Austin Weekly News 032322

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Austin’s oldest surviving house gets landmark status

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FREE Vol. 36 No. 12

March 23, 2022

Also serving Garfield Park

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ANNUAL TAX SALE SCHEDULE INSIDE

A crash course in legal weed Olive Harvey College program aims to create more racial equity in the weed industry — from the ground up By PASCAL SABINO Block Club Chicago

PROVIDED

Felton Kizer and Amanda Christine Harth are the cofounders of Monday Coffee.

Black-owned coffee shop still brewing

Monday Coffee’s long-term agreement with Garfield Park Conservatory will give company ‘some sort of permanence,’ cofounder says REPORT BY PASCAL SABINO, PAGE 10

People once arrested for marijuana possession are now learning how to work in the legal weed industry thanks to a scholarship program funded by cannabis tax revenues. Participants in the nine-month scholarship program, called Still I Rise, are getting a formal education and career training in cannabis studies at Olive-Harvey College in Pullman. Participants, who have a past arrest related to marijuana, get free tuition, a $1,000 monthly stipend, academic support and help with child care, transportation and case management as part of the program. The school developed the cannabis studies certification when recreational weed was legalized statewide in 2019. It’s on track to have an accredited associate’s degree in cannabis studies by spring 2023. The community college partnered with two nonprofits — Centers for New Horizons and UCAN — to create a referral pipeline to get South and West side residents into the program and connect participants with services like behavioral health support and mentorship to ensure their success. The scholarship is intended to ensure communities that long suffered under the War on Drugs get a fair share of the economic opportunities generated by legalization. Despite efforts to diversify the See WEED on page 4

FREDRICK R.

CHI.GOV/REALSTORIES


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