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VOL XIV NO.4 DECEMBER 15 - 21, 1991
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a
ied
reak for homeown r
o B n on Harbor revival
By JODI c. KLEIN
C.,il.' N..,. S.,.,ic.
lJ\NSING-For future
homeowners, Benton Harbor may be
the place to purchase a home.
Since Benton Harbor is
consi�red the most "distressed city
in the state as well as the nation,"
residents in the city may receive a
tax break on their property taxes,
said Bob Jackson, chairman of the
Enterprise Zone Council. ,
Right now the city of Benton
Harbor is an "enterprise zone." This
means that as of now all businesses
in and coming to Benton Hamor
have a tax freeze. All businesses in
the city pay a fixed amount of taxes.
This amount is determined by the
value of the building and the land
that it sits on.
"TmS MAKES IT profitable to
do business in a distressed urban
area, " Jackson said.
Since businesses are receiving
these benefits, many want to
incorporate the residents as well.
"We want to provide a quality of
life in this distressed area that is
decent," Jackson said. "We haven't
even scratched the surface of
incorporating the residents into that
turnaround. "
If the housing opportuni ty zone
propcsal goe through, incoming
residents of the city would receive a
tax freeze based on the value of their
home and their property value.
- Those C\lftelltly 'Wlg in
the city, "would be able to build and
fix up their own homes and take part
in this tax freeze," Jackson said.
effort to boost the economy within the city could be on i
the city. The bmines aspect . straightening , .. ,"N..�.,..,
generated about 700 new job, problems.
created a payroll increase and helped By introducing thi housing
to develop the city. opportunity zone proposal, "We'd
If Benton Harbor tries to See REVIVAL, A.10
incorporate housing into this policy,
C DIR C-
TIO appear to b emph izing
community-ba ed upport and
medi technique in contrast to
the high-tech, computer­
programmed tyle of Duke and
Buch nan. "The BI ck com­
munity i not yet ready '0
embrace Republicani m" Carter
y . "But, they will embrace in­
dividual who al 0 happen to be .
Republican," he dds.
"Clarence i an ggre ive
on d political op rative who
will use hi bro d experience to
help Republican candid te
achieve greater inroads mong
African-American voters," id
MADONNA AND CH�D -This drca 1859 pboto beJon to collector
J clde Napolean WU D of Detroit Like other pbotos 10 the W
collectlon the picture i m terptece. For tory nd dditioDal pbot
tum to Page A-6.
,
By LARRY A. STILL
Whil ormer u u Klan
I d r D vid Duke d co erva­
tive medi co ultant P trick
Buch nan reeking to p h
Repubtican Pre ident George
B h furth r to th Right, poli ti­
c lly, with anti- oci l-welfare
propo 1, the Grand Old P rty'
(GOP) national committee
launched an ggre ive effort to
ttra t more "g roo BI ck
voter " by recrui ting "com­
muni ty- pproved" Afric n
American candidat .
The election of CI renee H.
Carter, a national political con-
ultant, director of African-
American Politic I Mfai t the
Republican National Committee
w announced by Clayton Yeut­
ter, RNC chairman. Carter nd
Roger Dornbierer re p rtne
and directo of Campaign Direc­
tions of Monmouth, NJ, a politi­
cal consulting firm which plans to
work exclu ively for BI ck
Republican candidate for public
office.
Th firm already ecured
83,000 in individual contrac
i I
. I
THE ENTERPRISE zone is an
DSS tries 'Smarter not harder'
By USHA MANCHANDA
agencies have been making an effort to identify com­
mon problem areas and streamline their efforts to
maximize their effectiveness.
"What we are trying to do is
examine every program and
means by which we deliver th
program, with a view to maxi­
mize our internal efficiency and
effectiveness," Roth said.
Directors of the DSS. Depart­
ment of Public Health, Depart­
ment of Mental Heal th and Office
of Services to the Aging have
been meeting every month since
May.
"These department heads
made a commitment that they win
talk on regular basi, which i
non-crisis-oriented," said Jocelyn
Yanda, a DSS pokesperson.
Many of the state clients are erved by two or more
departments. One department may have the expertise
Cu"'" Nttn Sendt:«
4 LANSING-- The Michigan government-faced
with a deficit of $1.3 billion and
a state unemployment rate of 9.7
percent-is trying to determine
how best to serve the needy amid
a troubled economy.
A more efficient coordination
of state agency services may be
one such way.
The need of the hour is "work­
ing smarter and not harder," said
Ed Roth, deputy director of the -
Department of Social 'Services
(DSS).
Roth said he expects an in­
crease in the number of people
seeking state assi tance: "We need a collaborative
undertaking to buttress the budget resources of
various agencies."
ACCORDINGLY, FOUR HUMAN service·
See DSS, A·10