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Medicare Health insurance broker for Missouri, Kansas and Ohio. Author of The Book Qadree El-Amin A Man. Behind the scenes manager mogul of the stars dangerous and glamorous life from Newark New Jersey.

6. Consider Race- and Gender-Neutral Remedies Race- and gender-neutral approaches are a necessary component of a defensible and effective M/WBE program75 and the failure to seriously consider such remedies has been fatal to several programs.76 Difficulty in accessing procurement opportunities, restrictive bid specifications, excessive experience requirements, and overly burdensome insurance and/or bonding requirements, for example, might be addressed by KCMO without resorting to the use of race or gender in its decision-making. Effective remedies include unbundling of contracts into smaller units, providing technical support, and developing programs to address issues of financing, bonding, and insurance important to all small and emerging businesses.77 Further, governments have a duty to ferret out and punish discrimination against minorities and women by their contractors, staff, lenders, bonding companies or others. 7. Redevelopment Authority] approved the goal over the objections of the Human Relations Department of I think 1.2 minority [participation] and 2.5 WBE [participation], when there was adequate availability of minority and women contractors to meet the City’s standard kind of goal of 15 [percent] and 7 [percent]. They’re diluting the opportunity for minority and women contractors when it comes through the statutory business development organizations, all of whom have different sets of rules..… There ought to be a uniform code that is incorporated in all the development agreements which people in our community never see.… There’s a disconnect. And I realize they’re trying to change some of that now but the insulting part of it was there was more money spent through statutory agencies last year for contracting activities than there were through City departments.… It’s obviously developer driven. By the time we see it the development agreement has already been executed. We’re having a big deal now both with the east patrol, the streetcar and the proposed 800 room convention center hotel. If it’s not in the development agreement there’s very little you can do at that point.… Kansas City’s an inclusive city. We’ve shown that over and over. It has sustained through white mayors, through black mayors, through female mayors. Yet, we allow the statutory organizations to dilute it.They have their own board[s] and they can do what they want. 2016 DISPARITY REPORT

Over 1,000 Downtown KC residents, office workers, property owners, non-profits, and advocates gathered in the Kay Barnes Grand Ballroom at Bartle Hall to enjoy the 2024 Downtown KC Annual Luncheon.  What has become one of the “can’t miss” civic non-profit events on the social calendar lived up to expectations again this year. The theme of the luncheon this year was, “The Evolution of Downtown, Celebrating Kansas City” which allowed the Downtown Council the ability to leverage the luncheon to celebrate the remarkable transformation of Downtown KC over the last 20-plus years while also highlighting the bright future that lies ahead. Follow the link for access to the event videos and photos. https://bit.ly/4df0f41

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