Later today, a philanthropic collaborative called Living Cities will announce $80 million in grants, loans and investments that it will split among five cities: Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Newark, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Considering the size of major American city budgets, an average of $15 million isn't actually a ton of money, considering some of the systemic problems facing each of those cities. Living Cities hopes to use the cash as seed money, aiming to to stimulate self-sustaining urban renewal projects that will help each area for years to come.  

So has Living Cities found a way to get the most ameliorative bang for their philanthropic buck?

Across the country, dozens of cities are facing serious budget deficits, that are requiring officials to cut everything from swimming pools to firehouses. We're taking a closer look at two of those cities: Detroit and Baltimore. In Detroit, residents are worried that a shortfall of around $450 million may actually force the city to file for bankruptcy. Jerome Vaughn, news director at WDET joins us.

One month after being convicted for embezzling about $500 in gift cards intended for the poor, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon resigned Wednesday after three years in office.  Marc Steiner, host of "The Marc Steiner Show" on WEAA in Baltimore, originally broke the news.  He joins us to talk about what's next for the disgraced mayor and what he's hearing from the people of Charm City.

 

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has been convicted of one count of embezzlement. Dixon was found guilty of stealing around $630 worth of gift cards intended for needy families in Baltimore, then using the cards at stores like Target and Old Navy. Though the charge was only a misdemeanor, Dixon could be forced from office. We're joined by Marc Steiner, host of The Marc Steiner show on WEAA. He's a long-time Baltimore resident and he's been taking the pulse of a city that has, at times, been deeply divided over the mayor's trial.

Local produce, farm-to-table dining, it's all the rage in foodie circles—and now, in the Baltimore public schools. For years, school systems have vowed to make lunch healthier and tastier. Luckily, Tony Geraci is used to a challenge. He has just finished his first year as head of food services for Baltimore City Public Schools, where he has dramatically changed the way Baltimore school kids eat. Joining him on The Takeaway are Michele Simpson and Rashad Epps, students at Baltimore City Public Schools.

Yesterday Vice President Biden announced the federal government is releasing $2.3 billion in recovery act funding for child care and vaccines. The announcement is the latest in a flurry of national and local announcements on how stimulus spending will be spent. Some states, such as Maryland, have immediately jumped on the money and started planning, spending, and even building. Other states (New York, for example) have done next to nothing with the money yet. Joining us to discuss the stimulus spending in the the states is Takeaway Correspondent Andrea Bernstein, who is watching stimulus spending for our ShovelWatch Project, and Mark Steiner, host of the Marc Steiner Show on WEAA in Baltimore.

And we're continuing our investigation of the stimulus plan on air and online. What are your elected officials telling you is coming to your area? What do you know about the projects coming to your community? Where should the stimulus money go instead? Crowdsource the stimulus plan.

On her recent trip to Mexico, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged our part in the violence that’s erupting in Mexico, saying that, “Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the death of police officers, soldiers and civilians.” With the so-called War on Drugs, clearly failing, how should politicians and policy makers re-work the rules of engagement? Joining us to talk about what it would take to get to “mission accomplished” is Kurt Schmoke. He is the Dean of the Howard University School of Law. He also served as Mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, from 1987 to 1999. As mayor he fought for drug reform. For those of you who are fans of The Wire, Dean Schmoke’s drug reform endeavors are rumored to be the inspiration behind the drug enforcement-free zone Hamsterdam, and Dean Schmoke even had a cameo in the series.