHTS THE INNOVATIVE IDEAS THAT STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES, AND INTERPRETS HOW TRENDS AND NEW RESEARCH RELATES TO KNIGHT COMMUNITIES 2 A CIVIC INNOVATION IN ACTION STUDIO HELD IN MAY IN MIAMI THE GATHERING BRINGS TOGETHER A MIX OF RESEARCHERS, DESIGNERS AND URBAN PRACTITIONERS TO ANSWER KEY QUESTIONS AROUND HARNESSING TALENT, ADVANCING OPPORTUNITY AND PROMOTING ROBUST ENGAGEMENT

---

2 COMMUNITY INFORMATION INITIATIVE THE KNIGHT COMMUNITY INFORMATION CHALLENGE (KCIC) HELPS COMMUNITY AND PLACE-BASED FOUNDATIONS PLAY LEADING ROLES IN MEETING THEIR COMMUNITY’S INFORMATION NEEDSTHERE ARE TWO MAJOR COMPONENTS 1)”DEEP DIVE” SUPPORT OF FOUR SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY INFORMATION PROJECTS, -WHICH HELPS THEM TO SCALE AND SHARE THEIR INSIGHTS WITH BOTH FOUNDATIONS AND COMMUNITIES AND 2)AN ANNUAL MEDIA LEARNING SEMINAR WHICH BRINGS TOGETHER COMMUNITY AND PLACE-BASED FOUNDATION LEADERS WITH JOURNALISM AND TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS

---

3 KNIGHT NEWS CHALLENGE IN SUPPORT OF ITS WORK TO SUPPORT MEDIA INNOVATION, THE FOUNDATION RUNS THE KNIGHT NEWS CHALLENGE PROGRAM FOUNDATION STAFF CONNECT NEWS CHALLENGE WINNERS WITH TECHNICAL, DESIGN AND BUSINESS ADVISORS, PROMOTES THEIR ACTIVITIES, AND BRINGS THEM INTO CONTACT WITH ONE ANOTHER,OTHER KNIGHT GRANTEES AND OTHER FIELD LEADERS THE FOUNDATION CONDUCTED TWO NEWS CHALLENGES IN 2014, THE FIRST ONE FOCUSING ON STRENGTHENING THE INTERNET IN COLLABORATION WITH FORD FOUNDATION AND MOZILLA FOUNDATION AND THE SECOND FOCUSING ON LIBRARIES HAVING ACCESS TO QUALITY NEWS AND INFORMATION PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN EDUCATING A COMMUNITY INCREASINGLY, THIS INFORMATION IS DISCOVERED, ANALYZED AND DELIVERED USING DIGITAL OR WEB-BASED TOOLS THE FOUNDATION USES THE NEWS CHALLENGE TO PROMOTE INNOVATIVE DIGITAL BASED SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE PEOPLE’S ABILITY TO ACCESS AND INTERACT WITH NEWS, INFORMATION AND EACH OTHER SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE BETTER EDUCATED DECISIONS

4NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO (NPR) SPONSORSHIP OF NPR ADVANCES TWO GOALS -SUPPORTING THE INNOVATIVE WORK OF A GRANTEE WHOSE MISSION IS TO INFORM, AND HIGHLIGHT THE FOUNDATION’S MISSION TO PROMOTE QUALITY JOURNALISM, ADVANCE MEDIA INNOVATION AND ENGAGE COMMUNITIES AS PART OF THE SPONSORSHIP, NPR ACKNOWLEDGED THAT ITS WORK IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE JOHNS AND JAMES L KNIGHT FOUNDATION, ADVANCING JOURNALISTIC EXCELLENCE IN THE DIGITAL AGE” APPROXIMATELY 1,600 TIMES IN MORNING DRIVE-TIME SPOTS IN 14 MARKETS, INCLUDING THE EIGHT KNIGHT RESIDENT COMMUNITIES, IN 2015 THE FOUNDATION BELIEVES THIS ADVANCES ITS MISSION OF INFORMING AND ENGAGING COMMUNITIES BY SUPPORTING PUBLIC RADIO, ATTRACTING NEW GRANTEES, AND HELPING POTENTIAL PARTNERS RECOGNIZE QUALITY JOURNALISM AS A COMMUNITY NEED.

and, same page, different category on the return:

(Program-related Investments (as opposed to “Direct Charitable Activities”)

1. TO COMPLETE THE REVITALIZATION OFTHE UNDERINVESTED HISTORIC BEALL’S HILL NEIGHBORHOOD WITHIN THE COLLEGE HILL CORRIDOR** AND SERVE AS A NATIONAL MODEL THROUGH A COMBINATION OF GRANT AND PROGRAM-RELATED INVESTMENTS ESTABLISHING PERPETUAL REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS FOR REHABILITATING HOMES, BUILDING NEW HOMES, FACADE IMPROVEMENTS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECTS AND DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE
2. TO INITIATE AND ADVISE INNOVATION IN PUBLIC MEDIA BY ESTABLISHING THE KNIGHT PRX PUBLIC MEDIA ACCELERATOR
3. All other program-related investments See instructions 395

**Briefly, regarding “underinvested neighborhoods” and ____ “corridors,” I wanted to know ‘In which state.”  The state is Georgia, and this language might sound familiar:

Beall’s Hill Neighborhood Revitalization Project

In 1998, Mercer University and the City of Macon agreed to partner to spark the revitalization of the historic Beall’s Hill neighborhood adjacent to Mercer’s main campus in Macon. This Victorian-era neighborhood had been in serious decline for thirty years, increasingly depopulated and dilapidated. The Beall’s Hill Project is regarded as the most significant community redevelopment in Macon in the past fifty years. The rebuilt neighborhood is envisioned as a model “New Urbanist” mixed-income, mixed-use, walkable community. The University is committed to being a good neighbor and to continuing to help to lead this important initiative.

That was found at Mercer University, described as  (website background-color not an exact match):

Mercer University is one of America’s oldest and most distinctive institutions of higher learning, offering rigorous programs that span the undergraduate liberal arts to doctoral level degrees. Founded by early 19th century Baptists, Mercer — while no longer formally denominationally affiliated — remains committed to an educational environment that embraces the historic Baptist principles of intellectual and religious freedom, while affirming values that arise from a Judeo-Christian understanding of the world.

With more than 8,500 students enrolled in 12 schools and colleges on campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah; three medical school sites in Macon, Savannah and Columbus; and at three Regional Academic Centers around the state, Mercer is consistently ranked among the nation’s leading institutions by such publications as U.S. News & World Report, which in 2014 named Mercer as the No. 1 Best Value in the South. Our more than 76,000 alumni are making important contributions to their professions and communities throughout Georgia, the Southeast and the world.

While offering a breadth of programs found at much larger universities, Mercer maintains an intimate, student-focused culture more characteristic of smaller liberal arts colleges. Mercer’s uniqueness is found in the way the University integrates five defining components of its mission:

[LIBERAL ARTS  | PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE | DISCOVERY | SERVICE TO HUMANKIND | COMMUNITY paragraphs follow]

From “service to Humankind, it notes its AmeriCorps (1990s) and Upward Bound (1960s) volunteerism.  …

Service to humankind is ingrained in the Mercer culture. It is found in its academic units – a medical school dedicated entirely to preparing primary care physicians for rural and other medically underserved areas of Georgia and a law school widely recognized for its contributions in the arena of public service – to signature programs like Mercer On Mission that deploy students and faculty across the world to alleviate human suffering. It is found in programs like Mercer Service Scholars, which engages diverse undergraduate students in substantive service to local and international communities, while preparing them to become leaders on campus, in their professions, and in their communities. It is found in the more than 200,000 hours of volunteer service that students in Macon and Atlanta contribute to their communities each year. This commitment to service led Princeton Review in 2005 to name Mercer as one of its “Colleges with a Conscience.”

Read more about Service to Humankind (that link is now a dead end)

From “Community,” ….

Community has meaning on two levels at Mercer — internal and external — and in both the University excels. At Mercer, students, faculty and staff relate to one another in an environment that inspires collaboration, support and respect. Strong bonds are formed between faculty and students and between colleagues. This kind of community promotes active mentoringand a work and study environment where people flourish.

The external community – cities and neighborhoods where students, faculty and staff live and serve – is also important at Mercer. Whether it is investing in the revitalization of historic neighborhoods surrounding the Macon campus, fueling economic development in cities throughout Georgia, or rebuilding communities in post-Apartheid South Africa, Mercer’s contributions to communities are significant.

Over the past decade, the University has earned numerous awards and national recognition for community engagement. Mercer is one of only 361 colleges and universities in the country to hold the Community Engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The classification, first awarded in 2008, was renewed for another 10 years in 2015. The University is consistently found on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, earning the recognition in 2014, 2013 (with distinction), 2008, 2007 and 2006.

Read more about Community

“The President’s Higher Education Honor Roll” explained over at CNCS (Corporation for National and Community Service) which I have been writing about this year. The Honor Roll only began in 2006, with awardees from 2008forward only displayed — and for some reason the year 2011 is missing:

In the phrase “National and Community” do you notice any geopolitical/ constitutional designation, ah, missing? Such as “State”? ??? This obsession with the word “Community” relates to investments; and the NATIONAL publication about them de-emphasizes the role of states, or viewing these by state, or controlling and monitoring (accounting for) influence by state, for the sake of people living in those states. In fact, the word “Community” neatly ties in with “Community Foundation” — which community foundations, tend to be large and influential — and supported by the larger tax-exempt, privately controlled (not that “community foundation’s aren’t also privately controlled!) tax-exempts, some filing Form 990PFs, some filing Form 990s….

President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll**(()

See, Gold Stars, and Stickers,  Rewards for Good Behavior are not just for Kindergarten. Colleges can get them, too…

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, launched in 2006, annually highlights the role colleges and universities play in solving community problems and placing more students on a lifelong path of civic engagement by recognizing institutions that achieve meaningful, measureable outcomes in the communities they serve.

The President’s Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions in four categories: (these links active on that site)

General Community Service
Interfaith Community Service
Economic Opportunity
Education

There’s very little information on the main web page there, you must click away and hope to get a definition of what is actually going on. I did see that there are 11 Special Initiatives (this “Honor Roll” being one) listed on the NationlService.gov, and that one of them mentions Mayors, and another, Counties.  I clicked on Counties, hoping that the Counties might get some recognition from this national organization:

Special Initiatives

• A Billion + Change
• Employers for National Service
• Let’s Read. Let’s Move.
• Mayors Day of Recognition
• County Day of Recognition

<=<=<= (Started April , 2012?….)

• National Mentoring Month
• National Service Task Force
• President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
• President’s Volunteer Service Award
• Service Impact Awards
• United We Serve

NEVER lose an opportunity to proselytize and promote certain language to identify what “outcomes” (solutions) are wanted in the transformation of the power structures set up by the Constitution to conform better to a centralized infrastructure which undercuts the local rule by overstepping THE most basic geopolitical designation after “the United States of America” and the Federal Government, which, apart from the Territories, is the States! Here, it’s not the national that is recognizing the counties and mayors, but the counties and mayors are induced to thank the CNCS for its great help in providing volunteers so that the civil unrest doesn’t turn (more often than it does) to riots, for lack of functional infrastructure, or un-corrupt local leadership in dispensing services:

 

from NationalService.gov. The “A” seal stands for Americorps and the S for “Senior Corps” with a focus on volunteerism.

The nation’s mayors and county officials are increasingly turning to national service as a cost-effective strategy to address local challenges. By unleashing the power of citizens, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs have a positive and lasting impact – making our cities and counties better places to live. To spotlight the impact of national service and thank those who serve, mayors and country officials will participate in the fourth-annual Mayor and County Recognition Day for National Service on April 5, 2016.

---

On this day, mayors and county officials will hold public events and use traditional and social media to highlight the value of national service to the nation’s cities and counties. Last year, 2,786 elected officials representing more than 150 million citizens participated in the third-annual Mayor and County Recognition Day for National Service. The initiative is being led by the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, Cities of Service and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

That’s odd -as it seems not ONE of the names above (no convenient links or labeling provided, just the proper names) actually IS a form of government except the CNCS, which, oddly-named “Corporation” is categorized or at least calls itself a Federal Agency, and receives appropriations from Congress. The League of Cities — probably nonprofit. the National Association of Counties — obviously a nonprofit. “Cities of Services” sounds like a program name or a “dba” and until I look it up, I don’t know what it is.

Look at the language (my yellow-highlighting should help!):

Why a Recognition Day?

As solution-focused local leaders, mayors and county officials have a unique role in this country. Their focus on engaging citizens and meeting local needs*** matches CNCS’s mission to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement. Our priority on {{**}} expanding economic opportunity to create sustainable and resilient communities directly aligns with the goals of county officials and mayors. A coordinated day of recognition presents a unique opportunity to spotlight the key role that national service plays in solving local problems and challenges. Participating in the day will highlight the impact of citizen service, show support for nonprofit and national service groups, and inspire more residents to serve in their communities.

{{**}} Grammar or copyediting error, and possible Freudian slip. Grammar: It should be “priority of” meaning, “our priority, expanding economic opportunity” or it could’ve been said “our focus on expanding economic opportunity.” Meaning, possible Freudian slip: Please notice the forgotten part of the sentence: Economic opportunity “FOR WHOM?” is answered in the context — this solution entails continuing to withhold government assets sequestered “off-budget” and declare ongoing “deficit” while billing people for the long-term and short-term debt to create the infrastructures. This creates a condition of lack over time, at least when working people who are not beneficiaries of, or employed by the network of powerful tax-exempt corporations, or by association of genetic / marriage relation (and staying on the patriarch, or surviving matriarch’s good side as a descendant) of those who like continuing to stockpile their wealth incorporations, and use those corporations to drive government, including saying VOLUNTEERS (not reducing the withholding of wealth stockpiled, regardless of how it was obtained in the first place, ethically or unethically) and having these VOLUNTEERS hook up with smaller NONPROFITS controlled by COMMUNITY nonprofits that the bigger ones network to fund. This system WORKS for some — and so it is being nationally promoted through Executive Branch federal agency (and other associated agencies, depending on the “Special Initiative” or other program) CNCS here..

CITIES of SERVICE is a “coalition” and, of course, has a logo, a graphics-intensive website, and a motto. The map shows dots throughout the United States (but moreso on the East Coast) and some also in Great Britain (NONE showing in any other countries on the map, as of this viewing.)

http://www.citiesofservice.org/coalition. Founded in 2009 by the former Mayor of New York City.  True to style of “Strong Cities Network “, the “Coalition” is listed by city names, alphabetical, without regard to what state, or what country, they are in.  here’s the description; you can catch the flavor, and if persistent, go find the money trail too:

NYC SERVICE

While Mayor of New York City, Bloomberg created NYC Service in April 2009, aiming to set a new standard for how cities can tap the power of their citizens to tackle their most pressing challenges. Created in response to the bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and built on the Bloomberg Administration’s record of promoting volunteerism and public-private partnerships, NYC Servicemade New York City the first major city to initiate a comprehensive local approach to support service and citizen engagement.

CITIES OF SERVICE

Mayor Bloomberg felt strongly about the power of what he created with NYC Service and wanted to share its potential with others. He, along with 16 other mayors from around the country representing more than 20 million Americans, gathered together at Gracie Mansion on September 10, 2009 to found the Cities of Service coalition. With generous support from the Rockefeller Foundation, Cities of Service was able to offer technical assistance and other support to member mayors, including funding full-time chief service officers in select cities to develop and implement comprehensive service programs.

“Cities around the country are facing enormous challenges, and mayors have an opportunity to make the most of our greatest asset: public-spirited citizens and organizations. This new coalition will encourage mayors to find new ways to tap the power of their citizens, help us identify and share the most effective approaches, and empower us to speak with one voice in Washington.”

MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG

Today, Cities of Service is an independent, nonpartisan organization.  Our coalition  has grown from the original 17 cities to over 215 in the US and UK, representing more than 52 million people in 45 states, and more than 10 million in the UK.

If the families and boards of directors with collective assets (in just ONE of their tax-exempt vehicles) looking like this, came out in the open and said, to the American public in on-line, print and on the Congressional Record and said:

We think the United States of America is obsolete, as well as its Constitution with state borders, and state legislation, representation by elected officials, who are so ethical as to prioritize upholding of that Constitution, even without slave labor as during the founding years, and even now that our wives, sisters, mothers, daughters, nieces and aunts (etc.) can vote too….and all that

Rather, UN/UNESCO would make a better way to preserve — for some of us — those qualities expressed in the Declaration of Independence, by way of networked experts with consultative status, and councils of wise elders (which we will participate in, or provide research for)

We the undersigned also undertake to re-design where and in what type of buildings, communities, on what types of roads, with what access to clean water**, power of various sorts, and being indoctrinated into the right beliefs by what kind of school systems (NOT the kind OUR children will be attending, or marrying into and reproducing with others of the common bloodlines)…..  Below are some initial signers, with the financial statements of our primary tax-exempt foundations.  This of course doesn’t not include corporate ownership of ongoing for-profit businesses.

We are the great shade tree under which all sane people should want to live.  (Those who do not want to live in this way, will be driven, or starved out, and their land appropriated.  In case you don’t believe we can AND WILL do this if necessary to protect our assets,  take a second look at history).

We are the business leaders for all times, and our progeny or assignees:

Saying this openly and upfront, confrontationally, and indicating that those who don’t agree, just might be losing their only source of income soon, or their families, or worse…. wouldn’t ingratiate self-selecting leaders with their intended indentured-servant followers, and the professional classes of population managers. Many people, perhaps the majority, might not color within the lines in the new order if the actual design of it became clear to all.  And then it might get ugly and those who witness the ugly would turn against the self-selecting leaders. NOT the best business strategy.

Better incremental aggression over time — years, and then just when a toleration limit has been reached, “turn up the heat and accelerate the pace of takeovers.” Using superior technology and capitalization // sponsorship if not ownership of the press and media, to encourage compliance with the business plan for this country as regards other countries, and for metropolitan, particularly PORT (shipping geographies) cities of the country on both coasts, and, for example, in Chicago.

Removing the word and concept “American” from the Mix, while promoting UNESCO.

Public/Private partnerships are tying neatly into the UNESCO programming for the United States of America.   Space limits wouldn’t let me add to the title “the role of the previous BIG Tax-exempts working through Community Foundation Endowments (as accelerators) to ReDesign that which has been recently drained of its revenues, priming it for public/private partnership takeovers.” or something shorter but to that effect.

A single article by publication NextCity (recommending the Port Authority actually be split up) and accurately (it seems) reporting on some of its major problem elements — STILL ignored the CAFR situation in which we have government operating at a major profit, while letting cities and neighborhoods go “belly-up” previous to pro-claiming it’s now time for a takeover. I took also a look at the listed sponsors of NextCity (the publication) and within moments was at the UNESCO “Detroit is named a Design City” information.

To “cut to the chase, this organization now located in Philadelphia has tax returns showing the usual purpose, the date of origin (2002) and the basic financials.

Also being incorporated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — as opposed to almost ANY other state within the United States — it does NOT have to file annual reports, but only once every 10 years (!) with certain exceptions. Pennsylvania overall is, well, real interesting that way..Interesting this is where “Kids for Cash” happened a few years ago.

(Code ) (Expenses $ 1,132,492 including grants of $ ) (Revenue $ 68,177)

NEXT CITY, INC IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION WITH A MISSION TO INSPIRE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN CITIES BY CREATING MEDIA AND EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD THE VISION OF THE ORGANIZATION IS FOR A WORLD IN WHICH CITIES ARE NOT IN CRISIS AND ARE, INSTEAD, LEADING THE WAY TOWARDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE, EQUITABLE FUTURE THE ORGANIZATION PROVIDES DAILY ONLINE COVERAGE OF THE LEADERS, POLICIES AND INNOVATIONS DRIVING PROGRESS IN METROPOLITAN REGIONS ACROSS THE WORLD IN AN AGE WHEN ORIGINAL, ON-THE-GROUND REPORTING IS INCREASINGLY RARE, WE SEND OUR WRITERS INTO URBAN COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD TO PRODUCE OUR AWARD-WINNING LONG-FORM CONTENT IN ADDITION TO OUR ONLINE JOURNALISM, WE PRODUCE EVENTS INCLUDING AN ANNUAL URBAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE, VANGUARD

Amazing how many media campaigns are needed to remind the world that the future needs to be sustainable and equitable.  forming multiple nonprofits is going to help this “equality” how, may I ask?

Who is sponsoring this portion of that media campaign? well, NextCity: Inspiring Better Cities says:

Next City deeply appreciates its current funders: Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Surdna Foundation, The Knight Foundation, and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, as well as our many other generous donors across the country. Support Next City’s work by making a 100% tax-deductible donation today.

FORD, ROCKEFELLER, SURDNA, KNIGHT, and JOHN D. & CATHERINE T. MacARTHUR Foundations are already supporting this nonprofit with total revenue around $2M at last shown tax return, and it’s been around for now 14 years.  But, please — keep contributing….

So, they are listing a total of 12 employees and 6 volunteers, and the grants increased drastically between the last two years shown *(see “Total Assets” column – -more than doubled from 2012 to 2014).  True to fashion, “The Foundation Center” (which produces the 990finder) has not labeled it as the tax filer labels itself, such that a search for “Next City” located it labeled like this, but the tax return matches the website for organization name if you click through.

Total results: 3. Search Again.

Tax Year 2010 shows a NY Domicile organization with a Washington, D.C. entity address and editor-in-chief with a Philadelphia address. (“Go figure”) and is marked “Address change.”  Part VIIA of this return shows some changeover in leadership (from Editor in Chief, partial year, to new CEO, the rest of the year, with split salaries). Tax Year 2011 shows again a NY Domicile,* but Philadelphia-only addresses on the front page.  (*Sometimes earlier than the last three tax returns may be viewed from this provider by tweaking the “Year” right before the Month and 990-characters in the URL.  If an organization changes its type of return filed, or month-end, this won’t work).

I went quickly to “CharitiesNYS” registry search and using this EIN# found the organization:

It is listed as “DUAL” that means, as receiving donations and as a fund-raiser.  Repeat the search to look at details available on this site.  From what I can see, they apparently did file right from the start, but this website may not keep filings available (uploaded) before 2005 (see lack of underlines).   The NY Annual filings at “CharitiesNYS” often contains more, and interesting, information.

I looked at a 2005 Independent Audit, showing only three board members at the time (Adam Brown from NJ, Seth Gordon from Brooklyn, and Jayme LinLin Yen from Minneapolis) and a very modest budget — plus a $50,000 grant from Rockefeller Foundation, as “Note 3” said.  IN addition, they got $15K other (unlabeled) grants and their magazine earned around $25K in revenues:

Note 3 – TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS

In the year 2005, NAC received a total of $50,000 from The Rockefeller Foundation in support of publishing two issues of its magazine aimed at community development field practitioners, the first on the future of integration and segregation in America, and the second on new approaches to transportation. The balance of the grant, $45,030, will terminate on July 31, 2006, at which time any unexpended balance will revert to the Foundation.

---

“The Next American City”
Current Board Members (as of 10/24/06)

• Adam Gordon 248 Burrwood Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108
• Seth A. Brown 398 2nd Street, #3, Brooklyn, NY 11215
• Jayme Linlin Yen 1929 Fremont Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55403

[bullets added to retain line breaks]

  TheNextAmericanCity (EIN#223886361) is now in The Philadelphia Building (Form 990EZ) and more “flush” with grants (P5 ONLY of CharitiesNYS Annual Return) (Address change)

TheNextAmericanCity (EIN#223886361) (Form 990EZ, Schedule A part II ONLY, showing Contribs|Grants increased nearly 4fX in 2007 (P10 ONLY of CharitiesNYS Annual Return)<= = link to the second tax-return image above, Schedule A Part II. The donations and grants started kicking in in Year 2007.

The Philadelphia Building is literally located in the Center of Center City, Philadelphia. Situated in the East Center City Commercial Historic District, more commonly referred today as Midtown Village, the building is surrounded by some of Philadelphia’s most famous historic buildings. One block west, on Broad Street is the famed Academy of Music, The Regional Performing Arts Center, The Merriam Theatre, as well as the Union League Club. To the North is the former Wanamaker’s Department Store, now Macy’s, Philadelphia’s first department store and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Around the corner from the Philadelphia Building is the heart of Midtown Village, 13th Street, once a red light district, and now one of Philadelphia’s loveliest residential and commercial streets where unique boutiques blend seamlessly with quaint cafes and a diverse variety of carefully cultivated food and beverage options. Tenants in the Philadelphia Building are within walking distance to City Hall, as well as the Patco Station at 13th and Locust, and the Walnut-Locust stop on the Broad Street subway line. Lastly, one couldn’t be more centrally located to the take advantage of Philadelphia’s famed Rittenhouse Square, Washington Square, Reading Terminal Market, The Convention Center, and the Historic sites of Olde City.

The Philadelphia Building has quickly become the destination for entrepreneurs, arts and cultural groups, for profits and not for profits, and startups to work side by side. The building is ideal for small to mid-sized businesses. With its 11,250 square foot floor plates, this 200,000 square foot building offers unique yet sensible commercial loft options for all types of office users.

The Philadelphia Building offers all the traditional services, such as 24 hour security and concierge, 5 recently modernized elevators, entrances on Walnut Street, Juniper Street and Sansom Street, an abundance of natural light with windows on all four sides of the building, on – site property management, and an in – house maintenance and housekeeping team.

(And appearance) (Street address somewhat visible over photo; on the website it’s black on white, not “black-on-photo” background).   Or, see this image:

From Table of Tax Returns, above

In 2011, while the word “American” is still in the name,  you can see several board of directors and two officers are only “until Nov. 2011” so there is obviously some leadership changeover.  Here are those who left, with the first two being officers.  The only paid Part VIIA person (John Carey, President) is listed as working only through June, 2011, so it’s unclear who fulfilled his role the rest of the year.  Officers are indicated by an X in the “Officer” column.

(2) VICKI BEEN [And OFFICER] BOARD MEMBER (‘TIL NOV 2011)

(3) PAUL BROPHY [And OFFICER] BOARD MEMBER (‘TIL NOV 2011)

(4) SETH BROWN BOARD MEMBER (‘TIL NOV 2011)

(5) MICHELLE KULY HOLLAND BOARD MEMBER (‘TIL NOV 2011)

(6) ANIKA SINGH LEMAR BOARD MEMBER (‘TIL NOV 2011)

(7) VICKIE TASSAN BOARD MEMBER (‘TIL NOV 2011)

…

(11) JOHN CARY
PRESIDENT/CEO (1/1/2011-6/30/2011)  [[Paid only $7,500 for a 40 hr week, it says]]

 At this point, the organization is simply looking broke.

The 2012 return in the table above is marked “Address Change” and “Name Change” (the “AMERICAN” was removed from the name).  From the 2012 tax return, some of the Supplemental (Schedule O) descriptions of what it does….

IT SPAWNED A POPULAR WEBSITE, LOCAL EVENTS IN CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND THE NEXT AMERICAN VANGUARD AND OPEN CITIES CONFERENCE. IN THE BEGINNING OF 2012, THE NEXT AMERICAN CITY, INC. ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD CEASE PUBLICATION OF THE [quarterly] MAGAZINE. AT THE END OF 2012, THE NEXT AMERICAN CITY, INC. EXPANDED ITS INTERNATIONAL CONTENT AND WAS RENAMED NEXT CITY, INC.

And through most returns I saw, it was not meeting the 33-⅓% qualification for a charity because most of its donations were just from a few sponsors —  but it did qualify under another condition which didn’t require 33% to be general public support.  I also noticed that in 2011, they acknowledged $30K in government grants:

THE ORGANIZATION DOES NOT MEET THE 33 1/3% SUPPORT TEST DESCRIBED INSECTIONS 509(A)(1) AND 170(B)(1)(A)(VI) THE ORGANIZATION’S PERCENTAGE OF PUBLIC SUPPORT, CALCULATED BASED ON THE MOST RECENT FIVE-YEAR PERIOD (2007-2011) IS
25 97% THE ORGANIZATION DOES NOT MEET THE 33 1/3% SUPPORT TEST BECAUSE A MAJORITY OF ITS CONTRIBUTIONS ARE FROM THE SAME DONORS WHICH COMPRISE A MAJORITY OF THE ORGANIZATION’S SUPPORT AND REVENUE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS HOWEVER, THE ORGANIZATION DOES MEET THE 10% FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES TEST THE ORGANIZATION FUNCTIONS AS A PUBLIC CHARITY IN THAT IT RECEIVES CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND PROGRAM REVENUE FROM INDIVIDUALS WITH A VESTED INTEREST IN THE EXEMPT PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION THE ORGANIZATION PROVIDES BENEFITS TO THE PUBLIC BY PROMOTING RESEARCH AND DISSEMINATING OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS TO THE PUBLIC AND BY FOSTERING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN ISSUES CENTRAL TO THE CHANGING NATURE OF U S COMMUNITIES THROUGH PUBLICATIONS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS

FOOTNOTE “UPDATE 2019: Not My Main Project”

RE:

I have been looking at the Port Authority of NY/NJ (some articles, some self-description, some considerations) and among those articles — this was also a basic search result — the article recommending splitting it up between the two states, by the organization “NEXT CITY.”

That’s how I opened this post which was, for reasons I do not remember, but no doubt including being pre-occupied with other challenging, ongoing personal situations, never published in the context of other related ones that were published. Deciding to publish one out-of-sequence with my current projects, still worth hearing…

The project I’m currently working on (while still completing geographic relocation transition and figuring out how to resolve other long-standing personal challenges to my future safety and sustainability…for reasons
relating to how family courts handle women leaving abuse and how federal social service policies view [and exploit] the single mothers they typically become on doing so… Abuse and its coverup tends to run in family circles, with policies making relocation an uphill battle (even if affordable) due to marriage/fatherhood poverty theories pushed through in the 1990s, it’s becoming harder for (us) to separate from not just a single abuser, but also relatives (on the father’s OR the mother’s side, or both. Add to this maintaining sustainable employment around incidents involving law enforcement and various court actions, over many years, and yes it IS a community issue.  Conditioning breaking free on eliminating contact with one’s own children, UN acceptable to any decent parent I know,  (or eliminating it without full break-free); that tends to be an ongoing process which, for unfunded bloggers (I don’t call myself a journalist because I am unfunded, not on any media’s payroll), will affect output.  Case in point, I haven’t posted anything in February, 2019.  Two blog posts seem impossible to obtain closure on; like this one (or, better than), they have plenty to say.  One, I started in mid-December, 2018.  So, discovering this 2016 draft basically ready to go is encouraging.