Thank you to all the neighbors who were able to tune into our meeting, on April 11th, 2022
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Friends of Library Square is having their Spring Cleanup on April 30th, 10-1
Come out for snacks, music, and to meet more neighbors while cleaning your community!
158 N Linwood Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224-1255, United States | Baltimore
Baltimore’s new water affordability program is now accepting applications. Water4all. Apply online or call 4103965555 for a paper application! The Baltimore initiative caps water bills at an affordable rate for low-income families and provides debt relief.
Composting opportunity:
50 kitchen caddies to give away at the Spring Cleanup.
There is a free composite site at North Streeper and East Baltimore.
So far, PPNA composting has diverted 22 tons of food scraps from landfills.
GUESTS
Ivan Bates- Candidate for State Attorney
Ivan came to speak about his own connections to the city and why he wants to be the State Attorney. He has experience working with the State Attorney under Patricia Jessamy and with a firm that had a case with the Supreme Court. Ivan now owns his own law firm and takes a variety of cases. Ivan believes that the judicial system is broken and wants to be State Attorney so that he may work to fix them.
When asked about prosecuting low-level crimes, Ivan believes that having a more customized prosecution procedure is best. For example, with drug offenses, putting offenders in touch with drug treatment as opposed to treating these offenses the same as violent crimes. Ivan believes that it is not about locking people up but more so allowing police to have the tools to deal with situations.
Ivan talks about Keith Davis Jr. and how the constant retrying creates mistrust in the Justice System. Ivan states he will not be trying him a 5th time. (Keith Davis Jr. was the first African American shot and killed by the police post-Freddie Gray killing)
Please listen to the full recording for more about what Ivan talked about and more questions that he answered.
You can learn more about Ivan at his website, and sign up to stay up to date: https://www.batesforbaltimore.com and learn more about his plan: https://www.batesforbaltimore.com/ivansplan or reach out to Ivan at ivan@batesforbaltimore.com
Lemel 'Mel' Jones- THREAD
Mel joined and talked about her background in hunger relief and what brought her to the THREAD project after she realized a lot of people have not had the chance to go past their own communities and meet new people and make connections.
THREAD is an organization that harnesses the power of relationships to create a new social fabric. While supporting 6 schools, THREAD sets up students with an under 1.5 GPA with volunteers and mentors to inspire and connect with students. Students are with the THREAD program for 10 years starting in 9th grade.
100% of students have stayed with THREAD. The organization thinks of its students and volunteers as a family and something that wraps around the students for the entire 10 years. This looks like support through high school, as well as post-graduation, whether that means secondary education or job placements.
Learn more and learn how to volunteer at thread.org. You can also connect with Mel at lemel.jones@thread.org
Randall Matthews, owner of 3100 E. Baltimore
Randall is the current owner of 3100 E. Baltimore, former Moriah's
Randall has a long history of working in restaurants in various capacities in various places like New York. He has opened up 26-27 restaurants so far working with a company, working on training staff, picking uniforms, and brands.
Randall decided that he wanted to open up his own restaurant instead of for others. After working at the Wit and Wisdom restaurant as an executive chef, he fell in love with Baltimore.
He wants to bring a West Coast, Middle-Eastern flair to Baltimore and is hoping to bring hat something that Baltimore does not currently have, for all three meals. Randall emphasized that he wants his space to be part of the community with the feel of a restaurant in Fells Point while maintaining the coziness of Patterson Park. A big part of Randall's vision is having it be a place where people go and meet and is a localized part of the neighborhood.
Pending zoning approvals and such, there is a hopeful mid-July opening for this space. Details like hours and exact menus are not confirmed yet. For all those who are wondering, Randall does not work with Atlas corp or any other funding besides for friends and family.
Find out more about what Randall said about his ideas for his café by watching the Video!