By the time Dominque Young was in middle school, he was running with the gangs on the streets of Austin. Zaire McNeil grew up in the same neighborhood under the watchful eye of her grandmother, who was wary of gangs like Young’s.
Still, the two found their paths crossing at Austin’s youth resource center, BUILD Chicago. It wouldn’t be long before the center became a second home for both of them.
“It changed my whole life, gave me a different mindset and showed me there’s more to the world.” Young said. The 19-year-old joined the center in 2014.
McNeil, 16, began participating in programs at the center on 5100 W. Harrison St. in 2019.
It was the art program that originally drew them to BUILD Chicago. It was therapeutic, and gave them the chance to see their art hanging on the walls of the building. Over time, Young and McNeil joined more programs, like the youth mentorship group. Now, they’re at the center almost every day.
Established in 1969, BUILD Chicago is a gang intervention and prevention program. Originally on Milwaukee Avenue, it moved to Austin in 2011, where it sits on a full city block and offers 10,000 square feet of safe space for youth.
But that 10,000 feet will soon be 50,000.
In 2016 when gun violence was rising across the city and Austin was near the top of the list of most violent neighborhoods, BUILD Chicago board members realized they needed to create “a hub for kids,” with services in the neighborhoods most affected.
A teen center and a wellness room for therapy services was created soon thereafter. But as BUILD’s services and programs expanded, the space needed to as well.
“Kids are dying every day,” CEO Adam Alonso said. “It’s our reality and it’s sad. We’ve lost youth here to gun violence, and I think there’s a sense of urgency to work harder, do more.”
Fundraising for the addition began quietly in 2018, with the goal originally set at $15 million. It’s now $24 million.
BUILD has raised more than $20 million for the 40,000-square-foot expansion, and Alonso is confident they can raise the rest through donations, state funding and grants like the city’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund.
UJAMAA Construction will begin work on the three-story structure in September. The existing building will be remodeled into an education center for science, technology, engineering, arts and math. It will include a music production suite with recording and rehearsal space.
While the current center fits 100 people, the new space will fit 2,000. The project is estimated to be completed by September 2022.
BUILD Chicago’s 40,000-square-foot addition was designed with input from youth participants.BUILD Chicago
Sports programs, art programs and counseling services will all be expanded in the new center. The most requested item for the development, a gym, will be climate-controlled and include a track and fitness center.
The center will be open from 6 a.m. to midnight. During the school year, the center will be open to the community from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., but from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. the space will be open to youth only. It will reopen to the community from 8 p.m. to midnight.
“In order to ensure that our young people can be fully recovered from … the dual challenges of COVID-19 and gun violence … we have to work that much harder to bring resources to bear with our young people,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday at a ground-breaking ceremony.
For Young and McNeil, the new center is a symbol of hope and inspiration. It will offer today’s youth something they feel they didn’t have growing up: a childhood.
“The problem in our community is that so many of us have to grow quickly,” McNeil said. “I hope it gives somebody the childhood that they deserve, that I didn’t really have.”
Cheyanne M. Daniels is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South and West sides.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nanci Griffith, the Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter from Texas whose literary songs like “Love at the Five and Dime” celebrated the South, has died. She was 68.
Nanci Griffith and John Prine perform at the Americana Music Association awards in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sept. 17, 2009.AP
A statement from her management company on Friday confirmed her death, but no cause was provided.
“It was Nanci’s wish that no further formal statement or press release happen for a week following her passing,” Gold Mountain Entertainment said in a statement.
Griffith worked closely with other folk singers, helping the early careers of artists like Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris.
Griffith was also known for her recording of “From a Distance,” which would later become a well-known Bette Midler tune. That cover appeared on her first major label release, “Lone Star State of Mind” in 1987.
Country music artist Suzy Bogguss expressed her grief with an Instagram post on Friday, writing, in part: “a beautiful soul that I love has left this earth.”
Ten days after placing him on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the Bears activated nose tackle Eddie Goldman on Friday.
It’s unclear whether Goldman will play in Saturday’s exhibition opener. Coach Matt Nagy said his starters figure to play eight-to-10 snaps against the Dolphins, but Goldman’s lack of practice the past two weeks could leave him on the bench.
Goldman was one of four players — including linebacker Christian Jones, tackle Elijah Wilkinson and snapper Patrick Scales — put on the reserve list Aug. 3.
The timelines of their return suggest all four were unvaccinated. Unvaccinated players who test positive must isolate for 10 days and can only return once they are no longer symptomatic.
NFL rules state unvaccinated players must isolate for five days if they have had a high-risk exposure to a close contact. The other three were activated Aug. 9. Wilkinson and Jones said they were close contacts.
All four players were told they were being put on the list while on the bus heading to “Family Fest.”
The Bears also waived receiver Thomas Ives, who attended Hinsdale Central before playing at Colgate. Ives had been on the practice squad the last two years.
In the absence of a government mandate on coronavirus vaccines, Katie Tuten, co-owner of The Hideout, set up her own COVID-19 vaccine requirements to protect her employees and patrons from the virus.
“We’re just managing the risk as best we can,” says Tuten, whose club at 1354 W. Wabansia Ave. is among dozens of Chicago bars and performance venues that have announced they’re requiring employees, performers and patrons to provide proof they are vaccinated or of a recent negative coronavirus test.
Major Chicago-area companies also requiring vaccinations for some or all of their employees include United Airlines, Walgreens, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Advocate Aurora Health, Ascension Health, Rush University Medical Center, Loyola Medicine, University of Chicago Medicine and UI Health.
On Friday, the Chicago Public Schools announced that all teachers, staff and vendors must be vaccinated by Oct. 15 unless they have a medical or religious reason not to.
Nationally, Google, Facebook, Disney, Netflix, The Washington Post, Cisco, Frontier Airlines, Walmart and Tyson Foods are among those with new vaccine mandates.
President Joe Biden has said federal employees and on-site contractors must be vaccinated or submit to regular testing. And he has ordered that members of the military must be vaccinated beginning next month, when the Food and Drug Administration is expected to give final approval to the Pfizer vaccine.
Hundreds of colleges and universities, including the University of Illinois, are requiring the shots for employees and students this fall.
The vast majority of those hospitalized with coronavirus amid the surge of the highly infectious Delta variant are unvaccinated people.
That Chicago businesses are stepping up on vaccines is encouraging to Sydney Schumacher, who’s vaccinated. But it’s tough to navigate things when there’s no single accepted way to provide proof, says Schumacher, who went to Lollapalooza in July and says some of the bouncers at the front gate were pretty laid back about checking. The music festival required people to bring and show their vaccination card, not just a smartphone photo.
“They weren’t checking your I.D. to see if you are who you say you are,” says the Lincoln Park resident, who put hers in a plastic bag to protect it. “They briefly looked at it. But it wasn’t super in-depth to make sure it was your vaccine card.”
Festival-goers show proof of COVID-19 vaccination as they pass through a health screening station at the main entrance at Lollapalooza in Grant Park.Ashlee Rezin / Sun-Times
Other Chicago festivals have gone further. The Windy City Smokeout country festival in July required all ticket-holders to upload their vaccination record to an app in advance.
At The Hideout, a smaller club that’s presenting only outdoor shows on its patio for now, patrons can show a card, a photo of a card on their phone or an app, any of which gets checked against their driver’s license photo.
“No system is going to be perfect,” Tuten says. “People have been just wonderful about it. They’re being really supportive.”
Katie Tuten, co-owner of The Hideout.Anthony Vazquez / Sun-Times
Nearly three-quarters of eligible Illinois residents have gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, and about 57% are fully immunized.
Here’s the lowdown on key questions about providing proof that you’re immunized.
Do Chicago or the state have an official vaccination app?
No. But Dr. Allison Arwady, the city’s public health commissioner, says she’s monitoring how New York City’s vaccine mandate and phone app for indoor restaurants, gyms and performances is working.
“I’m not taking it off the table, that that might be something that we could consider in the future,” Arwady said Thursday. “We’ve been really pleased to see employers make that decision to mandate vaccinations or, in some cases, vaccinations or frequent negative testing for their employees. … And I’ve also been thrilled to see so many high-risk settings, whether that’s bars, whether that’s clubs, whether that’s events, make that decision to require proof of vaccination or a negative test to come in.”
Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, says the state “is not considering apps at this time.”
Her agency has just launched what it calls Vax Verify, an online portal that people can use to check how their vaccination status is recorded with the I-CARE, the Illinois Comprehensive Automated Immunization Registry Exchange, and download and print their record. It uses Experian, the credit-reporting agency, to verify a person’s identity.
Technologically, New York is ahead of Illinois. It has its Excelsior Pass app, which provides a QR code once a person’s uploaded vaccine information is confirmed with city or state records. And New York City has the COVID Safe App, which keeps an image of people’s cards on their phone but doesn’t verify it.
Should I carry my paper card?
You could. Or take a photo of it with your smartphone, and use that when asked for proof of vaccination.
If you’re worried about privacy, you can keep that photo private on an iPhone by going to the “share” button in “Photos” and selecting “hide. To find it again, tap “albums,” and scroll to “utilities.” You also can hide it in your iPhones Notes app. On Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy phones, you can store the photo in a locked folder.
You also could use another phone app to store your vaccine info.
Like which other apps?
Anyone can use the COVID Safe app offered by New York City. Basically, it stores a copy of your vaccination card on your phone.
Since businesses can choose to accept any or none of these apps, and that could change, it’s best to check in advance before heading, say, to a music festival or performance and see whether its website explains what’s required.
Some institutions are creating their own apps. This fall, the University of Illinois is requiring students and staff to upload their vaccination cards to a portal, to be checked against public health records, says Robin Kaler, associate chancellor for public affairs. Once the info is verified, the person can use their phone to gain entry to university buildings.
Is it OK to laminate my vaccination card to protect it?
Bad idea. Because whenever the day comes when people might need a booster shot, whoever provides it will need to note that on your card.
If you’re worried about spills ruining your card, you could always buy a plastic sleeve for it.
What if I lose my card?
Contact your vaccine provider. It will have your record and can issue a new card.
If you have any trouble, contact Illinois’ I-CARE registry. For details, go online to http://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/prevention-wellness/immunization/icare
What about getting a replacement from the CDC?
Even though vaccination cards bear the logo of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal agency doesn’t store individuals’ health data and can’t issue replacement cards.
What if my provider didn’t provide cards?
That, for instance, was the case early on with Northwestern Medicine, which told patients to go to their online MyChart record and print that out for proof, rather than give a CDC card. Now, any Northwestern patient who wants a CDC card can request one in MyChart or by calling (877) 973-2673.
Is it even legal to require vaccination for work?
Yes. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance in May that said it is legal under federal law for businesses to require a COVID-19 vaccination. The EEOC says that, as long as an employer complies with the reasonable accommodation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other equal opportunity considerations, they can require that their workers be vaccinated.
Even so, some states have passed laws banning vaccine requirements, notably Texas and Florida, states in which the number cases of the highly contagious Delta variant have been shooting up.
Expect court fights to settle this, such as a recent federal ruling in favor of Norwegian Cruise Line, which is requiring that its crews and passengers prove they’re vaccinated despite Florida’s state law against doing so.
What about fake cards?
Those have been offered for sale online. But the FBI warns that it’s a crime to falsely use the seal of a federal agency. The Justice Department charged a California woman with wire fraud last month, accusing her of supplying fake cards and bogus “immunization pellets.”
Besides, why spend hundreds of dollars on a fake card and risk getting sick or dying from COVID or passing it on to a loved one when you can get a lifesaving vaccination for free?
NEW YORK — On a chilly Easter Sunday 82 years ago, a tall, elegant Black woman walked down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before an integrated crowd of 75,000 and sang her way into the history books.
Marian Anderson performed for only about half an hour that day in 1939, but her very presence made it a watershed event in the struggle for civil rights. She was appearing at the invitation of first lady Eleanor Roosevelt after the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to bend its whites-only policy for performers at Constitution Hall.
Anderson admitted being nervous about the occasion, but as she later wrote in her autobiography: “I could see that my significance as an individual was small in this affair. I had become, whether I liked it or not, a symbol, representing my people. I had to appear.”
She went on to strike another famous blow against segregation when she broke the color bar at the Metropolitan Opera late in her career in 1955, opening the door for singers like Leontyne Price, who would triumph there six years later.
Many people today likely know of her only from those two headline-making events. But Anderson had a long international career as a concert recitalist with a voice of astonishing warmth and grandeur that conductor Arturo Toscanini said “one is privileged to hear only once in a 100 years.”
Listeners can experience her storied career later this month when Sony Classical issues a digitally remastered collection spanning her career from 1924 to 1966.
The selections show her wide repertory — everything from baroque arias and art songs to religious music and spirituals and more. One CD is devoted to Christmas carols, another to her farewell recital at Constitution Hall in 1964 (the policy of segregation had been abandoned by then). The final disc contains excerpts from a 1957 tour of Asia, sponsored in part by the State Department, and narrated by TV journalist Edward R. Murrow.
Marian Anderson performs from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on April 20, 1952. AP
Anderson was considered a contralto, the deepest vocal range for a female singer, and her ability to take her voice down to subterranean terrain can be heard in the spiritual “Crucifixion.”
But she could also move up nearly three octaves, and in songs like Schubert’s “Die Forelle” (“The Trout”) she lightens her voice to sound like a lyric soprano.
“She seems to me to be like many Black women opera singers in not having easily categorizable voices,” Naomi Andre, a professor at the University of Michigan and author of the book “Black Opera,” said in an interview. “I think of Jessye Norman, Grace Bumbry or Shirley Verrett, who sang things that they decided they would sing rather than what somebody said they should.”
Some selections from later years show the deterioration of her voice over time. Her Met debut, in the role of the fortune-teller Ulrica in Verdi’s “A Masked Ball” — the only time she performed in staged opera — came when she was 57 and had lost some luster and security.
“We all develop, we struggle, we change,” Robert Russ, the Sony Classical producer responsible for the project, said in an interview. “No need to somehow cover up things which are still acceptable.”
She eventually became prosperous from her concert fees, but one of Anderson’s proudest moments came when she was just starting out and earning $5 or $10 a performance. It was enough that she could call Wanamaker’s Department Store in her hometown of Philadelphia to tell them her mother would no longer be working there scrubbing floors to supplement the family income.
First lady Eleanor Roosevelt appears with opera singer Marian Anderson in Richmond, Va., July 2, 1939, as Anderson is presented with the Spingarn Medal. Sony Classical, which owns the Victor archive, has put together a digitally remastered 15-CD set that spans her career from 1924 to 1966.AP
Memory of her achievements may have dimmed over the years, but Philadelphia continues to honor her — most recently with plans to erect a statue of her outside the Academy of Music, where she frequently performed.
Though Anderson’s success was unparalleled in her day among Black classical artists, there were others who had notable careers. Andre cites Harry T. Burleigh , Roland Hayes and Paul Robeson as examples.
“We think of her as the only one, and in many ways she’s the only one who made it to the top,” Andre said. “But she isn’t just this crazy anomaly.
“There were other people who had beautiful voices that we’re ferreting out and finding out about,” she said. “I would love someone to listen to Marian Anderson’s recordings and think, ‘Who else is out there?'”
Packaged as a 228-page coffee-table book with essays, illustrations and details of her discography, “Beyond the Music, Marian Anderson, Her Complete RCA Victor Recordings” is being released on Aug. 27 and sells on Amazon for $97.74.
In this AP file photo, American contralto Marian Anderson appears at the Metropolitan Opera House with general manager Rudolf Bing in New York on Oct. 7, 1954, after Bing announced that Anderson will sing the role of “Ulrica”, the fortune teller, in Verdi’s “The Masked Ball.”AP
All eyes will be on rookie quarterback Justin Fields when the Bears open the preseason Saturday against the Dolphins, and rightfully so. The team’s future hinges on him developing into a star, and everyone is eager for even the slightest hint that he’ll get there.
But aside from Fields and some of the other more obvious names, here are three players with something at stake:
QB Nick Foles
A year after thinking he had finally landed in the right spot, Foles wants off the Bears badly and is making no secret of it. He implied that his struggles last season — 10 touchdowns against eight interceptions, 80.8 passer rating — weren’t all his fault. That doesn’t seem particularly self-aware.
Regardless, his best path out of Chicago is to “keep slinging it with these third-stringers” and make some other team believe it can’t live without him. He’s likely to get the most snaps among the quarterbacks.
CB Kindle Vildor
The Bears believe they found a gem in Vildor, a fifth-rounder who was the 19th cornerback chosen in 2020. Every team says that about every late-round draft pick, but they don’t know until they finally have to play him.
With Kyle Fuller gone and Jaylon Johnson moving to the No. 1 spot, Vildor is getting his chance in a competition against ninth-year veteran Desmond Trufant.
OT Elijah Wilkinson
Meet the Bears’ potential opening-day starting left tackle. Wilkinson was a right guard and right tackle for the Broncos the last four seasons and started just 26 games.
This was not the plan, but the Bears had to scramble to piece together an offensive line because of injuries. With Teven Jenkins still sidelined by a back problem and no timetable for his return, Wilkinson needs to show he’s capable and sway the Bears against bringing in someone else.
The Dupo Tigers softball team (circa 2017) with their regional trophy.
The historic Field of Dreams game was not just for baseball fans. This epic event was a delightful and much needed throwback to a kinder, gentler time and I, for one, could relate completely and didn’t realize how much I needed to see it.
My home town of Dupo, Illinois is the exact same size as Dyersville, Iowa so, as I watched, I was reminded of all the reasons why small town living is so appealing. From the corn fields to the stunning buttermilk sunset, every scene was postcard perfect and made me miss my little town and, frankly, that way of life.
As everyone knows, the game was inspired by the 1989 film classic, “Field of Dreams” and the nostalgia factor was off the charts for this well planned event. Players, wearing throwback uniforms, followed Kevin Costner out of a corn field and onto the diamond. (This is where I kinda lost it)….It was such a moving scene and you could tell that even these players (who’s seen everything in every major city they’ve played in) were affected. Many took photos before the game, sitting on the little porch swing in the make-believe home that was featured in the movie, in the corn maze (that was designed to look like the MLB logo) and even of each other sampling the corn right off the stalks.
As fans entered the stadium (built at a cost of $5 million+), audio from the film was playing with the effect being total immersion in this “fairytale film dream.”
To make sure the experience was perfect, volunteers even zip-tied thousands of corn stalks upright that had drooped in a previous rain storm. As the epic game was played, drone shots showed the next field over where Little Leaguers were playing the same game as their Major League counterparts. The imagery was stunning and moving.
I could almost smell the dirt coming off the TV screen and remembered playing softball (short-stop, left-handed) in Dupo. As dusk fell, the mosquitoes came out and the smell of nature was replaced by the smell of DEET. I loved it. The sunsets, like the one in Dyersville last night, was unlike any I’ve seen anywhere else in the world. Every time I go back home for a visit, I’m still in awe of this visual and words can’t do it justice.
Even Kevin Costner, in his address to the fans, seemed a bit speechless. “30 years ago, on the other side of that corn, we filmed a movie that stood the test of time. Tonight, thanks to the impact that enduring little movie had, it’s allowed us to come here again. But now we’re on a field that Major League Baseball built. We’ve come to see the first place White Sox play the mighty Yankees in a field that was once corn. It’s perfect. We’ve kept our promise and MLB has kept it’s promise, the dream is still alive. There’s only one question, is this heaven? Yes it is….”
I couldn’t agree more…..it’s where small town dreams can take flight, not just for major league baseball players, but for everyone who believes.
Candace Jordan, award-winning media personality, cyber-scribe and author CandidCandace.com has appeared on three of the city’s top 100 lists: 100 Powerful Chicagoans, 100 Women Making a Difference and 100 Women of Influence. She has been a Chicago personal brand since moving here in 1974 and is a champion and an advocate for our city, shining a light on the charities, people and events that make it great through her many media outlets, including her popular Candid Candace blog.
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban completed their sweep of the country’s south on Friday as they took four more provincial capitals in a lightning offensive that brought them closer to Kabul, just weeks before the U.S. is set to officially end its two-decade war.
In just the last 24 hours, the country’s second- and third-largest cities — Herat in the west and Kandahar in the south — have fallen to the insurgents as has the capital of the southern province of Helmand, where American, British and NATO forces fought some of the bloodiest battles of the conflict.
The blitz through the Taliban’s southern heartland means the insurgents now hold half of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals and control more than two-thirds of the country — weeks before the U.S. plans to withdraw its last troops. The Western-backed government in the capital, Kabul, still holds a smattering of provinces in the center and east, as well as the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
While Kabul isn’t directly under threat yet, the resurgent Taliban were battling government forces in Logar province, some 50 miles from the capital. The U.S. military has estimated that Kabul could come under insurgent pressure within 30 days and that the Taliban could overrun the rest of the country within a few months. They have already taken over much of the north and west of the country.
In the south, the insurgents swept through three provincial capitals on Friday.
Attaullah Afghan, the head of the provincial council in Helmand, said that the Taliban captured Lashkar Gah following weeks of heavy fighting and raised their white flag over governmental buildings. He said that three national army bases outside of the city remain under control of the government.
Atta Jan Haqbayan, the provincial council chief in Zabul province, said the local capital of Qalat fell and that officials were in a nearby army camp preparing to leave.
Bismillah Jan Mohammad and Qudratullah Rahimi, lawmakers from Uruzgan province, said local officials surrendered Tirin Kot. Taliban fighters paraded through a main square there, driving a Humvee and a pickup seized from Afghan security forces.
In the country’s west, meanwhile, Fazil Haq Ehsan, head of the provincial council in Ghor province, said its capital, Feroz Koh, also fell to the insurgents.
With security rapidly deteriorating, the United States planned to send in 3,000 troops to help evacuate some personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Britain and Canada are also sending forces to aid their evacuations. Denmark said it will temporarily close its embassy in Kabul, while Germany is reducing its embassy staff to the “absolute minimum.”
Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have fled their homes amid fears the Taliban will return the country to the sort of brutal, repressive rule it imposed when it was last in power at the turn of the millennium. At that time, the group all but eliminated women’s rights and conducted public executions as it imposed an unsparing version of Islamic law. An early sign of such tactics came in Herat, where insurgents paraded two alleged looters through the streets on Friday with black makeup smeared on their faces.
There are also concerns that the fighting could plunge the country into civil war, which is what happened after the Soviets withdrew in 1989.
“We are worried. There is fighting everywhere in Afghanistan, the provinces are falling day by day,” said Ahmad Sakhi, a resident of Kabul. “The government should do something, the people are facing lots of problems.”
The U.N. refugee agency said nearly 250,000 Afghans have been forced to flee their homes since the end of May, and that 80% of those displaced are women and children. It says some 400,000 civilians have been displaced since the beginning of the year, joining millions who have fled previous rounds of fighting in recent decades.
Peace talks in Qatar between the Taliban and the government remain stalled, though diplomats are still meeting, as the U.S., European and Asian nations warned that battlefield gains would not lead to political recognition.
“We demand an immediate end to attacks against cities, urge a political settlement, and warn that a government imposed by force will be a pariah state,” said Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy to the talks.
But the Taliban advance continued.
Hasibullah Stanikzai, the head of the Logar provincial council, said fighting was still underway inside Puli-e Alim, with government forces holding the police headquarters and other security facilities. He spoke by phone from his office, and gunfire could be heard in the background. The Taliban, however, said they had captured the police headquarters and a nearby prison.
The onslaught represents a stunning collapse of Afghan forces after the United States spent nearly two decades and $830 billion trying to establish a functioning state. U.S. forces toppled the Taliban in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which al-Qaida planned and executed while being sheltered by the Taliban government. The fighters now advancing across the country ride on American-made Humvees and carry M-16s pilfered from Afghan forces.
Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the Afghan army has rotted from within due to corruption and mismanagement, leaving troops in the field poorly equipped and with little motivation to fight. The Taliban, meanwhile, have spent a decade taking control of large swaths of the countryside.
That allowed them to rapidly seize key infrastructure and urban areas once President Joe Biden announced the timeline for the U.S. withdrawal, saying he was determined to end America’s longest war.
“Whatever forces are left or remaining that are in the Kabul area and the provinces around them, they’re going to be used for the defense of Kabul,” Roggio said. “Unless something dramatically changes, and I don’t see how that’s possible, these provinces (that have fallen) will remain under Taliban control.”
A day earlier, in Herat, Taliban fighters rushed past the Great Mosque in the historic city — a structure that dates to 500 BC and was once a spoil of Alexander the Great — and seized government buildings.
Herat had been under militant attack for two weeks, with one wave blunted by the arrival of warlord Ismail Khan and his forces. But on Thursday afternoon, Taliban fighters broke through the city’s defensive lines.
The insurgents circulated photos and a video showing Khan in their captivity as well as video footage that appeared to show captured military helicopters.
In Kandahar, insurgents seized the governor’s office and other buildings, witnesses said, adding that the governor and other officials fled the onslaught. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the defeat has yet to be acknowledged by the government, which has not commented on the latest advances.
The Taliban had earlier attacked a prison in Kandahar and freed inmates inside, officials said.
On Thursday, Nasima Niazi, a lawmaker from Helmand, said civilians likely had been wounded and killed in airstrikes. U.S. Central Command has acknowledged carrying out several strikes in recent days, without providing details or commenting on the concerns over civilian casualties.
Pakistan, meanwhile, opened its Chaman border crossing for people who had been stranded in recent weeks. Juma Khan, the Pakistan border town’s deputy commissioner, said the crossing was reopened following talks with the Taliban.
___
Faiez reported from Istanbul and Krauss reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Jan Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.
It was a Tuesday afternoon in March, and Jesse Iniguez was trying to relax at his daughter’s soccer game.
But work was on his mind. He was worried about making payroll at Back of the Yards Coffeehouse, which he and Mayra Hernandez opened in 2017.
His phone buzzed. He had an email. He’d just gotten a $20,000 grant from DoorDash’s Main Street Strong Accelerator Program. He was shocked, excited — and relieved.
“It came at a moment when I was down and frustrated, trying to figure out how we’re going to continue to operate the business without the amount of revenue that we need coming in,” Iniguez said.
Like many small businesses during the pandemic, Back of the Yards Coffeehouse, 2059 W. 47th St., was struggling. When the pandemic hit, it quickly began losing revenue. The business was hit hardest in April and May last year, losing nearly $30,000, or 75% of revenue, compared to those same two months in 2019.
“It was scary,” Iniguez admitted.
Iniguez and his team applied for as many grants as possible. But while they received more than $100,000 in grants and two PPP loans, most grant money came in slowly — $1,000, maybe $5,000, at a time.
DoorDash’s program was designed specifically to help Black-, Latino- and women-owned businesses during the pandemic.
“We wanted to create a program that provided grant funding and specialized education programming to restaurants most impacted by the pandemic,” said Tasia Hawkins, social impact program manager for the food delivery company.
Iniguez was awarded half the DoorDash grant upfront in April to cover pandemic costs. Then, over eight weeks in April and May, he attended classes on marketing, menu creation and personalized business planning.
Since then, Iniguez has taken steps to expand Back of the Yards Coffeehouse, proposing a multibusiness building with Black, Brown, women and LGBTQ entrepreneurs from his neighborhood and seek funding for it through the city’s Invest South/West initiative.
The building would house Back of the Yards Coffeehouse’s production and roasting operations, a bakery, a brewery and a souvenir shop.
But the biggest piece of the development would be a workforce development center, where the business owners would train youth from Back of the Yards in food and beverage production and provide them jobs after their training.
“What you hear in the news oftentimes (about Back of the Yards) is shootings and gang violence,” Iniguez said. “But we feel that the youth unemployment rate and youth violence kind of go hand in hand.”
Despite the loans and grants keeping the coffeehouse alive during the pandemic, Iniguez said its projected loss for those two years is still close to $150,000. But he remains hopeful the business can rebound.
Once a month, members of the Chicago Sinfonietta play on the coffeehouse’s back patio. Prior to the pandemic, there were poetry slams and children’s book readings.
Sheila (left) and Dale West listen to Janice MacDonald and Dileep Gangolli of the Chicago Sinfonietta play at Back of the Yards Coffeehouse, 2059 W. 47th St.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
“We’re hoping when the Delta variant surge goes down, we can do those things again,” Iniguez said.
Sheila and Dale West, both 35, traveled half an hour last week to try Iniguez’s Cafe de Olla and cold brew. They were pleasantly surprised to see the musicians playing on the patio. It gave the place “a breezy vibe,” Dale West said. The couple looks forward to seeing what new things Iniguez will bring to the coffeehouse with the remaining grant money.
Cheyanne M. Daniels is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South and West sides.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The cost of the Bills’ proposed new stadium is $1.4 billion, and is to be built across the street from their existing facility in suburban Buffalo, a person with direct knowledge of discussions told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to The AP Thursday on the condition of anonymity because the details of the proposal haven’t been made public.
The Bills’ proposal has been presented to New York state and Erie County officials as part of discussions, which began two months ago, to determine the future of the NFL team’s home. The Bills are proposing a new facility to replace the newly renamed Highmark Stadium, which opened in 1973.
Talks are happening as the Bills’ lease expires in July 2023, and after the state and county committed $227 million toward extensive renovations and annual capital and game-day expenses in 2013.
Further structural repairs and modern-day upgrades are necessary, all of which in 2014 were estimated to cost $540 million and involve renovating the entire third deck of the stadium. That cost is projected to be much higher in today’s dollars.
“Renovation is simply not an option,” the person said.
The proposed new stadium would be built on a Bills-controlled parking lot located directly across the street from their facility. This would allow the team to continue playing home games in Orchard Park, New York, until the new stadium is completed.
Up for discussion is how much state and local taxpayer money would have to be committed to construction.
Last week, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz warned that the state and county won’t be writing what he called “a blank check.”
“We will get a deal done,” Poloncarz said. “It’s just got to be a fair deal for all.”
The Bills are owned by Terry and Kim Pegula, who purchased the team for a then NFL-record $1.4 billion from the estate of late Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson in 2014. The Pegulas also own the NHL Sabres.
New York state will now be represented in discussions by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is from Buffalo. Hochul is replacing Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced Tuesday that he would resign rather than face a likely impeachment trial after Attorney General Letitia James released a report concluding he sexually harassed 11 women and describing a toxic work environment in his administration.
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