Thank you for your patience. I know it has taken a few weeks for me to really give an update on what has been going on. But I assure you that we’ve been working long hours on a number of important things. It has been a fun and interesting transition from someone writing about the issues to someone who researches and works on those issues– and in the process, I have found an increased appreciation for those willing to volunteer their time and their energy in working toward a common goal.
Yesterday, two of us attended a conference with Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu on volunteerism and “social entrepreneurship,” which is really just a fancy term for a committed and diversified volunteer. And even though most of the conference seemed to be primarily centered on the New Orleans recovery effort, there were several things mentioned that could really benefit Alexandria– theories about neighborhood watch programs and how to combine those programs with other similar ventures, the ways in which neighborhoods can undergo transformation from the inside, and need for comprehensive, community-based planning in all sections of town.
On one level, this may just seem like empty rhetoric, but when you see groups like City First implement and execute, you begin to understand that much of this is possible.
CenLamar 
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