Volume , No. covering the 1st Session of the 105th Congress (1997 - 1998) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“18TH &” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1688-E1689 on Sept. 8, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
18TH & VINE DISTRICT
______
HON. KAREN McCARTHY
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Monday, September 8, 1997
Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge an event that I attended this weekend which exemplifies the rich heritage of the Fifth District of Missouri and demonstrates the phoenix-like results that can come from congressional investments for urban revitalization and bipartisan cooperation to improve our urban centers. That event was the opening of the historic 18th & Vine District Jazz Museum and historic Gem Theater.
Kansas City has made a significant contribution to the great American art form known as jazz. The 18th & Vine District is steeped in history, with the old Attucks School on 18th and Woodland which Charlie Parker attended, and the Street Hotel on 18th and Paseo where all of the great players, like Josh Gibson and Rube Foster stayed. The District also includes the Shannon Building on 18th and Vine, where Joe Louis trained, and the Mutual Musicians' Foundation which is registered as a national landmark. This weekend, the area came alive with the music of jazz legends such as Clause (Fiddler) Williams and 81-year-old big band leader Jay McShann.
The 18th & Vine Project truly represents the best of American ingenuity and public-private partnership. When the project appeared to be in limbo, and public skepticism was running high, creativity came to the rescue and Federal empowerment zone funds were made available to continue this marvelous effort. Private sector commitments came from large corporations such as Sprint planning to open a call center in the district, and small business such as Winslow's BBQ agreeing to manage the Blue Room night club in the jazz museum. Further evidence of the public-private commitment can be seen in the opening of Count Basie Court Apartments, which was a collaborative effort joining the local private Citizen Housing Information Center and Black Economic Union with Federal housing development initiatives.
The Federal empowerment zone initiative is critical for directing resources to revitalize urban areas. Kansas City is maximizing this tool for economic development within our communities and neighborhoods. The congressional bipartisan tax relief package, recently signed into law by the President, included not only an expansion of the empowerment zone initiative, but also a perfect compliment--the brownfields initiative, which provides incentives to transform economically distressed areas and hazardous waste sites into thriving economic centers by providing developers and businesses with a tax credit to improve and reclaim the land.
What is happening in Kansas City is a stellar example of the way the partnership between the public and private sectors and the Federal, State, and local governments can work, and a fundamental reason that the Environmental Protection Agency chose to hold its 1997 national brownfields conference here last week. Initiatives such as the 18th & Vine District, building upon the heritage and unique qualities of that community, create jobs within the community--bolstering local welfare to work activities--and cleaner, safer, and more livable neighborhoods out of areas that were urban blight
Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me in recognizing the efforts of the community embodied in the opening of the 18th & Vine Historic Jazz Museum and Gem Theater and acknowledging the accomplishment of this important public-private partnership. It serves as an example of successful coordination among economic development, welfare-to-work initiatives, and environmental cleanup in our great Nation.
____________________
SOURCE: VINE DISTRICT
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