Monday, July 09, 2001 - 01:29 a.m. Pacific Homeless man puts life, city sidewalks in order By Gina Kim Seattle Times staff reporter A man sleeping on a downtown Seattle sidewalk one morning the other day didn't daunt Eddie Adams.

The man opened one eye, paused, then the other. He slowly got to his feet and staggered away, leaving an empty vodka bottle and a crushed beer can in his wake.

"When I'm out here working and see all these homeless users, it keeps me in focus," said Adams, making his morning rounds sweeping the sidewalks. "I remember where I came from."

Adams, 38, is one of 22 formerly homeless "maintenance ambassadors" who sweep downtown's sidewalks at least once a day, empty overflowing trash cans and wipe graffiti from public property, part of a transitional work program operated by the Metropolitan Improvement District.

Beginning its third year next month, the program has pulled dozens of people off the streets and helped 21 go on to permanent jobs.

Created by the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA), the improvement district is financed by property owners. About $3 million comes each year from the owners of 225 blocks ranging from Denny Way to South King Street and from the waterfront to Interstate 5, not including Belltown, which opted out of the district.

While $1 million of the budget pays for research and marketing to attract more visitors to downtown, the rest goes to the improvement district's Clean and Safe Services. The program includes the maintenance ambassadors and 30 full-time "safety ambassadors" who serve as block-watchers and help tourists find destinations.

"The main purpose is to provide a cleaner and safer downtown," said Brenda Peters, Clean and Safe Services manager. "A spin-off of that is the opportunity for someone to start over and to make a difference."

For Adams, the chance has paid off. Since the age of 14, he has called the streets his home and rum his drink. "When I was a kid, I was running the streets, putting beer cans everywhere and sleeping wherever I ended up sleeping," he said. "Now everything's changed. Everything's reversed. Now I'm picking up after everyone else."

He learned of the program while at a day shelter in August. After blowing paychecks on booze, Adams finally went into a detox program in April and has been sober for more than 70 days. He's living in housing for recovering alcoholics and is training to become a supervisor.

With the help of a Seattle Conservation Corps case worker, the program tries to get employees into housing, off drugs and alcohol, and clear up any legal or financial issues they face, said Peters.

"We try to represent the whole of downtown as a community, and people who are homeless are part of our community," said DSA president Kate Joncas. "Every person that moves on to a better job and gets housing is a victory."

While Peters concedes that turnover is high, "you invest in the ones you know are struggling to make it."

The maintenance ambassadors - who are paid from $7 to $7.50 an hour - wear navy-blue work suits with fluorescent-yellow vests and are armed with brooms, dust buckets, "graffiti juice," scrapers and steel wool. Throughout their days, they are radioed about shattered glass and piles of cardboard that need to be picked up, and they constantly sweep leaves, trash and cigarette butts.

Without them, property owners would be responsible for cleaning sidewalks, said Vic Roberson, a manager with Seattle Public Utilities.

"The city provides some maintenance services as far as street sweeping, but really there is no other function beyond the goodwill of residents and business people for keeping their area clean," said Gary Johnson, the city's liaison to the downtown neighborhoods. The maintenance ambassadors "are out there all the time, making things cleaner and generally sprucing things up."

"I don't mind cleaning the streets," said maintenance ambassador Robert Tso, 59. "It's good for the city, and somebody's got to do it."

"If Seattle as a whole is a place people are talking about as a great place to live, work and play, that's in our best interest," said A.M. Clise, president and chief executive of Clise Properties, which owns about 3 million square feet of downtown property.

"It's important to keep things clean," said Bill Wilcox, manager of Ben Bridge Jeweler's downtown store. "Downtown Seattle competes with shopping malls, and shopping malls are kept immaculate."

I am attaching a list of the needs that we identified during our 2000-2001 planning process -- most of which could not be addressed in our SuperNOFA application. (I am also attaching a list from the 1999-2000 planning process to make sure that we haven't lost any important information from one year to the next.)

House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran is to unveil a sweeping package of proposals today designed to reduce the state's affordable-housing crunch.

The details have pleasantly surprised housing advocates, who said they were impressed that Finneran's plan includes a larger-than-expected $508 million bond bill, and other elements advocated by House members, even Finneran critics.

''The speaker has kept his promise,'' said Representative Byron Rushing, a South End Democrat who has clashed frequently with Finneran.

The Finneran plan eliminates some of the more explosive ideas initially floated - such as a proposal to count jail and prison inmates in affordable-housing tallies - and puts together a well-rounded strategy on housing policy, said Aaron Gornstein, executive director of the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association.

''It's one of the most comprehensive housing bills we've seen in many years,'' Gornstein said.

If the package becomes law, it could lead to the construction and rehabilitation of thousands of affordable homes and apartments across the state, Gornstein said.

The bills include a series of tax incentives for housing developers, along with the bond authorization, which would fund new construction and repair aging public housing. It would also set up a special commission that would develop a five-year plan to end homelessness in Massachusetts.

Finneran is to appear today in Roxbury to announce his plan, along with several other state lawmakers and Mayor Thomas M. Menino. The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to approve the housing bill by early next week, and it is scheduled for debate on the House floor next Wednesday.

The bond component of the bill, if left at $508 million, could force a confrontation with Acting Governor Jane M. Swift, who is not obligated to issue bonds approved by the Legislature. Her administration has recently agreed to increase the state's bond spending on housing from $71 million per year to $100 million, but the House bill would require $166 million per year for each of the next three years.

A Swift spokesman, Jason Kauppi, said the administration needs to review the details of the House proposal before deciding whether to raise the state's bond cap.

Finneran's stamp of approval on the proposal represents a significant concession to the liberal members of his party, many of whom have criticized the Mattapan Democrat's leadership style. The speaker and his staff were careful to include housing advocates, committee chairmen, and rank-and-file House members in cobbling together the package over the past six weeks.

''It was a combined internal and external effort, and I'm proud of what's been put forth thus far,'' Finneran said. ''Housing production at all income levels is very, very important to not just the economic picture in Massachusetts, but to the quality of life.''

The plan also includes a compromise concerning anti-snob zoning laws, which require communities to shoulder their fare share of affordable housing.

The proposal would make it slightly easier for communities to comply with the law, while at the same time opening the door to penalties for cities and towns that don't. A special commission would address sanctions for communities that don't reach state-set affordable-housing thresholds.

That aspect of the speaker's plan would effectively replace the scores of other anti-snob zoning proposals on the table, including the one to count prisoners as housing, which was filed by Finneran's own Ways and Means chairman. But any number of those proposals could come up on the House floor next week, and debate on the issue could be considerable.

Housing advocates said that although the House proposal doesn't solve all the issues in the realm of housing, it makes significant progress.

''It's been a very good process,'' said Lew Finfer, an organizer with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization. ''He's following through. It has a lot of good things for affordable housing.''

BOSTON--OK, so you were an opponent of the tax cut. You called the president's ``tax relief'' a four-letter word: s-c-a-m. You ranted about how the $1.3 trillion cut would benefit the rich at the expense of the rest.

When you heard about the $300 rebate, you sneered, ``oh goody, I'm rich.'' You figured that could pay for one month of your mom's prescription drugs or buy three sets of silver-plated place card holders from Saks Fifth Avenue. And when you discovered that 35 million low-income workers--those who need it the most-- would get no rebate at all, you just about went apoplectic.

Well, guess what pal: YOU'RE GONNA GET THE MONEY ANYWAY. They don't just give the rebate to people who agree with the policy. You're one of the 91 million Americans who are going to be getting a big fat collective $38 billion.

Soon you'll get a letter announcing this with a fanfare: ``We are pleased to inform you that the United States Congress passed--and President George W. Bush (news - web sites) signed into law--the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, which provides long-term tax relief for all Americans who pay income taxes.''

This will read like a rouse from Publishers Clearing House or a fund-raiser from the Republican National Committee (news - web sites), but it's from IRS and the message is simple: Here Comes Santa.

The letter says something else: ``You will be receiving a check. You need to take no additional steps.'' But there, dear IRS, I beg to differ. You do need to take additional steps. You need to figure out what you'll do with your 300 ill-gained bucks.

I know. Many folks regard the rebates as their money wrenched back from the thieves in Washington. Many regard it as found money, picked up on the sidewalk of a forgetful administration. Some regard it as house money in the big gamble of the Bush budget.

But you have a suspicion that it's also hush money designed to create silent accomplices.

It's time to put your money where your mouth is. You didn't want it; give it away. You don't like the budget; make your own.

``This is like a giant social experiment,'' says Richard Thau, president of Third Millennium, an advocacy group for young adults. ``If you send unexpected money to tens of millions of households, what percentages of those households will give all or part of the rebate to charity?''

Thau is going to donate his own rebate to a program for homeless women. But his group has set up DonateRebate.org, a site that leads to Helping.org, which lists 700,000 nonprofit groups. Many help the people that are hurt the most.

Tony Adams, a Houston Web site developer and a political in-activist, goes a step further. The 35-year-old Adams, engaged to a woman who ``pledged her rebate to shoes,'' didn't even vote in the last election. But he was so infuriated when Bush reinstituted the global gag rule against international family planning groups, he pledged his rebate to ``help counteract Bush's actions.''

His new Web site, TaxRebatePledge.org, has already attracted more than 300 people who promised more than $100,000 to groups that oppose the administration on such things as international family planning, the environment and civil rights. ``People think I'm some kind of a liberal wacko,'' says Adams. ``If your country is a car and about to veer off the road to the right, you got to jerk it pretty hard to the left to get it back onto the center.''

Now I know that despite all your ranting, it's easiest to cash the check. You could pay down the credit cards or invest both checks at 8 percent and have $6,500 in 2031. Heck, no one-time rebate is going to create an alternative budget or an alternative politics. Your whole point is that individuals can't replace every function of a government. And you can't send it back to the government or they'll use it for some missile fantasy.

But you've got a month or more to turn this rebate scam into a discussion about how to make a difference, where to begin and what's most important. You can be a $300-a-person philanthropist, a $600-a-couple social change agent.

And while you're putting your money where your mouth is, why let the tax-cut supporters off the hook? Didn't they tell us that private folks use the money more wisely than Washington?

When George W. signed this tax cut, he said, ``This bill is more than just tax relief. This bill reflects a philosophy that says we trust the American people more than we trust government.''

Now there's $38 billion coming our way. Sometimes hush money can make a very loud statement.

Our NELRC cohorts have just issued an RFP for the ABE-to-College Transitions Project, funded by the Nellie Mae Educational Foundation. The 17-page RFP is online as a Portable Document Format (PDF) version only, as such highly formatted documents really don't translate well into HTML:

They are especially interested in funding Massachusetts programs in this round. For further details, please contact Jessica Spohn, project coordinator 617-482-9485

Now that the school year is winding down, we would like to tell you about a variety of opportunities that will enable you to continue your participation in VES throughout the summer months.

1. Online Professional Development Opportunities: VES Summer School will be offered to all VES users starting June 25th. Learn about standards based resources available to you, participate in discussions with other educators across the state, and contribute to the design and development of VES. Self-study modules will be rolled out weekly, allowing you to participate at your own pace. The program has been designed for those who wish to earn PDPs and for those who just want to learn more about VES. You will be able to access the Summer School Registration Form on the VES Homepage by June 22nd.

2. VES Design and Development Opportunities: Many of you know that VES will have major development activity underway this summer and next fall. Massachusetts’s public school educators are an incredible resource for the VES Initiative. As a result we are looking to you to support and augment our efforts this summer.

We are seeking individuals for intensive multi-day workshops, part time assignments during the summer, and part time assignments during the fall. All of the projects will give participants direct and early access to VES capabilities, as well as an opportunity to help direct the course of VES. For some it will also mean a chance to participate in advanced wireless, handheld, and Internet Appliance hardware. The following is a list of the projects that we invite you to join:

a.Student Design Team: --> We seek students who are willing to participate in an extended set of activities throughout the summer and fall, as the Student Design Team. This team will participate in the design of the student tools, resources, and student workspace.

b.Technology Competency Project: --> These individuals will help write ISTE and NETS based technology competencies for teaches and students. The competencies will be used to develop an online professional development course.

c.Standards Based Education Competency Project: --> These individuals will prepare standards for what teachers should know and be able to do in implementing standards based teaching and learning. The standards prepared by this group will be used to develop an online professional development course.

d.Curriculum Mapping Project: --> These individuals will prepare model performance based maps of the curriculum in their discipline. The product of this multi-day process will be used with the Instructional Planning and Management tools.

e.Beta Test Program: --> These individuals will test early versions, and proof of concept prototypes of VES tools, resources, and applications.

f.Edge Device Beta Test Program: --> These individuals will test early versions, and proof of concept prototypes of VES handheld, wireless, and Internet Appliances.

g.Professional Development Team: --> These individuals will help VES staff write and test online professional development courses and modules.

h.Educational Content Research and Evaluation Project: --> These individuals will work with VES to identify, validate, document, and integrate high quality Web resources into VES.

i.Programming Projects: --> J2EE, Java and XML, XSL programmers are sought for challenging assignments with the VES team.

j.Librarian Focus Group: --> Participants in this team will work on the VES Virtual Library and Content Gateway projects.

k.Business Manager Focus Group: --> Participants in this team will work on the VES District and School Administrative Support projects.

l.Research and Development Team: --> Educators with research, evaluation, cognitive science, instructional theory, HCI, knowledge base, expert system, or VR expertise are sought for challenging R&D assignments with the VES team.

If you are interested in working on any of these projects, please go to the VES Opportunities exchange at www.ves.mass.edu/voxmain.htm. You can also access the form by clicking on the VOX link on the VES homepage (www.ves.mass.edu). Once you’ve completed the form, you will be contacted regarding the specific opportunities for which you have indicated an interest.

For additional information on any of the above summer opportunities, please contact Mark Rodgers at vox@ves.mass.edu.

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