Memphis' muddled Workforce Investment Network at risk of state takeover

The taxpayer-financed Workforce Investment Network is still having problems getting the job done, according to state and local officials.

WIN, a city agency that uses public money to train people for jobs and help employers find workers, is again under scrutiny from the state, which is urging the city to turn it into a not-for-profit or risk a possible state takeover.

The state has withheld $11 million from WIN since November 2008 because the agency did not turn in accurate financial information.

"We've let it be with the city now for almost nine years, and it's not working," said Susan Cowden, administrator of the workforce development division of the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. "I think being part of the city has not helped at all. But it's not our decision, it's the local elected officials' decision."

Blair Taylor, president of the business group Memphis Tomorrow, said it is crucial to get WIN on the right footing.

"Memphis has left millions on the table that should have gone to our neediest populations for job-training and job-placement support," Taylor said. "We can't afford any more underperformance...."

WIN operates the Memphis Area Career Center with other partners, including the state, vocational rehabilitation groups and adult-education providers. WIN staff are city employees.

For nearly a decade, WIN's spending and management has concerned the state, which hired a consultant to perform a management and performance review of the center, released last year.

The report found an "internal struggle" at WIN over "trust, authority, roles and responsibilities, organizational structure and communication," and noted a "chronic problem of late submissions of grants, paperwork and general information requests."


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Memphis Bleek Delaying "The Process"

The long awaited return of rapper Memphis Bleek may have to wait a little longer as his upcoming album, The Process, has been pushed back to 2010.  Originally slated for November 24, the album is now set to drop in February.  The Process is truly a process.
Stating that he needs to really take his time with it to make a true return, the album has been promised for early 2010.
With Jay-Z on his side as executive producer, the project enlisted names such as Just Blaze, Rick Ross and No I.D. to join the ride.  Hopefully, the big homie won't be able to eclipse Bleek's work again like he did last time with “Dear Summer."
Bleek has been out of sight since 2005s 534, but has been in the process of building his own brand with Get Low Records.  Trying to make his own name and escape the shadow of Jay-Z, the rapper has stepped up to the plate as CEO and has been releasing mixtapes as though he was starting his career from scratch under his own guidelines.


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