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In the June 10 issue of the The Business Journal Daily, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown praised MVOC's work in promoting CRSI legislation co-sponsored by Brown and Congressman Tim Ryan.

Brown, a member of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, was interviewed after a senate hearing.  The senator mentioned Youngstown's efforts as a prime example of how shrinking cities and vacant propertiesn can be addressed.

Read the full article here.

Over 200 leaders from Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Youngstown convened at Trinity United Methodist Church in Youngstown on Friday, May 21 for the Regional Network Conference: "Rebuilding Cities that Built America."

The event was designed as a way for the region's leaders to share their cities' best practices in addressing the issues that are facing these older industrial cities.  In addition to workshop and plenary sessions,  Dan Kildee, mastermind of the Genessee County Land Bank and president and co-founder of the Center for Community Progress, was the featured keynote speaker.

Kildee took a few minutes after his speaking engagement to speak with The Vindicator.

MVOC was the recent recipient of a Dominion Foundation Community Impact Award for its Vacant Properties Campaign that has included completing a comprehensive vacant property survey in the cities of Youngstown and Warren, advocating for state and federal resources, holding landlords accountable, and sponsoring the creation of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation.

In her online article in The American Prospect Amy Hanauer,  executive director of Policy Matters Ohio, discusses the fiscal issues that have swept through Ohio in recent years, and the toll it has taken on many of its residents. Though the state and many of its communities are teetering on the brink of budget deficits and even greater basic equity deficits, Hanauer names a few bright spots that are working to a better, more equitable way for Ohioans. Named among those was MVOC:

Community organizing is enjoying a modest resurgence with groups like the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative effectively mobilizing citizens to push for equity.

Hanauer goes on to discuss the solutions for Ohioans to work together to prepare the state and its people for upcoming challenges. Read the rest of Hanauer's article here.

Community leaders and officials from around the Valley have expressed their disappointment and shock over the announcement of the second round of Neighborhood Stabilization Program
funding.  U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan (D-17) made the following statement on the matter:
 

“I am stunned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s
rejection of the Mahoning Valley’s outstanding application for
Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.  I have already communicated
my disbelief to the White House and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, and I
intend to pursue all avenues available to ensure that the communities
within the 17th District have the resources necessary to carry out
these important revitalization programs.  Mayor Jay Williams and I are
scheduled to meet with the White House next week regarding Youngstown’s
2010 Plan; after today’s announcement, our elimination from the NSP
program will be at the top of our agenda.”

MVOC will also be joining Ryan and Williams in meeting with White House officials next week.

On Monday, November 16th, the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative and several grassroots leaders visited several key lawmakers in Washington D.C. regarding House Bill 932/Senate Bill 453, the Community Regeneration, Sustanability, and Innovation Act of 2009. The  ill, co-sponsored by Representative Tim Ryan (D, OH-17) and  Representative Brian Higgins (D, NY-27) will help older industrial cities like Youngstown and Warren, and dozens of shrinking, post-industrial cities across America, deal with the seemingly insurmountable problems associated with industrial decline, rapid emigration, and long-term disinvestment. The bill currently has 41 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House and has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and co-sponsored by Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio For more information, on the bill's progress, the organizing strategy behind it, and other valuable resources, check out www.rebuildingcitiesthatbuiltamerica.com.

MVOC also met with other groups like the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, to strategize around furthering the bill and, more broadly, around shaping a national dialogue with support for older industrial cities as a priority.

Attached to this blog entry is an http://www.mvorganizing.org/sites/default/files/09_11-11 CRSI Doc SMALL.pdf">info sheet on CRSI.