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In the midst of an economic downtown, small businesses had to figure out how to stay afloat. The website fundBLACKfounders launched earlier this year, and is providing a platform to help small businesses that are in need, or are looking to launch.“We offer a boutique movie-going entertainment experience,” Kendra Tucker explained. She helps run Next Act Entertainment. The idea for the Maryland business started in 2018, in part with co-owner Anthony Fykes.“2019 we opened up the theater. We took up a 1938 Art Deco theater right outside of Baltimore,” Fykes explained. “And we basically renovated it.”Then COVID-19 hit, forcing businesses like movie theaters to close temporarily.“During this time we knew that we just needed to survive as most small businesses do, and we had a lot of guests that were asking us about, How can we support you?'” Fykes said.For some businesses, closures weren’t temporary. A study out of Stanford University showed the drop in business owners from February to April 2020 was the largest on record, and black-owned businesses saw a 41 percent drop.So Fykes looked for help. “I basically just did a Google search and I found Renee, and the platform looked legit,” he said.He had come across fundBLACKfounders, a crowdfunding platform.“We were super nervous at first around even doing something like this. We were like, how are we going to be perceived, are our guests going to think we’re going belly up?,” Fykes said.“What I noticed with crowdfunding is that not a lot of African Americans were using it for ownership or for building businesses or startups,” Renee King said. She started fundBLACKfounders. She said anyone can start a campaign on the platform -- but unlike other crowdfunding sites, fundBLACKfounders coaches businesses through the process, and gives founders flexibility. The platform takes five percent commission on funds earned.“They can raise or lower their goal amount,” King explained. “As the money starts to come in and our merchant account clears it, the money goes straight to the founder.”“Starting in the end of January 2020 through now, we’ve raised over ,000…for 12 black entrepreneurs,” she said.For Next Act, the platform provided a way for the community to help.“It’s success is really built on the strength of the community that supports it, and fundBLACKfounders, it matches the type of strength and support that we get from our community,” Tucker said.For other companies like Saraa Green’s startup, the platform gives her a way to get an idea going. “We initially wanted to raise capital for our business to bring our tool out into the market,” she said.Her product is called The Braid Releaser. “My mom had to take out our braids and take down our braids and that would take hours, and the tools that she was currently using really wasn't doing its job,” Green explained. “She wanted to create a tool that would decrease the time in taking down braids, that is comfortable to use, and that essentially reduces the hair loss during the process.”That’s when she met Renee King. “I did not want my mother's dream to just come to an end because of this pandemic,” Green said.Nearly eight in 10 small businesses are now fully or partially open as of June, according to a poll by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.“What's good is this is actually helping us think through how do we flex into the entertainment part of our business,” Tucker said. Next Act has expanded to become a broader entertainment space, and is even being used for private events to help stay in business.As fundBLACKfounders grows, King wants the platform to help connect businesses to their communities.“We need to start helping black entrepreneurs a little bit more, and getting them more funding so that they can scale the solutions they need for their communities or they need for the world in general,” King said. 3864

It was a tough few months for the Cincinnati Zoo's beloved behemoth: Henry the Hippo had lost his appetite, only to regain it and lose it again; fought off a serious infection; and his kidneys appeared to be shutting down.The 36-year-old hippo — father to Fiona, whose underweight birth made her famous on social media — died today.Veterinarians and care staff had been trying to bring him back to health, but he continued to slide in recent weeks."We're doing everything we can to keep him comfortable," the zoo said in a recent blog post.According to the zoo, the median life expectancy for a Nile hippo is 35. He came to Cincinnati from Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri.His declining condition came near the tail-end of a pretty joyous year for hippo staff: They nurtured Fiona into childhood after she born six weeks early and half a calf's normal birth weight. The entire hippo bloat -- Henry, Fiona and mother Bibi -- were all reunited just a few months ago. 1013

INDIANAPOLIS -- Two men have been arrested in connection with the death of a 1-year-old Indianapolis girl.The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department tweeted the news about the arrest Wednesday morning. Darrin Banks, 27, and Brian Palmer, 29, were arrested for their involvement in the shooting. Malaysia Robson was killed when gunfire struck her home on the 3500 block of Wittfield Avenue on March 30.  445

It is a county-approved program that is supposed to help you pay for energy efficient home improvements, but some homeowners blame the program for big tax increases they cannot pay. At least three homeowners who received financing through the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program say they were misled. The PACE program allows you to pay for home improvements, like solar panels, through your property taxes.  Maria Silva said her Del Cerro home is her life. “It’s very important… it’s my home for 28 years,” Silva said.  It is a home she is in danger of losing. Silva said it started with a man coming to her doorstep about two years ago. Silva said he offered a deal on home improvement projects like double pane windows.  At first, she said no. However, she said the salesman was persistent. For Silva, it was more than a money problem.  She is legally blind. She wanted to wait for her son.  “He told me well, this promotion ends,” Silva said of the salesman.  She said she told the man she was visually impaired, but he told her not to worry and he “was going to read everything for [her].” She did not want to miss out on what she thought was a good deal. At the time, Silva said she was told she would be paying no more than ,000 a year. Silva said she understood the payment would be going on her property tax, but when she got the bill, it showed an increase of more than ,000 this year.  “It seems very predatory,” said her son, Allan Silva.  On top of that, Allan Silva says the company who upgraded their air conditioning unit never removed the old one like promised. “It kind of seems like some shady things happened to my mom,” Allan Silva said. Carolyn Reilly with Elder Law and Advocacy has heard of deception with this program.  “They're telling them it's a free product, it's a free government program,” Reilly said. Reilly said loans are approved for seniors on fixed incomes who cannot afford them and she’s handling many cases from the elderly who say financing was not explained.  “They're desperate because at some point, it's going to lead to foreclosure for them,” Reilly said. One Poway woman, who did not want to use her name, said she wound up with a ,000 bill added to her taxes. She said A1 Solar sold she and her husband on solar panels, but she had no idea a lien would be placed on her home in addition to increased taxes. She also alleges that her husband was not the one who signed the documents. “I was not happy with the salesman coming in and going to the computer and signing Jim's name to the documents. I don't think Jim fully understood what was happening,” she said. Her husband, Jim, is dealing with numerous medical issues. Michele Glen is their caretaker and also signed on with A1 Solar. Team 10 examined the contracts, which say the amount would be added to the homeowner’s property tax. However, Glen said the salesman “rushed [them] through it.” “He says, everything is fine,” Glen said.  Team 10 called the salesman they say went to their home. He said he had nothing to do with A1 Solar and hung up before Team 10 could ask any more questions. According to the Contractors State License Board, A1 Solar’s license was suspended for multiple complaints, including misrepresentation to obtain a contract. A lawyer who worked for the company says A1 Solar is now out of business. San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob said the PACE program has generated about 0 million in projects and has created thousands of jobs. She has received a few complaints, but believes overall, the program is working. “Frankly, if there are bad apples in the barrel, you need to get them out of the barrels,” Jacob said. She told Team 10 the county will continue with the PACE program because overall it has “been very helpful to a lot of people.” Experts at the Approved Home Pros, a contractor’s association, say the PACE program can be a good fit for some homeowners, but it is important to be educated before committing to it.  Recently, Governor Brown signed legislation that aims to provide more oversight and strengthen consumer protections with the PACE program.     4297

INDIANAPOLIS — People from two separate vehicles had to be rescued after their vehicles slid into an Indianapolis retention pond during the icy conditions Monday evening. Crews with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Indianapolis Fire Department were called to a retention pond near a shopping center around 6:35 p.m. for a report of two vehicles that went into the water. Indianapolis Fire Department Battalion Chief Rita Reith says the drivers of both vehicles claimed to have hit a patch of ice on a bridge nearby and slid into the retention pond. 599

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