Lawrence Attorney Richard Rodriguez Appointed as Program Director to manage U.S. Department of Justi
Attorney Richard Rodriguez will Head Lawrence Weed & Seed. See several Lawrence Eagle Tribune Articles which follow.
Thursday, March 21, 2002
Volunteer will head Weed & Seed
By Shawn Regan
Eagle-Tribune Writer
LAWRENCE – For more than a year, Richard Rodriguez has voluntarily supervised the federally funded Weed & Seed program he helped establish to improve the maligned and poverty-ridden neighborhoods of District C.
The many hours spent by Rodriguez as the program’s acting director have paid off. He was yesterday appointed by Mayor Michael J. Sullivan as the full-time director. The program will funnel more than $1 million in crime-prevention and community-revitalization money into District D over the next four years. District D, represented by Rodriguez’s wife, City Counselor Nilka I. Alvarez-Rodriguez, includes the predominantly Latino Arlington neighborhood in North Lawrence.
A recent graduate of the Massachusetts School of Law, Rodriguez will begin his new job Monday. He will work out of an office at the Lowell Street Police Station and earn an annual salary of $35,000. He was recommended to the mayor from a pool of five candidates by the Weed & Seed Personnel Committee and Police Chief John J. Romero. Rodriguez will be paid with grant money as a city employee with full benefits, answering to the police chief. The director’s position and salary were approved last month by City Council.
“(Rodriguez) has a tremendous law background and all kinds of experience with nonprofit groups,” said police, who along with Romero oversees the grant locally. “He has been with Weed & Seed from the beginning and has been a big part of helping the program gain recognition in Washington D.C., and Boston. He’s been doing the legwork and the paperwork as a volunteer, so he will be able to hit the ground running.”
In February 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded District C the lucrative Weed & Seed designation. The district received $175,000 this year and will receive $220.000 for each of the next four years.
Alvarez-Rodriguez was instrumental in winning the federal grant. Its supporters won accolades for going out on their own to secure federal money for their neighborhood, but there were critics who said the money should be made available to the entire city.
“The idea behind Weed & Seed is that law enforcement weeds out crime, and then the nonprofits move in with services to improve quality of life,” Driscoll said.
A variety of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are working together on crime-prevention initiatives, Driscoll said. The Police Department received $50,000 from the initial grant money for police officer overtime for activities such as drug stings and increased patrols.
Local nonprofit organizations involved in the program include the Lawrence Housing Authority, which has established youth tutoring programs and a safe house for abused family members; the Family Health Center, which has developed a program to transport drug addicts to and from treatment; and the Police Athletic League, which offers athletic programming for kids. The Lawrence-Methuen Neighborhood Coalition received $15,000 from the grant, money it used to hire a community organizer to help police plan a neighborhood crime-watch program. Individual mini-grants are also available to residents for small neighborhood projects, Driscoll said.
Rodriguez’s primary duties will include managing the program on a daily basis, writing and submitting progress reports, preparing agendas, facilitating monthly Steering Committee meetings and coordinating the efforts of nonprofit groups and neighborhood residents.
Copyright©2002 Eagle-Tribune Publishing. All Rights Reserved
Under Attorney Rodriguez' tenure as Program Director, Lawrence receives honor award.
Copyright©2003 Rumbonews. All Rights Reserved
