Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper April 20 2013

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Volume 121 No. 37

Hope Fades for Strict Gun Laws

By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO

Hopes for robust new guncontrol laws are withering away.

Though a bipartisan group of 67 senators voted

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April 20, 2013 - April 20, 2013, The Afro-American

APRIL 20, 2013 - APRIL 26, 2013

UM Police Trainee Struggles to Recover after Shooting City Cop Indicted in Incident

By Massimo A. Delogu, Jr. Special to the AFRO

Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA

The gun debate comes after the sixth anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting.

April 11 to break a filibuster, allowing a slate of proposals to reach the Senate floor for debate, support for the actual measures remains fragile.

Efforts to garner the required 60 votes will be hard-fought, especially with

the extended medical absence of Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), a likely yes vote.

And, even if the Senate passes a bill, the House seems poised to reject it.

For advocates, such meager support just months Continued on A4

Two months after he was shot by a Baltimore police trainee during a training exercise, University of Maryland Police Officer Raymond Gray can’t hold his wife, play with two boys or work.

After he was shot, he spent three weeks at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma, before he was transferred to Sinai Hospital, for rehabilitation. Any day now, he’ll be taken to a private facility, where, hopefully, he will improve.

The officer who shot him, Baltimore Police Officer William S. Kern, 46, last month was indicted on one count of second

degree assault and one count of reckless endangerment, authorities said. He’s out on his own recognizance, but the department placed him on administrative leave, with pay, pending the outcome of the case. He faces a maximum of up to 15 years if convicted of both charges, authorities said.

“The state attorney’s office took a safer route in terms of trying to get a conviction in relation to reckless endangerment,” said Baltimore attorney Dwight Petit, who is preparing a civil suit on behalf of Gray. “We would have preferred to see more serious charges in terms of first degree assault but we understand that there may have been concern as to whether the elements of first degree

Continued on A3

Community Coalition Marches for Safer Streets

By Krishana Davis AFRO Staff Writer

Neither the heavy rain nor the cold that hovered over Baltimore could dampen the spirits of the community leaders, residents, politicians, clergy and police officers who marched through Fulton Heights on April 12 for a rally to make the streets safer.

Billed the “Enough is Enough” rally, the event was part of a seven week police-citizen effort to address the recent spate in crime in West Baltimore.

Participants included Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts, Lt. Col. Melvin Russell, Baltimore City

State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein, City Councilman Nick Mosby and Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, former president of the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP. The march started at the corner of W. North Avenue and N. Fulton Avenue. Rev. Keith Bailey, president of the Fulton Heights Community Association, led the group in a prayer to acknowledge the residents who had been victimized by crime.

“The march will drive the drug dealers and people in the community doing wrong out,” he said. “We will bring all the churches in the community out and bring them together and it will bring everyone else out of their Continued on A5

Minority Enterprises to Benefit from New Law

By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO

The enactment of legislation that shifts not-for-profits from Maryland’s Minority Business Enterprise procurement program to another preference provider program will open the door of opportunity for more Black businesses and other MBEs, supporters say.

The House of Delegates, earlier

this month, voted 137-0 in favor of the legislation (HB48) after amendments by the Senate, which passed it (SB1066) by a vote of 30-14. The change will go into effect July 1, though it exempts current contracts and those entered into on or before July 1, 2015.

“I was absolutely elated,” said the bill’s sponsor Del. Barbara Johnson. The Baltimore Democrat praised Gov. Martin Continued on A5

Photo by Krishana Davis

Western district Major Rob Smith tells the crowd a story about a horrific homicide in the Fulton Heights neighborhood.

Workers Seek Overhaul of Labor Industry in Baltimore

By Krishana Davis AFRO Staff Writer Charlotte Knox was among the first wave of people hired to work at the downtown Baltimore Hyatt Regency hotel. After 30 years, she was glad to retire last year.

“When I came to work at the Hyatt, there were 400 plus employees, including managers and supervisors. Since then I have seen such a difference,” said Knox.

Knox was able to retire after hip replacement surgery. But many of her co-workers weren’t as lucky, she said, noting that employees hired through temp agencies are forced to perform twice as much work as workers hired directly by the hotel—known as direct-hire employees.

Direct-hire employees are assigned about 18 rooms per shift; temps clean 30, said Knox.

She said after their eight hour shifts, sometimes without breaks, many temps are told to clock out and clean more rooms.

Knox, of Baltimore, is among many laborers, labor advocates and union organizers who are protesting what they call unfair labor practices in Baltimore. Once regarded as a blue collar town, Baltimore is on the verge of labor strife, labor advocates said.

Photo by Avis Thomas Lester

Charlotte Knox

Copyright © 2013 by the Afro-American Company

On April 20, organized labor will participate in a rally aimed at making sure legalized gambling does not lead to disorganized labor.

Labor unions, advocacy groups and workers will gather near the site of the new Baltimore casino, near the M&T Stadium downtown, to urge that casino officials employ fair labor practices, including fair wage.

“At the casino, are those jobs going to be good paying jobs or are they going to be poverty wage jobs?” said Tracy Lingo, lead organizer for UNITE HERE Local 7, a labor union representing hospitality, airport, food, textile and laundry workers. “This rally on fair development is calling on the casino to make sure that they hire local residents and make sure that they create good paying jobs.”

UNITE HERE has also been involved in the fair labor struggle with Baltimore’s Hyatt Regency Hotel. Last month, Regency workers and advocates gathered at City Hall to testify against Hyatt’s hiring practices, which they claim violate its direct-hire employment contract with the city.

During the economic flowering of the Inner Harbor in the 1980s under then-Mayor William Donald Schaefer, the Hyatt Regency Hotel received $20 million in city subsidies to help bring Continued on A5

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The Afro-American, April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013

NATION & WORLD Survivor of 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing Wants Money, Not a Medal

The message and impact of the August 1963 March on Washington were still resonating around the globe when an act of violence tore into the American psyche and acted as an impetus for the civil rights movement.

On Sept. 15, 1963, klansmen bombed the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. Four African-American girls, Denise McNair, 11, and Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carol Robertson, all 14, died from the blast and many others were injured.

Now, Congress is considering conferring a top award to honor the victims. But the tragedy’s lone survivor, Sarah Collins Rudolph, reportedly has said she wouldn’t accept the award, and instead wants restitution after years of medical treatment and out-ofpocket medical expense.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been considering giving Rudolph and the murdered girls the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest award.

Rudolph said she has been largely forgotten in the 50 years since the tragic bombing, according to The Associated Press. She lost an eye when the bomb tore through the

Wikimedia Commons

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church

church. And although she endured months of hospitalization and several surgeries to try to restore sight in her left eye, she was never given restitution, she added.

Her husband said, according to NPR, that survivors of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center were compensated through the congressionally-mandated September 11th Victims Compensation Fund.

Jay-Z Pushes Back Against Criticism of Cuba Trip

Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z has released a scathing response to politicians who criticized the rapper and his superstar wife Beyoncé for spending their fifth wedding anniversary in Cuba.

Scandal erupted in File Photo the days Jay-Z after the pair were photographed dining at local Cuban restaurants and touring historic sites in the country, which has been under U.S. sanctions for more than a half-century.

On April 11, Jay-Z released “Open Letter,” a blistering music track that slams the conservative lawmakers who sought an investigation into the trip.

U.S. Treasury officials on April 9 confirmed that Jay-Z and Beyoncé had travelled to Havana under an educational exchange license.

Responding to inquiries by Florida House Republicans Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, Assistant Treasury Secretary Alastair Fitzpayne wrote in a letter that the hip-hop couple travelled to Cuba with a group authorized by the Office of Foreign Assets Control to promote people-to-people contact in Cuba by U.S. citizens.

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potentially fraudulent ACORN boxes.” ACORN, she said, is the had,” Maude Hurd, president of father and estranged husband forms. victim of fraud, not the perpetraACORN, said in an interview of Julia, at his girlfriend’s Announcer: Massive voter tor of it. with the AFRO. Southside apartment several fraud. And the Obama campaign Hurd said the only things “When this attack started, we hours after the murders. bogus are20, the charges thempaid more than $800,000 to an had just announced that we had Balfour’s mother, Michele, has 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013, The Afro-American The Afro-American, April 2013 April 20, 2013 April selves. And factcheck. org ACORN front for get out the vote registered 1.3 million new vottold reporters that her son had agrees. efforts. ers,” she said. “That’s just to say nothing to do with the slayings.

It concluded, “Neither Pressuring banks to issue risky that someone’s running scared Balfour remains a suspect in Jason Hudson ACORN nor its employees have loans. Nationwide voter fraud. because of ACORN’s success.” been found guilty of, or even Barack Obama. Bad judgment.

McCain, who is running for charged with, casting fraudulent Blind ambition. Too risky for president on the Republican tickvotes.”

America. et, lashed out at ACORN in the The problem came about prifinal debate against Barack marily because of the way Since McCain’s comments, Obama, contending the group “is SQUARE HIGH ACORN operates. Rather than ACORN’s 87 offices have been on the verge of maybe perpetratrely on volunteers, it pays peobombarded with threats and ingMary one ofTablnte the greatest frauds in By where the court decides an out-ofautomatically charging youth as we need to deal with those on an would have established a task force ple, many of them poor orisunemracist mail. voter history this country, Capital Newsin Service home placement necessary. adults. individual basis.” to study law enforcement programs ployed, to sign up new voters.

The day after the presidential maybe destroying the fabric of

“(The bill) will help youth by “What we’ve found is that over Other juvenile law bills were diverting children away from The idea was to help both those debate, vandals broke into the democracy.”

ANNAPOLIS The Maryland being registered ensuringand thatthose theydoing are in theorganization’s least the years unsuccessful this session. juvenile services, but it received an Boston andwe’re Seattleovercharging youth Factcheck.org, a-non-partisan offices and stole Web site,Assembly found thosepassed claimsatobill the registration.

General restrictive settings to get the services ascomputers. adults, and we saw (this) recently SB 454/HB 848 would have unfavorable report from the Senate NOT ON THE LIST BREAD explained, “We havenot a always After a Cleveland bethe “exaggerated,” with “no eviin recently completed session Maud they need and that’s withrepresentative the decision not to build the allowed a child to remain detained Judicial Proceedings Committee. zero tolerance policy for deliberappeared on TV, an e-mail was dence of any such democracythat prohibits juvenile courts in out-of-home placements,” said million detention in a juvenile facility even after the Monique Dixon, the director of ate falsification of registration.” sent to the local$70 office sayingBaltimore she destroying fraud.” from committing a child to the Angela Johnese, the newly appointed center forended.” youth … we really don’t juvenile court determined that the the criminal and juvenile justice Most news account neglect to “is going to have her life Hurd believes the McCain point out that ACORN A worker R.I.,for that many bed charges were of politically Department JuvenilemotivatServices for director of the is mayor’s office on in Providence, have a need youth could be tried for a crime in program of the Open Society by law to turn ininallBaltimore reg- received a threatening say- we’re overcharging,” ed. out-of-home placement for minor requiredcriminal justice and the spaces call because adult court.

Institute-Baltimore, said that DJS LEFT RIGHT istration forms. And they also fail ing, “We know you get off work She said, “Because it’s lowoffenses, including trespass and former juvenile justice director of Carter said.

The goal was to keep young has already taken steps to reduce to note that it was the organizaat 9” and uttered racial epithets. and moderate-income people, possession ofcolor, marijuana. for Children the number of young people in tion, inAdvocates many instances, that first and Youth.

A caller to one office left a and people of I believe the brought theThe phony registrations message on the answering McCain campaign thinks those The aim is to reduce the Department of Legislative the juvenile justice system. These to the attention authorities.the bill could machine, saying: “Hi, I was just voters areofgoing vote to long-term, number youthtosent Servicesofestimates steps include supervising juveniles The McCain camp apparently calling to let you know that – Del. Jill Carter (D-Balt) charged with minor offenses and Democratic, which is not necesjuvenile facilities.

Instead, the save up to $12.5 million if DJS isn’t interested in those fine Barack Obama needs to get sarily true.” youth will receive services reduced by hung.

20 He’s a (expletive Carter, who is chair of the people out of the adult system to allowing them to return home with preferring to are air misleaddeleted) ACORN is no stranger to in theirpoints, placements ing adspercent. that seek to link Obama nigger, and he’sJuvenile a piece of controversy. communities.

Law subcommittee of the make sure they have the services their parents. to ACORN, thereby undercutting (expletive You guys are Committee, said 70 For 38 years, non-partisan Examples ofthe out-of-home “Community services … also deleted).

House Judiciary they need.

In the 2012 fiscal year (July 1, fraudulent, and you need to go to organization has fought for social his political support. placement include foster homes, cost significantly less than outpercent of youth initially charged DJS opposed the bill because it 2011 through June 30, 2012), 61.7 McCain: I’m John McCain hell. All the niggers on oak trees. and economic justice for lowgroup homes and independent living of-home in gonna as arehonreversed back to the would have resulted in a significant percent of newly committed youth and I approve They’re getadults all hung thisplacement message. and result and moderate-income 1 BANANA they’re going to get system, assassi- or their cases are Who is Barack Americans.The Withbill, 400,000 mem-will go Announcer: programs.

HB 916, better outcomes for young eys, people,” juvenile increase in the population in the were committed for misdemeanors, nated, they’re gonna get killed.”

Obama?

A man with “a political ber families organized into more into effect Oct. 1.

Johnese said. dismissed after they’ve been housed state’s juvenile detention facilities. while 20 percent were committed for Another message said, “You baptism performed at warp than 1,200 neighborhood chapOther offenses that will also not Services for youth depend on in adult facilities.

Johnese said she expects the violent crimes, according to the most liberal idiots. Dumb (expletive speed.” Vast ambition. After colters in 110 cities nationwide, be eligible less lege, hewhat type of help they need, but canWelfare bums.

CarterYou said the bills that passed legislature will reintroduce the bill recent DJS data. deleted). moved to Chicago.

ACORN hasinclude over thethefts yearsof seen guys just (expletive Becameinclude a community its share of criticism while advothan $1,000; prostitution; malicious mentalorganizer. health counseling and are adeleted) piece-by-piece approach to in the future because it would keep “Unlike adults, young people are metabuse Madeleine cating for affordable housing, destruction of property; disorderlyThere, Obama substance treatment. come to our country, reformconsume the juvenile justice system. youth safe from the physical and amenable to treatment and would be every natural resource there is, Talbot, part of the Chicago living wages, healthcare for the conduct; or if the most serious branch of ACORN. AnotherHe juvenile bill,make HB a lot of babies.

“We need to treat youth as mental harm they might encounter in more likely to receive that treatment That’s was sojusticeand underserved— and while organoffense involves inhalants.The new 786,that sponsored

by Del. Carter youth,” shesuck said. “Of course there the adult system. in the juvenile justice system than in you guys do.

And then impressive he was asked to Jillall izing voter registration drives. the welfare are and going expect to everyACORN staff. law not been affectasjuveniles (D-Balt.), established a taskupforce be exceptions, but Another bill, SB 788/HB 966, the adult system,” she said.

But does none has withering who train the one else to pay for your hospital didwill ACORN Chicago and baseless as this one. or other moreWhat commit violent crimes that studyinissues bills for your kids. I jus’ say let engage in? Bullying banks.

With the presidential election serious offenses. within the juvenile Before age five, every room is a classroom. your kids die. That’s the best Intimidation tactics. Disruption less than two weeks away, The billdetractors includesallege exceptions forof business. court.ACORN The group move. Just let your children die. forcedwill ACORN’s the Fun learning opportunities are everywhere. Simple things like Continued A1for hospital Forget aboutfrom paying banks to issue risky homeorloans. juveniles with or more separate decide whether not organization hasthree engaged in mascounting and identifying shapes activate a child’s learning ability, bills for them.

I’m not gonna dohave been The same types of loans that sive voter registration fraud after previous offenses, for the protection to eliminate certain assault, maliciousness could does not happen again.

Petit said. and help them enter school moreon, prepared.

That’s why PNC it. You guys are lowlifes. And I the financial crisis we’re the reported discovery of bogus founded Grow Up Greatwas and its Spanish-language equivalent Crezca of the force of the child, and for other cases caused offenses that result in established in criminal court beyond Police department training shut Kern, an 18-year veteran hope you all die.” in today. names, such as Mickey Mouse $ con Éxito, a 10-year, 100Going million program to helpnot prepare reasonable doubt.” down the week after the accident. who pleaded guiltyyoung to the charges, Hurd thinks the hate calls will children for school and life. Pick up a free bilingual Sesame Street™ cease soon.

Pettit said his client has no forward, a“Happy, safety officer with a easily turned himself in following the incident.

Healthy, Ready for School” kit at a PNC branch. It’s filled “In two weeks, these He was shot recollection of theI think shooting. distinguishable jacket will be present It is unclear that why the officer had with all kinds of simple, everyday things you can do to help a child attacks will be over. But I think it in the head; he suffered brain damage at all training session to ensure best the real gun and why he was at the learn.

Together, we can work with our communities so an entire will be harder for us to get our generation won’t just grow up... but growsince up great. and anoneye, as graces a result, Petit said. practices and uphold safety standards, Rosewood Center Baltimore police namelost back good Identification Statements because they really trashed us in “He’s facing long-term Rodriguez said. were not authorized to use the facility for Baltimore Afro-American — (USPS 040-800) is published weekly by The Afro-American the last few weeks.”

Newspapers, 2519 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4602. Subscription Rate: rehabilitation,” Petit said.

The incident occurred on Feb.12 training, Petit said.

To find out more, go to pncgrowupgreat.com Baltimore - 1 Year - $40.00 (Price includes tax.) Checks for subscriptions should be made But ACORN will not be or call 1-877-PNC-GROW. payable to: The Afro-American Newspaper Company, 2519 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD Deputy Commissioner Jerry in the Baltimore Police Department’s Gray has made progress in his ability deterred.

21218-4602. Periodicals postage paid at Baltimore, MD. Rodriguez, head of internal Rosewood Training Center in Owing to walk and communicate.

“We’ve been fighting for a POSTMASTER: Send addresses changes to: The Afro-American Newspaper Company, 2519 long time, for over for N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4602. investigations for 30 theyears, Baltimore Police Mills,. Gray was standing at a window “He’s very fortunate by the grace the rights of lowmoderateDepartment, saidand “the accident” will on the outside of a building and Kern of God to be alive, but he has made an The Washington Afro-American & Washington Tribune — (0276-6523) is published income people all across the weekly by the Afro-American Newspapers at 1917 Benning Road, N.E., Washington, D.C. probably not be the last training related fired a shot, which hit Gray in the head. amazing recovery,” said Pettit.

20002-4723. Subscription Rate: Washington - 1 Year - $40.00. Periodical Postage paid country,” Hurd said. “We’re at Washington, D.C. incident that happens nationwide.

Kern has said he did not realize he was going to continue to fight for POSTMASTER: Send addresses changes to: The Washington Afro-American economic justice in the our department commuHowever, he said is using live rounds. Officials apparently Afro Staff Writer Krishana Davis & Washington Tribune, 2519 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4602. nities.” an aggressive stance to ensureTMit/©2008 Sesame taking did not knowAllthat the exercise going contributed toAllthis report.

Workshop. rights reserved.

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. rights reserved. ©2008was

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New Law Makes it Harder to Commit Juveniles for Minor Offenses

“We need to treat youth as youth.”

Police Trainee Struggles

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The Afro-American, April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013

April 20, 2013 - April 20, 2013, The Afro-American

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Balto. Police Hold Youth Summit to Address Failing Systems

By Krishana Davis AFRO Staff Writer

Safe havens for young people, cultural diversity training for law enforcement officers and accountability at all levels of criminal justice and social service infrastructure were the recurring themes as youth leaders, community organizers and Baltimore City police officers met on April 15 at

Hope Fades

Continued from A1 in Newton, Conn., is untenable—and discouraging.

Prospects took a steep dive April 17 when the Senate failed to pass a measure requiring background checks for would-be gun purchasers.

“When you think about the fact that 20 children were shot at close range in a suburban area and legislators were fiercely debating whether they should even discuss changes in our government’s laws you have to wonder what it would take to get them to actually pass legislation,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings (DMd.).

“There are moments in history that should be transformative and the Sandy Hook tragedy was one of them,” the Democrat added.

“And if we don’t take these moments and turn them into movements, things will likely only get worse and something like this [the mass killing] could happen again.”

Capitol Hill resistance to the emotional impetus of the Newton tragedy, appeals by the White House, and overwhelming public support for firmer gun control stems from deep in-house

the Academy of Success in West Baltimore for the First Annual Youth Summit.

The inaugural summit is a part of an initiative headed by Baltimore Police Lt. Col. Melvin Russell to bring together different parts of the community to uncover what ails Baltimore. After being appointed by Commissioner Anthony Batts to lead the department’s new Community Partnership Division, Russell has

rifts within the Republican and Democratic parties and political calculations, lawmakers and analysts said.

On the issue of gun control there is an ongoing “civil war” between hardline conservatives and mainstream Republicans, said David E. Johnson, a Republican strategist and pollster who worked on the Bob Dole presidential campaign.

“There is the more hardline, tea party element such as Sens. Ted Cruz, [of Texas] and Rand Paul [of Kentucky] who believe in no compromise. They believe that even if they fight and lose the gun debate, they will boost Republican turnout in 2014 and 2016,” Johnson said.

“The larger Republican base, however, believes something needs to be done.

They are aware of the public’s support for gun reform and realize Republicans are losing [ground] because they are being viewed as being too extreme and rigid.”

And, even among Democrats there is a divide based on ideology—some represent constituencies in the Midwest and other

met with faith-based organizations, non-profits, community leaders and now youngsters to create strategies to reduce crime in the city.

“I’m tired of taking time and building programs that no one is using because no one has talked to you,” said Russell to the crowd of more than 100 youth at the event. “This is about building new opportunities rather than building more jails. Youths are a gift to this

places where gun ownership is a way of life and some left-leaning Democrats may balk at gun-rights provisions that were included to entice Republicans—and re-election fears.

The National Rifle Association, which sinks a lot of funds into lawmakers’ campaigns, has promised to withdraw support from Republicans and moderate Democrats who support the bill. And, according to Johnson, the tea party has promised to challenge senators and representatives who favor the bill.

“It’s all or nothing with them,” the GOP strategist said.

The NRA and tea party conservatives seem to be holding sway. Already, one of the four original bills approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in March, the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, has been removed. Democrats, such as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), have vowed to reintroduce the measure via amendment but it is unlikely to pass muster.

And Republican supporters of a bipartisan compromise bill, the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights

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city.”

Russell posed a series of questions to his young audience youth a series of questions to consider before they broke out into smaller sections by district. Do you need safe havens? Alternative measures to jails? Are we destroying you by locking you in jails and throwing away the key? Is there a solution to dirt bike riding?

Russell said the plan is about

Protection Act, have found themselves being pilloried by colleagues and by attack ads.

The bill, cosponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), would strengthen the country’s background check system for gun purchases by extending it to purchases at gun shows and online, while explicitly prohibiting the creation of a national gun registry. And, it would assist states and federal agencies to provide accurate and up-to-date records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

“This compromise legislation shouldn’t be controversial. Nine out of 10 Americans – including a majority of gun owners and a majority of NRA members – support stronger background check laws,” said Reid in an April 15 statement.

“I hope a few unreasonable extremists will not try to prevent an up-or-down vote on this legislation with a filibuster,” he continued.

“That would be a shameful tribute to the memory of 27 innocent people who died in Newtown… [And to] the mothers and fathers, loved ones and friends of the 3,300 Americans who have been killed by gun violence since

that terrible day at Sandy Hook.”

Other bills in the legislation include the Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act of 2013, which would create specific federal criminal statutes prohibiting the trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms and strengthen penalties for those crimes. And the School and Campus Safety Enhancements Act of 2013 would expand grant programs to help improve school and campus safety.

So far, Capitol Hill lawmakers and political observers believe the Manchin and Toomey background check bill, which gained the endorsement of the pro-gun group Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms April 13, and, more remotely, the gun trafficking prevention bill have the best chances of passage.

“The only question would be what kind of condition they will be in after all the amendments,” Cummings, who co-sponsored a House version of the gun trafficking prevention bill, said. “One of my greatest fears is that they would add amendments to water down any efforts by states to address the gun

problem.”

While there is a remote chance that the Senate will pass some gun legislation, however distorted, the probability of the legislation’s success in the House is almost nought because of the deep partisanship within that chamber.

“It may pass the Senate but in the House I don’t even know what they will allow it to reach the floor. I think they will do everything they can to kill it,” said Johnson, founder and CEO of Strategic Vision LLC, a Georgia-based political consulting firm.

House Republicans, he said, “are more hardliners because, the way districts have been re-drawn, there are relatively fewer swing districts. The makeup of the constituencies have changed to become more strongly Republican and strongly Democrat.”

Given those political realities, Johnson said hopes for the first gun control legislation in two decades rest on one thing.

“The only chance of gun control being passed in the near future is if the president can re-take the House for the Democrats,” he said.

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building a community in Baltimore which encompasses faith-based organizations, community policing, re-entry programs and youths. He said he is pushing for open dialogue and real talk for the event, and also real solutions.

The attendees broke out into sections based on police districts to discuss the three most problematic areas facing youth and police Continued on A5

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A4

The Afro-American, April 20, 2013 - April 20, 2013

Minority Enterprise Continued from A1

O’Malley’s administration, singling out Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs, for helping secure passage for the bill, which failed several times over the past three years.

“The Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs worked diligently with me to get this passed and we all celebrated because it has been such a long and arduous task to get it through,” she said.

The most difficult challenge, the lawmaker and businesswoman added, was getting not-for-profits onboard. Many labored under the misconception that she was unfairly targeting businesses that catered to the mentally and physically disabled and trying to muscle them out of the MBE program.

When the legislation was first introduced years ago, detractors came out to protest in the busloads.

“I took a lot of heat,” Johnson said. But GOMA held several meetings with stakeholders to clear up the intentions and impact of the

legislation.

“We were just trying to right a wrong that should not have happened in the first place,” Johnson said.

“Monies that were due to minority businesses should go to minority businesses.

And monies that were due to not-for-profits that serve the physically and mentally disabled should go to them.”

Not-for-profits failed to meet the legal standard of an MBE, the lawmaker said. And, when it came to competing for contracts, they held an unfair advantage over minority-owned businesses because of their ability to present lower bids since administrative and other costs could be donated.

Of the more than 5,600 certified MBEs as of March 2013, 171 are nonprofit entities that serve mentally or physically disabled individuals. And those entities, according to a 2011 analysis, received about onethird of total MBE payments from 2006 to 2009.

Including not-forprofits also skewed the state’s numbers on MBE

April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013, The Afro-American

participation, added Sen. Catherine Pugh, who sponsored the senate version of the bill.

In 2012, GOMA reported, MBE participation across all state procurement agencies exceeded the state’s goal, reaching 25.2 percent.

However, if nonprofits or community service providers were excluded, however, that rate would have been 18 percent.

“This (bill) gives us a truer picture of what is being done as it regards MBEs in the state,” Pugh said.

Calvin Mims, president of Calmi Electrical Co., who testified in support of the legislation on behalf of the Presidents’ Roundtable, a consortium of Black business owners, said a more realistic portrayal would force state agencies to do more outreach to MBEs. “[The legislation] was important because some of the state agencies as well as private sector [companies] are not that interested in minority inclusiveness,” he said.

“Rather than sitting back and being complacent and doing business as usual, they would have to get up and seek out true minority-owned firms.”

Photo by Krishana Davis

A sea of people line the streets before the march.

Community Marches Continued from A1

homes to join us. We will walk and pray because blood stains are on the concrete where people have gotten shot.”

As the rally got underway, Mosby and Batts energized the crowd by encouraging them to chant, scream and sing to help draw neighbors out of their homes to join the rally.

“Today is a new day. We will show…that these streets are ours,” exclaimed Mosby as the crowd erupted in cheers

Workers Seek Overhaul Continued from A1

tourism to downtown Baltimore. The leasing agreement between the city of Baltimore and the Hyatt Regency Hotel states the hotel will directly hire all employees.

The bill, which was sponsored by Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, was passed unanimously by the council calling on the management for the Hyatt to honor its leasing agreement.

If not, it called for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to enforce the agreement.

Gail Smith-Howard, general manager at the Hyatt, said the hotel meets all of the requirements of the leasing agreement and follows the practices of other hotels in Baltimore.

“We have a core group of employees we hire directly. We hire temps based on need. We don’t do anything differently than the other hotels in Baltimore,” said Smith-Howard, who said there are between 215 and 225 full-time direct-hire employees currently working at the Hyatt. “We feel that we always follow the management agreement wholly. We feel we are aligned.”

A5

Smith said the Hyatt only hires temporary employees based on large fluctuations in occupancy during conferences or special events at the hotel.

She said more than 67 percent of the Hyatt’s employees are residents of Baltimore and that the hotel has a very small employee turnover rate of 11 percent.

“We are committed to the city, to diversity and our employees,” said Smith-Howard adding that nine of their employees have been with the Hyatt since it first opened.

According the Knox, one-third of all of Hyatt’s employees are temps, excluding those commissioned for big events and banquets. Many of the temps have been working for the Hyatt full-time for nearly 10 years, making about $2 less an hour for the same work and receiving no benefits, Knox said.

“The Hyatt is bringing down the standards of jobs for many people. If you allow the company to treat people [temps] as less than us, then you make it okay for the company to later turn its back on us,” said Knox. “Temps are more vulnerable than us.”

and amens. “It is critically important for us to come together as community leaders and change this.”

Russell said he is confident the marches will decrease crime in West Baltimore by promoting engagement and visibility. In January 2009, he started a similar initiative in East Baltimore while serving as a commander in the district.

The area, for generations, has been among the city’s most violent, Russell said.

“We’re taking those same strategies and principles and we’re spreading them citywide,” he said. “We’re asking churches to come outside of their four walls.

That ain’t doing us no good. It’s not helping our community that’s dying outside,” said Russell, who is also an assistant pastor. “This is a way of us re-engaging the community because the churches have gotten away from that.”

As neighbors who lived in the community gathered, a group of women—Roxane Prettyman and Rev. Ruby Purnell—who have both lived in the community for more than 50 years, and Inez Robb, who has lived there for nearly 30 years, - said they have seen

the neighborhood change over the years, but are optimistic the walk and other initiatives can bring an evolution.

“There was nothing but Jews in the neighborhood when I first moved here.

You went to the market and there was no violence,” said Purnell. “In the last 15 years, it was gotten worse. We are community people. We participate in the community and we’re concerned about our young people with drugs and alcohol. We’re trying to find a better way to stop the violence.”

Prettyman said leaders of the community must stand together against violence and disrespect.

As the crowd marched through the streets, Major Robert Smith stopped in front of corner stores, stoops and alleys to talk about various murders that occurred in the neighborhood. Members of the clergy prayed in front of those stops as the rain poured from the sky.

The rain eventually cut the walk short. Organizers will rotate the rallies to various high-crime locations around the city.

The next rally is scheduled for April 19.

Youth Summit Continued from A4

community interactions. Then they came up with solutions to those problems.

Officer Fred Allen, who worked in the Eastern district, said the separation of the groups by police district for the discussion allowed the groups to talk about specific issues plaguing their smaller communities. “Every district brings its own flavor and things to get involved in.”

After the sessions, the groups met back in the main conference area to discuss issues impacting youth. Safe havens such as PAL Centers and recreation centers were a common theme amongst groups as a way to increase police and community interactions. Some suggested cultural diversity for officers stating there is often a barrier and distrust between youth and police causing a rift in policing.

During the presentations, young adults from Mountain Manor Treatment Center, an innovative youth opioid center treatment program, gave suggestions based on their own experiences as young substance abusers.

Representing Southern and Southwest Baltimore, the young men said addiction is a disease and they hope law enforcement officials can see it as that and help to treat them instead of locking them up.

They said they have never gotten treatment in a juvenile treatment center.

“The turning point for me came when Lt. Col. Russell told all the old heads to move out and the youth felt like we were on the inside of this dialogue,” said LaKeisha (cq) Johnson, 7th district commissioner of the Baltimore City Youth Commission. “We

got the chance to connect with other youth groups that are doing the same thing and come together to work for the common good. We can overcome and over power Baltimore.”

Shaleece Williams, a youth community organizer in the Druid Heights community, said the summit helped to bridge the gap between different youth groups around the city. She said she plans on using the connections she made during the summit to further network with other youth around Baltimore.

One criticism of youth during the summit was adult organizers overpowering youth voices and disregarding comments or suggestions in some of the breakout sessions.

“I think sometimes it’s just telling the adults ‘this is why we’re here’ to make a solution it’s not for you to diagnose us with problems or tell us what you want

to see us do,” said Johnson who sat in the northeast and eastern breakout session.

“It’s what we want to do. It’s how we think we can handle this problem. It’s how we can push forth the vision we have as leaders of tomorrow.”

“All together it was good we were able to get some like-minded people, youth from different walks of lives to come in a basically share ideas on making our city better,” said Kayana Johnson, commissioner at-large for the Baltimore City Youth Commission.

Russell said for the next session, he will ensure the summit is only youth based allowing students to speak more freely. Debra Furr-Holden, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health working with substance abuse prevention, said she will ensure that facilitators are properly trained to handle the sensitive nature of the discussion at the next summit.

Photo by Krishana Davis

Lt. Col. Melvin Russell and Councilman Nick Mosby energize the crowd before the march.

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A6

The Afro-American, April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013

SCIENCE & TECH

Retired Officer Builds Human-like Robot from Appliances

By Albert Phillips Special to the AFRO As a boy, Mark Haygood disassembled and attempted to rebuild his mother’s household gadgets, including radios and hair dryers. A combination of trial and error in building and a passion for science-fiction led him to create HEX, a four-foot, three-inch, 50-pound, full-sized humanoid robot.

Haygood, now 49 and retired after 22 years as a Baltimore City police officer, always had a penchant for techno gadgets.

“I was the really shy-in-the-basement-building-robots guy,” said Haygood.

Haygood said his robot—made up mostly of mostly household appliances, including a clock radio, fan, and DVD player – is one of few full-sized humanoids in America.

According to Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary, humanoids is a word used to describe something that is looks or acts “like a human.”

In 2009, Haygood moved to Philadelphia and ran into what quickly became his “favorite” bipedal humanoid robot, Hubo, an advanced, full-body humanoid created by one of the leaders in the field, Professor Jun-Ho Oh, and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, according to gizmag, a widely respected magazine catering to new and emerging technologies, invention, innovation, and science news.

Released in 2005, Hubo cost under $1 million to build and is a competitor to Honda’s Aismo, which cost nearly $300 million and took almost twenty years to construct.

During a recent interview with the AFRO at his secluded home in Baltimore County, Haygood, the veteran officer and self-trained roboticist, powered up his human-like machine, equipped with flashing blue-neon lights and 3D-printer-made fingers. His “baby” as he refers to it, has the ability to move its arms and hands, rotate its head and hips, and soon, thanks to a newly installed speech synthesizer, will soon be able to speak.

“It’s the kind of machine that can only grow and become better,” said Haygood. He said that with “more sensors and functionality,” he can correct some minor design flaws of HEX and build a second, more cutting-edge robot.

Haygood requested the AFRO not to print the cost of creating HEX other than to say the price tag is under $100,000

Mark Haygood and his robot, HEX

Photo by Albert Phillips

and that it is the “cheapest humanoid robot you can make.”

HEX was a four -year project for Haygood. Now more knowledgeable and confident, Haygood estimates that he can replicate HEX in about five months and cut costs by 40 percent.

Searching for a place to enhance his work, Haygood joined Baltimore’s Hackerspace in August 2012. He describes the Hackerspace as a place where “a whole bunch of Macgyvers get together to build stuff,” he said, referring to the TV show about a super geek who solves crimes. He pays a $50 monthly fee to have 24-hour access to equipment and professional

programmers, hackers, and builders.

“It’s great because if there’s something you don’t know they can help you and if there’s something they don’t know you can help them,” said Haygood.

Although Haygood is now a proud member of a Hackerspace, he labels himself an “introvert.”

“It’s a weird situation to be in,” said Haygood as he described being a reserved person while working in a public field. Haygood said he survived by fulfilling his job and duties and not showing his “real self.” “Some people see violence and it rolls off their shoulders, but people like me can’t deal with it,” he added. The aggressive and open nature of being an in-the-field officer was a reason why Haygood decided to retire after 22 years and be “done with the war.”

Instead, his passion was to spend countless hours in the basement, tinkering with his mother’s objects, striving to build a robot.

“He used to scare me with his ability to invent things sometimes,” said Vivian Haygood, Mark’s mother. “It was just incredible what he could do with his hands and it’s been like that since he was a child and all the way up to adulthood.”

April is an important month for Haygood and the future of his robotic ambition. Within weeks, he plans to launch a fundraiser to raise $50,000-- using Kickstarter.com, a crowdfunding website--to “correct the design flaws” in HEX, “build another bot, and have a lot left over for some additional things that are needed.”

Like some international robot builders, Haygood wants to create humanoids that can assist humans with daily activities.

In 2011, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported that South Korea was testing out robots as prison wardens. In 2012, the Buffalo News reported that a sick child used a $4,839 “Roboswot” to virtually attend a class in New York when he was ill. News reports have also shown that robots have been used in classrooms to teach children Enlish.

Along with members of his Hackerspace, Haygood plans to attend the 14th annual Robot Fest on April 27 in Lithicum, Md. to promote HEX to children and other robot-friendly spectators.

“I want to help kids. I want to teach kids. I want kids to get a shot of adrenaline in the arm as far as advanced fields of robots are concerned.”

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April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013, The Afro-American

A7

OPINION

State of Equality and Justice in America: ‘The Maternal Wall’

In our national conversations about equality and justice in America, we have too often avoided the conversation about the realities of women and mothers in the workforce. This is particularly odd given that women comprise half of the entire paid labor force, three-quarters of moms are now in the labor force, and most families now need two breadwinners to make ends meet.

Yet, despite comprising half of the paid labor force, only 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. The glass ceiling remains solid and a Maternal Wall is blocking the way for many women to even get anywhere near that glass barrier. Yes, a Maternal Wall.

Here’s what the Maternal Wall looks like: • Women without children make 90 cents to a man’s dollar, mothers make only 73 cents, single moms make about 60 cents to a man’s dollar, and women of color experience increased wage hits on top of that.

• Mothers with equal resumes are hired 80 percent less of the time than non-mothers and are offered lower starting salaries.

• More than 80 percent of women in our nation have children by the time they’re 44 - and most hit the Maternal Wall.

• Overall women make only 77 cents to a man’s dollar for full-time year round work, with African-American women making only 68 cents to a man’s dollar and Latino women making just 59 cents to a man’s dollar.

Think all of this doesn’t matter to you, or to our national economy? Consider this: Women make three-quarters of purchasing decisions. When women don’t have adequate funds in their pockets, our entire economy - which for better or worse is now built on consumer spending - suffers.

The glass ceiling and Maternal Wall not only hurt women’s pocketbooks, they also hurt the bottom line of our nation’s businesses. A 19-year Pepperdine University survey of Fortune 500 companies found that those with the best record of promoting women outperformed the competition by anywhere from 41 to 116 percent. In other words, more women in leadership meant higher profits.

Many women and mothers are struggling against tradition,

Kristin RoweFinkbeiner

subliminal discrimination, and structural barriers. Indeed, we need to start uniting and lifting each other up. We are living in more than one America.

The realities of life for higher-wage earning women are vastly different from the realities of most women in our country. More than 80 percent of low-wage workers don’t have access to a single paid sick day for themselves or their children. Our national “floor” for workplace policies is way too low. These floors need to be raised; and structural barriers need to be addressed, particularly since it now costs over $200,000 to raise one child from birth to age eighteen. Despite what it may appear from the focus of recent media coverage, there are vastly more women in low wage positions than in high. In fact, only 9 percent of all women in the labor force earn $75,000 or more annually, 37 percent earn between $30,000 and $74,999 annually, and 54 percent earn less than $30,000 annually. The majority of minimum wage earners are women. Most mothers in the low wage workforce are struggling to find quality and affordable daycare (which now costs more than college in most states) and are working in jobs without paid family leave, sick days, or flexible work options that ensure employees can be successful both at home and at work. Middle-income women struggle with many of these same work structure issues, while women in higher income positions often have access to these programs.

We’ve seen recently that the mere ascension of women in the workplace alone does not guarantee that family friendly policies will be implemented. One example is Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s move to end the company’s policy of allowing employees to work remotely.

Solutions are within our reach.

We know which policies - like paid family leave, earned sick days, and affordable childcare - save taxpayer dollars, improve women’s economic security, act to help close genderbased wage gaps and break down the Maternal Wall, while strengthening our national economy as a whole. These solutions won’t magically happen without people coming together to push to update our outdated workplace policies, practices, and laws. It’s going to take all of us - women, men, elected and corporate leaders - leaning forward together to build a nation where women, families, and businesses can thrive.

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner is executive director/CEO and cofounder of MomsRising.org. This article - the tenth of a 20-part series - is written in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. For more information, please visit www.lawyerscommittee.org.

Measure Education Reform by Quality, Not Quantity

High-quality public education is critically Dr. Ramona Edelin important to America’s future, and we are falling behind globally. On the standardized tests administered every three years by the Program for International Student Assessment, American school students finished 25th in math, 17th in science and 12th in reading among all industrialized countries.

This worrying discrepancy, as well as national and local high-school graduation and college-acceptance data, and the numbers of students who still do not perform at their grade level in math and reading, should concern us all. Data such as this provides much of the rationale for the nation’s burgeoning education reform movement. But too many of the self-styled education reformers focus too narrowly on quantitative data for short-term gains, while ignoring qualitative analysis and the research and development required to answer more fundamental questions.

To provide a high-quality public education for every American, we need to know what is working; for whom; and under what conditions. Sadly, the corporate model currently favored by the business, with its emphasis on standardized math and reading test scores, doesn’t provide answers to these larger questions.

Our nation’s capital—of all places—has a higher achievement gap than any state, yet it also is home to some public schools that have strikingly different results and have significantly narrowed that gap.

The big money behind the drive to judge success or failure based on narrowly focused standardized tests does not fund the

kind of research that could enable us to figure out what works for our nation’s most vulnerable children. Instead, the business minds that fund and control the policy direction of public education—though they are not educators—think they know what is best: applying the productivity model to teachers and schools, as they do their stores and employees.

Friendship Collegiate Academy is a charter high school in Washington, D.C. that specializes in college preparation

there a causal relationship between Early College and on-time graduation? Why do we see this apparent correlation? How does this happen and why?

D.C. now has four bilingual immersion public schools: Yu Ying, which teaches students in Mandarin and English; Elsie Whitlow Stokes, which teaches in either French and English or Spanish and English; and LAMB and Mundo Verde, teaching Spanish and English. They now plan a joint high school offering their language options under the same roof. Research shows that language programs teach lifelong learning skills, yet the benefits to students who learn second, third or fourth languages go unmeasured.

What are their advantages, and for whom?

Still other D.C. schools go above and beyond the fashionably narrow emphasis on standardized tests. Thurgood Marshall Academy is law-themed and Cesar Chavez Public Charter School specializes in D.C.’s domestic industry, public policy.

What difference do their areas of specialization make to student motivation, academic success, and post-graduate success? For whom does this work? And under what conditions?

By funding research to answer these and other questions, we could break down the barriers between traditional and chartered public schools, and replicate the best in the interests of every student, however disadvantaged.

“To provide a high-quality public education for every American, we need to know what is working; for whom; and under what conditions.” for at-risk youth from some of the city’s most troubled neighborhoods. Some 74 percent of their students are eligible for federal lunch subsidies, and 60 percent are male. Their on-time (four year) high-school graduation rate is 91 percent— higher than the District (60 percent) or neighboring highincome states, Maryland (82 percent) and Virginia (81 percent), and the national rate (78 percent). And 100 percent of their graduating class is accepted to college.

Collegiate Academy’s success occurred after it pioneered Early College and Advanced Placement courses nine years ago.

Yet only one other D.C. public school offers Early College.

Friendship, a network of charter and traditional-charter partnership campuses, is responsible for 43 percent of the ontime graduates in D.C.’s high-poverty Wards 7 and 8. But is

Dr. Ramona Edelin is executive director of the District of Columbia Association for Chartered Public Schools.

Letter to the Editor I Need Help! My dilemma lies in understanding the interpretation and reaction of our lawmakers and some citizens to the First and Second Amendments of the Bill of Rights.

In the 18th century, freedom of speech was limited to word of mouth and the written word which took a long time to reach its destination. Now we have global newspapers,

radios, home or land telephones, cell phones, televisions and computers.

In the 18th century, the second amendment to the Bill of Rights, the right to bear arms, was to protect the thirteen colonies from the British, the American Indians, the Spanish and French. Now, weapons have advanced to include the atomic bomb, chemical warfare and high-tech gunneries.

We have had mass killings in our churches, our schools, movie theaters and even in government buildings.

Why are the people we put in positions to lead, guide and protect us are sanctioning assault rifles in family homes and gun-toting security guards in our schools? Why don’t we have extensive physical and mental evaluation for ALL gun owners, and why doesn’t the law

deal harshly with anyone caught without a valid registered weapon? Why don’t our young veterans go through a rehabilitation program before returning to civilian mainstream? Why don’t we bring the Bill of Rights up to the 21st century and save our impressionable, precious inheritors of our country?

PLEASE, help me understand.

—L.N.Hunter

The opinions on this page are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the AFRO. Send letters to The Afro-American 2519 N. Charles St. • Baltimore, MD 21218 or fax to 1-877-570-9297 or e-mail to editor@afro.com

A8

The Afro-American, April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013

COMMUNITY CONNECTION T:9”

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Whichever comes first. see dealer for limited warranty details.

1 Based on EPA estimates. Visit fueleconomy.gov for details. 2 Must show proof of current non-GM passenger car or light-duty truck lease. Customer remains responsible for current lease payments. 3 Example based on survey. Each dealer sets their own price. Your payments may vary. Payments are for a 2013 Cruze LS and an MSRP of $19,035. 35 monthly

payments total $5,957. Option to purchase at lease end for an amount to be determined at lease signing. GM Financial must approve lease. Mileage charge of $.25/mile over 36,000 miles. Lessee pays for maintenance, repair and excess wear. Payments may be higher in some states. Residency restrictions apply. Take delivery by 4/30/13. See dealer for details. 4 Excludes leases. Not compatible with some other offers. Residency restrictions apply. Take delivery by 4/30/13. See dealer for details. 5 EPA estimated. 6 Always use safety belts and child restraints. Children are safer when properly secured in a rear seat in the appropriate child restraint. See the Owner’s Manual for more information. 7 If you subscribe after your trial period, subscriptions are continuous until you call SiriusXM to cancel. See SiriusXM Customer Agreement for complete terms at siriusxm.com. Other fees and taxes will apply. All fees and programming subject to change. 8 Example based on survey. Each dealer sets their own price. Your payments may vary. Payments are for a 2013 Equinox LS FWD and an MSRP of $25,015. 36 monthly payments total $9,368. Payments are for a 2013 Malibu LS and an MSRP of $22,805. 36 monthly payments total $5,905. Option to purchase at lease end for an amount to be determined at lease signing. GM Financial must approve lease. Mileage charge of $.25/mile over 36,000 miles. Lessee pays for maintenance, repair and excess wear.

Payments may be higher in some states. Residency restrictions apply. Take delivery by 4/30/13. See dealer for details. 9 EPA-estimated 2.4L 4-cylinder FWD. 10 Visit onstar.com for coverage map, details and system limitations. Services vary by model and conditions. 11 EPA-estimated 2.5L 4-cylinder. ©2013 OnStar. All rights reserved. ©2013 General Motors.

GMQR3364000__166259A01.indd 1

April 20 Attracting, Cultivating and Maintaining Healthy Relationships Pikesville Library, 1301 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, Md. 3 p.m. Come and spend some time with certified professional relationship coach Pam Reaves. $25. For more information: 410365-9662.

4/12/13 5:44 PM

afro. com

April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013, The Afro-American

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Photos by J.D. Howard

Dancing aficionados showed up for the Alzheimer’s Association’s “Dancing Stars”-themed Memory Ball 2013 gala, Apr. 13, at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel.

Co-chaired by Terri Taber (a previous Memory Ball Dancing Star) and George D. Bittar (an interventional cardiologist at Union Memorial Sylvia Mackey, board Hospital who also has member, Greater a private consultative Maryland Chapter practice), the black-

tie gala featured a cocktail reception, full-course dinner, dancing to live music by Highway Star and a showcase of local ballroom talent.

Dance competition judges included Maryland first lady Katie O’Malley, Dr. Ben Carson, last year’s champion, Tony Foreman, Miss Maryland USA 2013 Kasey Marie Staniszewski and retired Baltimore Colt Bruce Laird.

Sylvia and Eddie Brown

Competition judges Katie O’Malley, first lady of Maryland and Tony Foreman

Dance contestants Jerek and Tony Registre Competition judge Dr. Ben Carson

Dance instructor Michael Sims of Lite on Your Feet and Sylvia Brown

Russell and Ernestine Jolivet

Proud runner ups in the dance competition and runner ups in the money raising competition

Memory Ball 2013 Honoree Gina DeStefano

Dr. Regina Wells Clark and Mr. Roger Clark

Sarita S. Payne and Famebridge C. Payne

Mike and Kearny Dietrich, winners of the dance competition

Dr. Gary Rodwell and Senator Verna Jones Rodwell

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The Afro-American, April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013

From HGTV.com

LIVING

Landscaping Tips That Can Help Sell Your Home or function properly can be an instant turnoff.

Take care of any irrigation issues. If there are any problems with an irrigation system, fix them. Irrigation system repairs can be expensive, and you don’t want to lay the cost of those repairs on the buyer. Provide information about your irrigation schedule, especially if you have an automatic system. Include instructions as to how the system operates and recommend the same watering schedule that’s worked for you.

Repair faucet leaks. A leaking faucet suggests that there may be other problems elsewhere in the plumbing, and that can be an instant turn-off to buyers.

Consider labeling as many plants as possible. That way the buyer will at least know the name of each plant and can then research their growing needs.

Power-wash dirty surfaces. Consider buying or renting a power washer to clean paved surfaces. With very little time or effort, you can make grungy, grimy surfaces look brand-spanking new. http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/landscaping-tips-that-can-help-sell-your-home/ index.html

AFRO Photos

Ann Smith shops for begonias for her Glenarden, Md., home.

Use these 10 tips to increase your home’s curb appeal and find out how an attractive and well-maintained landscape can add as much as 10 percent to its value.

Spruce up outdoor containers. Container plants, especially large tropicals, add considerable interest to patios and doorways where would-be buyers enter and exit the house.

Touch up the mulch. Nothing spruces up a place like a new application of mulch, so apply a fresh layer in all your garden beds. The color enhances the contrast of the surrounding plants and makes everything pop.

Plant some instant color. Seasonal color makes the landscape pop as well, and flats of annuals are also relatively inexpensive. Go for a splash of several colors or a more monochromatic scheme, whatever fits in with the look of your home.

Shape unsightly or overgrown trees and shrubs. Regardless of the season, it’s a good idea to tackle any overlooked pruning chores because nothing says neglect like a bunch of dead branches. The idea is to show how well not only your house but your garden has been maintained.

Tend to perennial beds. Tidy up herbaceous plants, such as annuals and perennials, that don’t look as good as they should. If a plant is in such bad shape that it needs to be removed, either replace it or stick a decorative pot in its place. Now is also a good time to dig up any plants that you want to take with you to your new home. If you intend to remove any landscape plants and haven’t already done so, you have an obligation to inform the buyer exactly which plants you plan on digging up.

Clean up water features. Get rid of any visible algae, remove leaves and clean filters so that the water is crystal clear. After all, a water feature that doesn’t look good

Carol Harriston said landscaping and decks are features that help homes sell.

A Great Gift for the Green Thumb

Gardening for Life at Morgan

By Courtney Jacobs Special to the AFRO Morgan State University’s Community Organic Vegetable Garden is back in full flower and is greener than ever this year.

The once-vacant land at Chinquapin Run Park, on the corner of Hillen and Stonewood Roads, is being cultivated by Morgan political science majors and members of the school’s Nutritional Sciences Program, along with the help of Home Depot.

This year’s crop is to include lettuce, collards, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, bell pepper and kale, produce that will be donated to Morgan students and residents in the surrounding community.

“This is a wonderful initiative to promote not only eating well, but to increase access to fruits and vegetables,” Dr. Sherine Brown, assistant professor of nutritional science at MSU, said in a statement, noting that several Photo by Courtney Jacobs communities exist in food Morgan State University’s Community Organic deserts, neighrborhoods Vegetable Garden that are sparsely populated with stores selling fresh, wholesome fruits and vegetables.

The Morgan statement said that the “primary goal of the community garden is to nurture the land into a productive urban organic vegetable garden and to provide vegetables, fruits and herbs” to students and local residents. “In time, the garden will expand into a student and/ community-run food co-op,” it said.

In addition, cultivated beds have been purchased by organizations such as the Students of Future Educators, the campus chapter of the American Society for Civil Engineers and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity.

Courtesy photo.

An LED garden.

(NewsUSA) - These days, gift-giving is a real skill. The best gift-givers pinpoint hobbies or interests that make for genius presents no matter the occasion -- a birthday gift, a Valentine’s Day treat or an anniversary memento. So, what do you get the green-thumbed person who already has nearly every gardening tool?

If you’re searching for that cleverly thoughtful gift to surprise them, an indoor garden using LED lights is functional, sleek and attractive.

Measuring only 7 inches wide, 14 inches long and 15 inches high, the LED Mini Garden available from InHomeGardeing.com is small enough to sit on the kitchen counter, where cooks can easily grow fresh herbs, children can grow microgreens, and avid gardeners can start seeds for their vegetable garden.

The LED Mini Garden is the first countertop garden of its kind to feature low-wattage LED grow lights that actually simulate real sunlight, making indoor gardening more efficient and rewarding. The 24-hour timer allows users to adjust for perfect light conditions for growing lettuces, greens, herbs, flowers and even strawberries.

Gifts such as this have that elusive “gift that keeps on giving” quality. The garden produces an abundance of edible plants, plus live plants clean the air by removing carbon dioxide, toxins and other pollutants.

If a miniature indoor garden sounds ideal for a spouse, parent or close friend, consider the following best practices for indoor gardens: • Herbs are a good starting point. Herb gardens make great indoor displays since they’re equal parts attractive and edible. Most herbs also grow pretty quickly, so eager giftees won’t have to wait long for results. Popular herbs include chives, basil, sage, thyme, oregano and rosemary.

• When buying plants, know their water and sunlight needs. Most plant tags will tell you this information. The LED timer allows users to set a sunlight schedule based on the plant’s needs to avoid over exposure. For seed starting or rapid growth of herbs and greens, set the timer to 18 hours.

• Grow nutrient-rich veggies. Studies show that vegetables contain three times more antioxidants when you grow them yourself. Plus, with this garden, you can shorten growing times to see faster, continuous plant production. Parents can cultivate lettuce, spinach, peas, wheat grass and broccoli for the family to enjoy.

Whether for a cook, a gardener or a curious child, the LED Mini Garden is a truly unique gift that will bring joy and good health throughout the year.

April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013, The Afro-American

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ARTS & CULTURE

Herman’s House

Eccentric Artist Lobbies for Inmate’s Freedom Film Review

By Kam Williams Seventy-two yearold Herman Wallace has been imprisoned at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola ever since he was found guilty of committing bank robbery back in 1967. His sentence was later lengthened to life after he was convicted, solely on the testimony of a fellow inmate, of stabbing a prison guard to death.

Was he a political prisoner who’d been railroaded on account of his membership Herman Wallace in the Black Panther Party, or had he actually committed the murder?

Unfortunately, that question is not the focus of Herman’s House, an unlikely-couple documentary directed by Angad Singh Bhalia.

Mr. Singh instead devotes his attention to the friendship forged between Herman and a woman half his age. “Jailbirds and the naïve girls who love them” has served as the theme of many a TV talk show, but rarely have any gangsters’ molls had the pedigree, sophistication or undying dedication of Jackie Sumell.

Sumell, an activist who once presented anti-abortion President Bush a quilt woven from hundreds of pro-choice feminist’s pubic hair, was a grad student in

the art department at Stanford when she took an interest in Herman. What really rankled her was the fact that he held the record for solitary confinement in the country, currently at 40-plus years and counting.

Over that period, he’s been cooped up in a six-feet x nine-feet cell, which Jackie felt was a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s sanction against cruel and unusual punishment. So, she struck up a long-distance correspondence with Herman via a combination of letters and phone calls.

And that led to a decision to draw attention to his plight by mounting an art exhibition featuring a full-scale replica of his prison cell. But this is where it gets weird. She also asked Herman what his dream home would look like, prior to moving to New Orleans, buying some land, and consulting architects to draw up plans for a place the two would ostensibly share should he ever be paroled.

Listen, this biopic basically revolves around Jackie’s earnest effort to turn Herman into a cause célèbre, but it carefully tiptoes around the more compelling elephant in the tiny cell, namely, whether there’s a romantic aspect to their relationship? A fascinating flick as much about a possible miscarriage of justice as about a case of arrested development who looks like a little girl playing house with an imaginary mate.

Very Good (3 stars) Unrated Running time: 81 minutes Distributor: First Run Features

• Your History

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• Your Community • Your News

The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play picking up where Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun leaves off.

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The Afro-American, April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013

FAITH

New Devotional for Sisters in Faith Readers familiar with the Sisters in Faith Devotional Bible will love the impending release of a new devotional that includes scriptures to encourage contemporary women on the go.

God’s Wisdom for Sisters in Faith addresses the concerns of Christian women who are seeking God’s wisdom and guidance in every area of their complex lives.

Michele Clark Jenkins and Stephanie Perry Moore, cofounders of Sisters in Faith, have as their goal to create meaningful products that encourage and empower women of color with God’s truth.

“African-American women have long suffered and long loved the Lord in such a way that being Christian and being an AfricanAmerican woman is synonymous,” Moore writes. “But very few Christian products reveal the African-American woman’s voice to the body of Christ and almost none have been created to speak directly to her in a way that relates to her life and her

struggle.”

The book , which is divided into eight sections that address topics such as abiding in God’s love, being anxious for nothing, praying for one another and developing strength for the journey, will be in stores April 30. For additional information visit thomasnelsoncorporate.com.

See all the lovely townhomes in MonteVerde Rowe?

Church Calendar For God We Live Ministries

The Ministers of Christ extend the invitation to participate in “What Does Your Garden Grow?” a worship experience focusing on the Fruit of the Spirit, 7 p.m., April 27 at the Upper Room Worship Center, 8716 Satyr Hill Road, Parkville, Md. where the Rev. Larry Thompson is the pastor. Ministers sharing include Minister Jacqueline English, Rev. Toni Holder, Rev. Amanda Queen, Minister Kassandra Grogan, Elder Mary Fisher, Minister Darlene Swain, Elder Denise Lee, Minister Alethia Lance, and Rev. Shelia Baker. The Rev. JT Thornton is pastor and founder of For God We Live Ministries.

New Life Inspirational Church

The Men of New Life will host an overnight retreat for men only, May 3 and 4, at West River Retreat Center in Annapolis. A camp fire communion will be held as well as panel discussions, bible studies and fellowship. The cost of $65 includes lodging, meals and use of the retreat site. For registration and more information, please call 443-8601959 or 410-499-1627. New Life is located at 2621 Oswego Avenue in Baltimore, The Rev. Herbert E. Sye Jr. is the spiritual leader of the church.

The Baltimore Reunion Choir

If you enjoy the great hymns of the church, come sing with THE REUNION CHOIR OF BALTIMORE, May 5, as they host their first Hymn Sing. Come, bring your hymnbook, a friend and your best voice to join with others lifting a mighty praise to our God. The location for the Hymn Sing is Christ United Methodist Church, Chase and Washington Streets in east Baltimore. The program will begin promptly at 3:30 p.m. There is no charge so come, sing and enjoy. Special guests for this event will be Fernando Allen, Tyrone Wright and the Rev. Calvin P. Crosson. Adding their skills to the mighty pipe organ are our very own Curtis Pitts, Gary Stewart and Stephen Felton. For additional information, please feel free to contact Minister Ornita Moore at 410-433-4233.

Baltimore City NAACP

Baltimore City Police Lt. Col. Melvin Russell will deliver the address at the NAACP’s annual prayer breakfast, 9 a.m., May 11, at New All Saints Church, 4408 Liberty Heights Avenue in Baltimore.

Lt. Col. Russell is an ordained minister and leads the Baltimore City Police Department’s community outreach and faith-based partnership initiatives.

“The connection between the faith community and the work of the NAACP is historic and we’ve been working diligently over the last year to forge even stronger relationships with ministers and other leaders in this important part of our community” said President Tessa Hill-Aston.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 410-366-3300 or by contacting Joseph Aston at joeaston1@hotmail.com

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April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013, The Afro-American

Ethel Ennis to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award Hello everyone, hope everything is well with you. I am doing okay myself. I want to thank the many friends and associates and fans for being there for me at my brother’s funeral services. Your prayers and you physically being Jump Street Band will take the roof off the place called there helped me through a “The Pikes”, a new venue, located 921 Reisterstown Road difficult time. You all came in Pikesville, Md. on April 21, 3-7 p.m., thanks to the through for me. My night Baltimore Entertainment Couple, Eleanor and Arthur. club folks, my sisters and brothers of the Eastern Star and Masons; My goodness! You all came, including the musicians and their wives. Rev. Frances Toni Draper and her husband Andre’ were there for me; Dr. Charlene Cooper Boston, Carlos Hutchins, Michael Haynie, Charles Faison, The Arch Social Club, Maceo’s; and Roots Lounge were represented.

There are just too many to name. Special thanks go out Swing with Dr. Phill’s “Big Band” is performing at Blob’s to Dr. Estelle Levy, Carlos Park every third Thursday of every month, 8024 Max Johnson, Tiny Tim Harris, Blobs Park Road, Jessup, Md. 20794.

Sir Thomas Hurley, Ms’ Maybelle, Darlene Douglass, Rev. Henry Turner, the Wallace Sisters and Phyllis Otten who participated in the program. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

All right my dear friends, get out your cowboy hat and boots, your jeans and spurs, I feel a Country Western Dance is coming. The Annie S. Banks Chapter No. 42 of the Myra Grand Chapter is hosting a cabaret style Country Western Dance on April 27, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Masonic Temple, 1307 Eutaw Place. Melvin M. Thorpe is Grand Master. For more information and tickets, call Sis Judy Marvin at 410-462-3488 or Bro Lamoth Haynie at 301343-4799.

The I. H. Clayborn Consistory No. 363 of the Prince Hall Masonic Temple is hosting a Black & Gold Scholarship Banquet on April 27, 7-11 p.m. at the La Fontaine Bleue, 7514 S. Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie. This is a formal attire event to raise funds to support our youth.

For ticket information, contact Leroy Dingle Jr. 410-292-7833.

The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum will unveil wax images of four educators— Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, born 1875- died 1955, founder of the National Council of Negro women; Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, Morehouse College president from 1940 to 1967; Dr. Benjamin Quarles, chairman of Morgan State University’s history department from 1953 to 1974 and Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, who has been president of University of Maryland, Baltimore County since 1992—in a ceremony from 2:30-5 p.m., following a VIP reception at Morgan’s Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts Center, Gilliam Concert Hall, 2201 Argonne Road. The program will include a performance by the University of Maryland Baltimore County Gospel Choir. For more information call Gloria Todman at 410-563-3404, ext. 20.

Honey Child! Check this out! Creative Alliance is presenting a Marquee Ball. This year’s Marquee Ball doles out three themed parties in one night at the Patterson on Eastern Avenue with a dinner cabaret in the theater, a buffet in the lounge and late night costume ball all based on the film noir Whatsit movie,Kiss Me Deadly on April 20, 6 p.m. until 12:30 a.m.

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Dr. Joanne Martin, Founder and president of the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Inc. will be saluting four educators for uplift in a wax figure unveiling ceremony and VIP reception on April 20.

They are transforming the Patterson into scenes of “Blood Red Kisses” and Ethel Ennis will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement “White Hot Thrills” with Award at the Creative Alliance Marquee Ball 2013; “Kiss some clandestine Cold Me Deadly” on April 20, 6 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. at 3134 War tactics to keep the Eastern Ave. mysterious glowing box under wraps. Then there is the Baltimore’s Best Costume Bash, a Private Eye Dinner. During all of this, Creative Alliance recognizes “Baltimore’s Lady of Jazz,” Ethel Ennis with the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Awards as she celebrates her 80th birthday. So get all dressed up in black and white or blood red, and step into the Golden Age of Film Noir. Hosted by Jeanine and Pat Turner, The Marquee Lounge will be turned into a sultry nightclub as they debut a special cocktail with a Clementine’s buffet just for this soiree, then dance to the Belvederes. Ticket also includes live jazz entertainment, silent auction, beer, wine and food. For more information and tickets, call 410-276-1651. Congratulations my dear friend Ethel, it is very well deserved.

This information is for all my musicians. Applications are being accepted for “Sound off Live” at Artscape. Performers can apply to the battle of the bands completion for the opportunity to play on one of the area’s biggest stages. The competition is open to bands from the Baltimore-Washington area that performs various genres of music. You can download applications on line from www.artscape.org. Deadline for submissions is April 19 by 4 p.m.

On April 26 for the Press Preview and April 27 there will be an open reception, a panel of discussion and an exhibit at Creative Alliance at 3134 Eastern Avenue on Baltimore’s Globe Poster Printing Corp. The exhibition will chart the concurrent trajectories of Globe Poster and African-American music history, beginning with the golden era of R&B and ending with the last days of Go-Go. Concerts, educational workshops, a film night, panel discussions and exhibition tours with bilingual docents will encourage old and new audiences alike to find personal connections with the exhibition material. The exhibition will be curated by MFA candidate Chloe Helton-Gallagher. When Globe Poster closed its doors in 2010 the company’s collection of posters, printing tools and ephemera was purchased by the Maryland Institute College of Arts where it lives on as a working collection, accessible and in use by students, artists, educators and historians. Yours truly, “Rambling Rose” will be one of the panelist for this event. For more information, call 541-953-4445 or email cheltongallager@mica.edu.

Oh, my goodness! I am out of space. Remember, if you need me, call me at 410-8339474 or email me at rosapryor@aol.com. UNTIL THE NEXT TIME, I’M MUSICALLY YOURS.

OBITUARY

Robert H. “Bobby” Diggs, 85 Professional Driver, Driving Instructor

If you’re HIV+ and think you can’t afford the medication you need, there’s something you should know.

MADAP CAN HELP. The Maryland AIDS Drug Assistance Program (MADAP) helps cover the cost of many medications for low to moderate income people in Maryland who are living with HIV/AIDS. There are exciting, new drugs in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Don’t miss out because you can’t afford them.

Call MADAP today.

410-767-6535 Baltimore Area 1-800-205-6308 Toll Free in Maryland 410-333-4800 tdd MADAP is a program of the AIDS Administration Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Robert Hardy Coach. Operating from the Diggs, fondly known as Fremont Avenue garage, “Bobby” departed from Diggs Motor Coach this life on April 3, 2013 provided transportation at Arcola Rehabilitation for hundreds of Baltimore Center in Silver Spring, school children and ran Md. charter trips in the Mid Bobby Diggs was Atlantic region. Bobby born in Baltimore on continued to operate the June 25, 1927 to Dorothy business until the late Howard Diggs and 1950’s.

Herbert Diggs Sr. He In 1948 Bobby married was raised with his three his high school sweetheart siblings. As a young Rowena Carter. Their boy he ran errands and two daughters Ardyth often accompanied (1951) and Nona (1956) his grandmother who stimulated his lifelong love worked as a domestic. of fatherhood. Although Mischievous and smart, his marriage ended his girls Bobby was fascinated continued to be his pride with moving things and joy. In 1957 he married such as skates, scooters, Phyllis Allen. They moved cars, trains and buses. to Ashburton in 1963 with ROBERT H. “BOBBY” Sitting still had no their young daughter Lynn DIGGS appeal for him as he (1960).

Bobby Diggs was navigated the streets preceded in death by brothers, Herbert Diggs and alleys of his neighborhood with ease.

Jr. and Herman Diggs; daughter Ardyth Diggs Bobby advanced through the segregated Coleman and grandson Paul E. Coleman Jr. Baltimore City public schools and graduated from Douglass High School in 1947. While at He is survived by daughters Nona Diggs Douglass he enjoyed basketball, architecture, (Cayenne Pepper Diggs), Lynne Diggs, son-in-law Gary Bell; sister Emily Jackson; English and Spanish. Once he was crowned nieces, Winifred Jackson Russell, Lythia Principal for a Day. Diggs Gore, and Donna Diggs; nephews Despite his popularity and good grades, Herbert Diggs III, Michael Diggs and Tony Bobby’s dream of attending college was Diggs; cousins, friends and colleagues. We deflated by the demands of WWII and its will miss you, father, brother, uncle and aftermath. At 15 his father commissioned friend. him to drive school buses for Diggs Motor See more on afro.com

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B6 The Afro-American, April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013

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EMPLOYMENT

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Reqs. D.M.D or D.D.S. or equiv. in Dentistry & MD dental licensure. Resumes to Jeff Dreels, c/o Dental One Associates, Beltway, PC, 7650 Belair Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21236. ATTN: Job Code 707.

TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:57:20 EDT 2013

HOUSE FOR RENT

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CAMPGROUNDS Lake Somerset Camp Ground, Maryland Eastern Shore. Leave your RV on site all year. $1700 includes water, electric & sewage. Call 410-9784988 or 1- 866-695-6949; Email lakesomerset@ earthlink.net. Visit our website www. lakesomerset.com.

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PET SUPPLIES Control fleas/ ticks/mosquitoes & mites before heavy infestation with Happy Jack@DuraSpot.

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VACATION RENTALS OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND. Best selection of affordable rentals.

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LC Homes

Delaware Home Builder Receives 2013 Builder of Integrity Award From Quality Builders Warranty Corporation LC Homes Receives 2013 Builder of Integrity Award Wilmington, DE – LC Homes, a third generation family owned residential home builder headquartered in Wilmington, DE has received the 2013 “Builder of Integrity” award from Quality Builders Warranty Corporation (QBW). Recipients of this exclusive award demonstrate a commitment to excellence in customer service and quality construction.

As a member of the QBW Program, LC Homes has undergone a strict screening process to ensure their commitment to technical excellence, professional dealing, ethical practice, and financial stability. All members of the program are screened thoroughly on a regular basis, to ensure their continued dedication to quality. From that group, only a small number of homebuilders nationwide receive the “Builder of Integrity” award. As a member of the QBW Program, LC Homes has demonstrated a commitment to excellence in customer service that has gone above and beyond the industry norm.

Quality Builders Warranty Corporation, a national ten-year new home warranty program, has been enrolling builders of the highest skill and integrity into its premier program since 1985. QBW members provide a 10-year warranty insured by Liberty Mutual on all of their homes.

A proud member of the National Association of Home Builders and the Home Builders Association of Delaware, LC Homes has been building quality new homes in Delaware for 66 years and currently offers 13 new home communities including single family, multi-family, and condominiums throughout Delaware in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties. Visit www.LCHomesDE.com for more information.

LC Homes 105 Foulk Rd Wilmington, DE 19803 http://www.LCHomesDE.com

TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 15:01:09 EDT 2013

LEGAL NOTICES

Alberici Constructors, Inc. is requesting bid proposals for subcontractor work related to the Enhanced Nutrient Removal Process at the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant for the City of Baltimore located in Baltimore, Maryland. The work includes Flow Distribution Structure, Denitrification Pumping Station and Denitrification Diversion Chamber, Denitrification Filter Facility, Denitrification Chemical Facility, Methanol Facility, Backwash Treatment Facility, Modifications to existing Activated Sludge Plant No. 2 and No. 3, Lime silo demolition to Activated Sludge Plant No. 3, Blower Building No. 3 Control Modifications, Nitrification Chemical Building Ferric Chloride System Modifications, Electrical Power Distribution related to all work, Plant Process Control System, Communication System, Site work related to all work, Yard piping related to all work and all associated electrical/instrumentation, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC, architectural, structural and incidental work associated with all the above work. Bid documents may be viewed and downloaded from our plan room at https://new. smartbidnet.com/External/PublicPlanRoom. aspx?Id=78652&i=1 or through our website at www.alberici.com under Bid Opportunities.

Subcontractor bids are due by Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 1:00 PM CST to Fax (314)733-2005 or risbell@alberici.com.

Alberici Constructors, Inc. encourages Contractors, Small, Women and Minority Business Enterprises to participate in this project and hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, all of these enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award. Please contact Rick Isbell at risbell@alberici.com or phone number 314.733.2526 or Gordon Raney at graney@alberici.com or phone number 314.733.2356 with questions.

TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:55:51 EDT 2013

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BALTIMORE AFRO-AMERICAN NEWSPAPER Legal Advertising Rates Effective October 1, 2008 PROBATE DIVISION (Estates) 202-332-0080 PROBATE NOTICES a. Order Nisi $ 60 per insertion b. Small Estates (single publication $ 60 per insertion c. Notice to Creditors 1. Domestic $ 60 per insertion 2. Foreign $ 60 per insertion d. Escheated Estates $ 60 per insertion e. Standard Probates

CIVIL NOTICES

TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:56:57 EDTChanges 2013 a. Name 202-879-1133

b. Real Property

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY Case No.: 24D13000646 IN THE MATTER OF CYNTHIA BURNADETTE HUNTER-EL FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO CYNTHIA BURNADETTE JOHNSON ORDER FOR NOTICE BY PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to officially change the name of the petitioner from Cynthia Burnadette Hunter-El to Cynthia Burnadette Johnson It is this 20th day of March, 2013 by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, ORDERED, that publication be given one time in a newspaper of general circulation in Baltimore City on or before the 20th day of April, 2013, which shall warn all interested persons to file an affidavit in opposition to the relief requested on or before the 6th day of May, 2013.

Frank M. Conaway Clerk 4/19

CITY OF BALTIMORE DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL SERVICES NOTICE OF LETTING Sealed Bids or Proposals, in duplicate addressed to the Board of Estimates of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore and marked for GS 13804Waxter Senior Center-Exercise & Rest Rooms Renovations will be received at the Office of the Comptroller, Room 204, City Hall, Baltimore, Maryland until 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, May 1, 2013. Positively no bids will be received after 11:00 A.M. Bids will be publicly opened by the Board of Estimates in Room 215, City Hall at Noon.

The Contract Documents may be examined, without charge, at the Department of Public Works Service Center located on the first floor of the Abel Wolman Municipal Building, 200 N. Holliday Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 as of Friday, April 19, 2013 and copies may be purchased for a non-refundable cost of $50.00.

Conditions and requirements of the Bid are found in the bid package.

All contractors bidding on this Contract must first be prequalified by the City of Baltimore Contractors Qualification Committee. Interested parties should call 410-396-6883 or contact the Committee at 751 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. If a bid is submitted by a joint venture (“JV”), then in that event, the document that established the JV shall be submitted with the bid for verification purposes. The Prequalification Category required for bidding on this project is E13004Rehabilitation of StructuresCost Qualification Range for this work shall be $100,000.01 to $500,000.00 A “Pre-Bidding Information” session will be conducted at The Site, 861 Park Avenue (1000 Cathedral Street) on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. Principal Items of work for this project are: 1. Accessible Interior Renovations 2. Rest Room Renovations The MBE goal is 27% The WBE goal is 10% CONTRACT NO. GS 13804 APPROVED: Bernice H. Taylor Clerk, Board of Estimates APPROVED: Steve Sharkey Acting Director, Department of General Services

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TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:56:24 EDT 2013

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FAMILY COURT 202-879-1212 DOMESTIC RELATIONS 202-879-0157 a. Absent Defendant b. Absolute Divorce c. Custody Divorce

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To place your ad, call 1-800-237-6692, ext. 262, Public Notices $50.00 & up depending on size, Baltimore Legal Notices are $24.84 per inch.

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TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:59:53 EDT 2013 LEGAL NOTICES BALTIMORE COUNTY, MARYLAND INVITATION FOR BIDS CONTRACT NO. 13032 DX0 NORTH POINT ROAD STORM DRAIN DUNDALK - DISTRICT 12 c 7 CONTRACT COST GROUP “B” ($100,000 to $500,000) WORK CLASSIFICATION: F-3 BID DATE: TUESDAY, MAY 14, 2013 AT 10:30 A.M. LOCAL TIME On or after MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013, the above contract documents may be inspected and purchased from the Division of Construction Contracts Administration, Department of Public Works, Room 300B, County Office Building (COB), 111 W. Chesapeake Avenue, Towson, MD 21204, upon receipt of payment of $15.00 (FIFTEEN DOLLARS) per contract. All checks should be made payable to BALTIMORE COUNTY MD. NO REFUNDS will be made to anyone. Direct any questions to 410-887-3531. Bidders obtaining documents from another source other than Baltimore County WILL NOT be allowed to submit proposals to Baltimore County.

The proposed work consists of: Construction of storm drains, manholes, 12”, 15”, 24” & 30” pipe and grading. Replacement of 24” x 12” PVC Wye fitting. Along with 3⁄4 copper water service and relocation fo 5/8 water meter.

Dundalk - District 12 c 7.

THE PROJECT IS SUBJECT TO A MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE UTILIZATION GOAL AND FEMALE CONTRACTORS UTILIZATION GOALS. THESE GOAL REQUIREMENTS ARE MORE FULLY EXPLAINED IN THE SPECIFICATIONS. THE MBE/WBE FORMS IN THE PROPOSAL BOOKLET MUST BE COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED AT THE TIME OF BID OPENING. Sealed proposals (the entire book) addressed to Baltimore County, Maryland for this contract will be received in the Baltimore County Purchasing Division, Room 148, Old Courthouse, 400 Washington Avenue, Towson, MD 21204, until the time specified on the contract at which time they will be publicly opened and read.

ONLY CONTRACTORS WHO HAVE BEEN PREQUALIFIED BY BALTIMORE COUNTY AT LEAST TEN (10) DAYS PRIOR TO THE OPENING OF BIDS WILL BE ALLOWED TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS. All proposals must be accompanied by a Bid Bond, on the approved form provided, in the amount as set forth in the “Information for Bidders”. No other form of proposal guaranty is acceptable.

The Purchasing Agent reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or bids or parts of bids and to waive technicalities as may be deemed best for the interest of the County.

Keith Dorsey, Director Office of Budget & Finance

Payment Policy for legal notice advertisements. Effective immediately, The Afro American Newspapers will require prepayment for publication of all legal notices.

Payment will be accepted in the form of checks, credit card or money order. Any returned checks will be subject to a $25.00 processing fee and may result in the suspension of any future advertising at our discretion.

April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013, The Afro-American

TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:59:33 EDT 2013

LEGAL NOTICES

CAREER CORNER

CITY OF BALTIMORE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS BUREAU OF WATER AND WASTEWATER

TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:57:48 EDT 2013 NOTICE OF LETTING Sealed Bids or Proposals, in duplicate addressed to the Board of Estimates of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore and marked for Water Contract 1251-Repaving Utility Cuts at Various Locations will be received at the Case Worker Office of the Comptroller, Room 204, City Hall, Baltimore, Maryland until Unique opportunity to function as part of interdisciplinary 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, May 8, 2013. Positively no bids will be received team providing case work services to individuals who are after 11:00 A.M. Bids will be publicly opened by the Board of Estimates in homeless. Bachelor´s degree required; BSW preferred, Room 215, City Hall at Noon.The Contract Documents may be examined, without charge, at the Department of Public Works Service Center located good verbal and written communication skills, ability to work on the first floor of the Abel Wolman Municipal Building, 200 N. Holliday in team setting required. Assist clients by escorting them to Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 as of Friday, April 12, 2013 and copies appointments and/or visiting newly housed clients in their may be purchased for a non-refundable cost of $50.00. home. Experience working with homeless individuals preConditions and requirements of the Bid are found in the bid package. ferred. Send resume by 04/22/13 to Ms. Sage Johnson, All contractors bidding on this Contract must first be prequalified by the City of Baltimore Contractors Qualification Committee. Interested parties HCH, 421 Fallsway, Baltimore MD 21202. FAX (410) should call 410-396-6883 or contact the Committee at 751 Eastern Avenue, 837-8020. E-mail: hrresumes@hchmd.org. No phone calls.

Wed Apr 17 14:58:34 EDT 2013 Baltimore, Maryland 21202. If a bid is submitted by a joint venture TYPESET: EOE (“JV”), then in that event, the document that established the JV shall be submitted with the bid for verification purposes. The Prequalification Category required for bidding on this project is A02601Public Benefits Associate Portland Cement Concrete PavingCost Qualification Range for this work Health care agency serving individuals experiencing homelessness in shall be $4,000,000.01 to $5,000,000.00 A “Pre-Bidding Information” sesBaltimore has immediate opening for a Public Benefits Associate. sion will be conducted on the 3rd Floor Conference Room of the Bureau of Water & Wastewater, Abel Wolman Municipal Building on April 23, 2013 at In collaboration with relevant clinical and administrative teams, the Public 10:00 A.M. Principal Item of work for this project are: Prepare as Benefits Associate ensures the activation and continuity of health-related public benefits for clients, benefits research and education, accurate required and repave, utility cuts performed by others, with bituminous completion of public benefit applications, collection of documentation for concrete or portland cement concrete, milling and resurfacing, and installapublic benefits, processing of mail related to public benefits and promotes tion of pavement markings, within Baltimore City streets, alleys, and roadparticipation in public health-related programs that assist clients and ways. provide resources for the organization.

The MBE goal is 15% The WBE goal is 5% High School diploma/GED required; BA preferred, or equivalent experWATER CONTRACT 1251 ience. Experience working in health care setting, experience with WinAPPROVED: Bernice H. Taylor Clerk, Board of Estimates APPROVED: Alfred H. Foxx TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:54:52 EDT 2013 Director of Public Works HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BALTIMORE CITY INVITATION FOR BIDS MONUMENT EAST ROOF REPLACEMENT IFB NUMBER: B-1722-13 The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (“HABC”) will issue an Invitation for Bids (“IFB”) for interested and qualified vendors to submit sealed bids to remove the existing flat roof system and install a new 20 year Modified Bitumen, 2-ply roof (min) roof membrane system including insulation, flashings, cant strips, edge metal, pitch pockets, hoisting and rigging on18 story building.

BIDS WILL BE DUE no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 24, 2013. A nonmandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 11:00 a.m., at the Charles L. Benton Building, 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 416, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202.

HABC has established a minimum goal of twenty percent (20%) of the total dollar amount of the proposed contract for Minority Business Enterprise (“MBE”) utilization, applicable to all minority and non-minority businesses proposing to provide the requested services as the prime contractor. No goal has been established for participation of Women-owned businesses (“WBEs”), however, HABC strongly encourages and affirmatively promotes the use of WBEs in all HABC contracts.

Responders shall also comply with all applicable requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. Section 1701u.

The IFB may be obtained on or after Monday, April 29, 2013, at the following location: Housing Authority of Baltimore City Division of Fiscal Operations, Purchasing Department 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 414 Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Attention: John Airey, Chief of Contracting Services Tel: (410) 396-3261 Fax: (410) 962-1586

Send resume to S. Johnson, HCH, 421 Fallsway, Baltimore, MD 21202.

BOARD OF LIQUOR LICENSE COMMISSIONERS FOR BALTIMORE CITY NOTICE Petitions have been filed by the following applicants for licenses to sell alcoholic beverages at the premises set opposite their respective names.

The real property for these applications will be posted on Monday, April 15, 2013. Written protests concerning any application will be accepted until and including the time of the conference or hearing.

Conferences and public hearings will be held after May 2, 2013. Interested parties should contact the office of the Board, 231 E. Baltimore Street, 6th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 or by calling (410) 396-4385 to determine the exact time and date that a particular application will be considered b y t h e B o a r d . Wr i t t e n p r o t e s t s w i l l b e acknowledged by the Board and such protestants will be notified as to the date, time and place of the hearing and/or conference.

1. CLASS “A” BEER, WINE & LIQUOR LICENSE H & P Friends, Inc. Transfer of ownership 3243 Belair Road Rajinder Singh Sandhu 2. CLASS “B” BEER, WINE & LIQUOR RESTAURANT LICENSE Baltimore Pizza Holdings, LLC New restaurant with live entertainment 3535 Chestnut Avenue Kelly Beckham off-premises catering and outdoor table service Fish Lips, BYOB, LLC New restaurant with off-premises catering 850 W. 36th Street John Antonopoulos, Maria Fenix Bernard Dehaene Zheng, Ming New restaurant-B-BWL 916 W. 36th Street Ming Zheng

Neha, Inc. New restaurant with live entertainment 322 N. Charles Street Narayan Thapa, Bharat Barail and off-premises catering

HABC has established a minimum goal of twenty percent (20%) of the total dollar amount of the proposed contract for Minority Business Enterprise (“MBE”) utilization, applicable to all minority and non-minority businesses proposing to provide the requested services as the prime contractor. No goal has been established for participation of Women-owned businesses (“WBEs”), however, HABC strongly encourages and affirmatively promotes the use of WBEs in all HABC contracts.

Responders shall also comply with all applicable requirements of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. Section 1701u.

The IFB may be obtained on or after Monday, April 29, 2013, at the following location: Housing Authority of Baltimore City Division of Fiscal Operations, Purchasing Department 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 414 Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Attention: John Airey, Chief of Contracting Services Tel: (410) 396-3261 Fax: (410) 962-1586 Questions regarding the IFB should be directed in writing to the address and individual indicated above, and must include the reference: HABC IFB TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:59:03 EDT 2013 Number B-1721-13.

City of Baltimore Department of Finance Bureau of Purchases Sealed proposals addressed to the Board of Estimates of Baltimore, will be received until, but not later than 11:00 a.m. local time on the following date(s) for the stated requirements: MAY 1, 2013 RIGHT OF WAYS MAINTANANCE B50002889 EVACUATION CHAIRS & EQUIPMENT B50002917 MAY 8, 2013 SAFETY SHOES AND BOOTS B50002893 FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (FSA) ADMINISTRATION B50002898 THE ENTIRE SOLICITATION DOCUMENT CAN BE VIEWED AND DOWN LOADED BY VISITING THE CITYS WEB SITE: www.baltimorecitibuy.org

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY CAREER OPPORTUNITY Fire Chief Salary Range: $99,580 - $162,693 Visit our website at www.aacounty.org for additional information and to apply on-line. You may use the Internet at any Anne Arundel County library, or visit our office at 2660 Riva Road in Annapolis. AEO/DF/SFE

Corey Brown

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BALTIMORE CITY INVITATION FOR BIDS SOMERSET HOMES ROOF REPLACEMENT IFB NUMBER: B-1721-13

A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 10:00 a.m., at the Charles L. Benton Building, 417 E. Fayette Street, Room 416, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202.

Certified Medical Assistant, (Pediatrics and Adults) FullTime Comprehensive health care center located in downtown Baltimore has an opening for a Certified Medical Assistant on the Medical (Pediatric and Adult) team. Duties include venipuncture, EKG´s, dressing changes, vital signs and assisting medical providers; documenting client records; maintaining inventory of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals; providing clerical support and assisting in the daily maintenance of the clinic. Requirements include: H.S. diploma or GED; certification as a Medical Assistant; good telephone communication skills, basic typing skills and the ability to write legibly; strong organization and interpersonal skills; interest in working with homeless and/or low income clients. Send resume to Sage Johnson, 421 Fallsway, Baltimore, MD 21202 by 04/19/13. FAX to (410) 837-8020.

Email: hrresumes@hchmd.org.

No phone calls. EOE TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 15:03:23 EDT 2013

TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 15:00:15 EDT 2013 E-mail: hrresumes@hchmd.org.

Fax: 410- 837-8020. No phone calls.

TMJS-1, LLC Transfer of ownership; request for 1542 Light Street Erika Lasker & Sally Emburey outdoor table service

BIDS WILL BE DUE no later than 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 24, 2013.

TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:58:08 EDT 2013

dows and Microsoft Office suite products; knowledge of Medical Assistance and Medicare programs and/or other state run medical insurance programs; strong interpersonal communication skills; and comfortable working with homeless and/or low-income individuals is preferred.

Questions regarding the IFB should be directed in writing to the address and individual indicated above, and must include the reference: HABC IFB TYPESET: Wed Apr 17 14:55:26 EDT 2013 Number B-1721-13.

The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (“HABC”) will issue an Invitation for Bids (“IFB”) for interested and qualified vendors to submit sealed bids to remove and replace existing shingle roofing system with new Architectural Grade shingles including flashing, ice shields, new vent boots, new gutter and downspouts and ridge vents with cap shingles.

B7

Santorini Greek & Italian Cuisine, Inc. New restaurant 5721-23 York Road Mohammad Izadi 3. CLASS “B-HOTEL-MOTEL” BEER, WINE & LIQUOR RESTAURANT LICENSE Lord Baltimore Licensee, LLC Transfer of ownership 20-30 W. Baltimore Street Jason Rubell, Mes Rubell, Gene Addis 4. CLASS “BD7” BEER, WINE & LIQUOR LICENSE T & M Wash Blvd, Inc. Transfer of ownership 2522 Washington Boulevard Laura Chirichella, Maria Reisinger 5. CLASS “D” BEER & WINE Brother´s Grocery, Inc. Transfer of ownership 3232 Chesterfield Avenue Young Sin Kim, Chang Hai Wang Lavagnino, Luigi Transfer of ownership 246 S. Broadway 6. CLASS “D” BEER , WINE, & LIQUOR Bar 1513, LLC Transfer of ownership 1513 McHenry Street

afro. com • Your History • Your Community • Your News

OBITUARY Pattie H. Berry, 79

AFRO Columnist, Teacher Pattie Green Hodges-Berry, 79 of Ellicott City, Md., passed away from complications after a major stroke on April 9 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md. She was born on Dec. 19, 1933 in Warrenton, N.C., daughter of the late Irving Lee Green Sr. and Queenie Iona Green. She received her early education in Warrenton, N.C. graduating from John R. Hawkins High School 1951.

She attended North Carolina University in Durham, N.C. from 1951 to 1953. Moving to Baltimore, Md., she enrolled in and graduated from Coppin State University in 1962 with a Bachelor’s degree in English.

She received her Advanced Professional Certificate for PATTIE master’s equivalent from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1976.

In 1957, she was married to the late Rev. James E. Hodges Sr., a pharmacist, and of this union was one son, James E. Hodges Jr. This marriage ended in divorce. On Aug. 7, 1988, she married Walthall M. Berry, a retired educator and photographer.

Pattie was a longtime resident of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, residing in Baltimore City, Pikesville and Ellicott City. In her early career, she worked briefly for the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Social Services, but later resigned to seek employment in the Baltimore City Public School System. From 1963 to 1990, she taught grades K through 3. She worked at Thomas G. Hayes Elementary School and during her tenure there, she received the “Teacher of the Year” award. Pattie retired from the public system in 1990. In addition to her service as an educator, she was the Women’s Editor at the Afro-American Newspaper and wrote and edited human interest articles for the “Our World” sections of the AFRO. She also served as a social columnist with the Baltimore Times, where she covered numerous African-American social affairs. While working at both the AFRO and the Baltimore Times, she received numerous writing awards.

She enjoyed reading, writing prose and poetry, playing the piano, singing in the choir, traveling, socializing and the arts. She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; Patapsco River Chapter, Links; Baltimore Metro Chapter, Coalition of 100 Black Women (Charter Member); the Society for the Arts, Coppin Alumni Association, North Carolina Central Alumni Association, president The Friends (church group) and president, The Urbanites. Also, she was a member of Payne Memorial A.M.E. Church in Baltimore where she served as the director of the Young Peoples Choir.

Later as a member at Douglass Memorial Community H. BERRY Church, she served as the cochair for Women’s Day in 1994.

Other awards and recognition received include the Fullwood Foundation Award, NAACP Award, Governor’s Citation-2000, Woman of the Year Media Award (Zeta Phi Beta Sorority), American Business Women’s Award, NAFAD Awards (Fashion Designers), Citations from the Mayor, City Council President, Member of the City Council of Baltimore City, and many others.

Survivors include her husband, Walthall M. Berry; one son, James E. Hodges Jr., of Baltimore; one grandson, Phillip Michael Hodges of Baltimore; two brothers, Irving L. Green Jr., of Glen Burnie, Md., and Charles T. Green of Wilmington, Calif.; two sisters-in-law, Dorothy Fields Green of Glen Burnie, Md., and Bernadine Barry Harper of Baltimore; one brother-in-law, Wilfred Berry of Baltimore, Md., five nieces, Deborah Green Glasco of Columbia, Md., Denise Green of Baltimore, Md., Deneen Green of Baltimore, Md., Deborah Green Glasco of Glen Burnie, Md., and Lynnadine Curry of Baltimore, Md.; two nephews, Kenneth L. Green of Glen Burnie, Md., and Barnett Harper of Baltimore, Md.; and a host of nieces, nephews, several cousins and friends.

Free Service Obituaries are printed for free by the AFROAmerican Newspapers. Send funeral program and picture to: Obituaries The Baltimore Afro-American 2519 N. Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218

B8

The Afro-American, April 20, 2013 - April 26, 2013

AFRO Sports Desk Faceoff

SPORTS

What’s Next for Kobe Bryant?

By Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley AFRO Sports Desk Kobe Bryant, perennial National Basketball Association (NBA) All Star and all-everything for the Los Angeles Lakers, was lost for the season on April 12 with a torn Achilles tendon.

With the Lakers still hanging on to the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, as of

press time, Los Angeles is prepared to head into the postseason with Dwight Howard substituting as a crutch. Doctors are calling for a six to nine-month recovery for Bryant. The questions that have swirled around the Lakers all season about whether or not Howard would re-sign with the team this summer have been overtaken by one big question: What’s next for Kobe Bryant? Perry Green and Stephen

Tiger Finishes Fourth

Adam Scott Becomes First Aussie to Win Masters Title

D. Riley of the AFRO Sports Desk debate the question.

Riley: If there’s one player in all of sports who I’m sure would come back from an injury like this at age 34, it is Kobe Bryant. Given the way Bryant played this year (27 points per game, six assists and six rebounds per game) Kobe Bryant it’s clear he has way more left in the tank. He’s still the top shooting guard in the game and could probably continue to have a significant impact on the game for easily three to four more years. Should Howard re-sign with the club this summer then the Lakers have a chance to be light-years better than what they showed for most of the early part of this season. Not saying they’ll win a championship next year but contention would definitely be on the horizon.

Green: I respect Bryant’s toughness and career but I think he should consider hanging them up. What if Howard doesn’t re-sign?

Who could blame him considering his elder teammate and co-All Star just suffered a pretty significant injury. If Howard says goodbye then what would motivate Kobe to return?

He’s a prize fighter sort-to-speak. He plays for championships so what would he be returning to exactly? The only team to be part of, if he truly wants a ring, doesn’t have “Lakers” written across the front of the jersey. I just can’t see Kobe doing that. Now is the perfect time to hang them up.

Cabrera after both ended regular play on the 18th hole with a tie score of 279. It marked the 16th Tiger Woods put on his typical playoff hole in tournament history. sharp performance, scoring a 70 Cabrera hit a beautiful putt in in the final round of the Masters the sudden death match that came close to being a winning birdie, but on April 14 in Augusta, Ga. But it stopped just inches short of rolling wasn’t enough to overtake the top into the hole. Instead, he had to three leaders of the tournament, as watch as Scott nailed his winning he finished the 2013 Masters tied for fourth place with a total score Wikimedia Commons birdie putt just seconds later for his first Masters’ championship and of 283.

Tiger Woods green jacket.

Tiger’s fall from contention “Of course, I’m happy for Adam,” Cabrera ultimately came down to the two-shot penalty said to TV reporters. “He’s a great person, a that he was given after making a violation on the 15th hole during the second round on April great player and he deserved it.”

Scott, who uses a longer putter than golfers 12. It pushed him back to 19th place entering are traditionally seen using, is now the first the third round on April 12. He finished the Australian pro to ever win a green jacket. third round tied for seventh place, but with the Scott’s caddie, Steve Williams, was Tiger’s two extra points added to his total score, he caddie for 14 of his major wins. wasn’t able to finish any further than fourth “Australia is a proud sporting nation and place on Sunday. this win today is just another notch on the Meanwhile, the winner’s circle all came Riley: We both know Kobe isn’t going to down to a sudden death match between Aussie belt,” Scott told CBS. “It’s an unbelievable T:11” let this be the last image of him that people feeling and I’m just glad to make us proud.” pro Adam Scott and Argentinean pro Angel

By Perry Green AFRO Sports Editor

S:10.375”

see. I don’t care if the Lakers have a bunch of D Leaguers on the team next season, there’s too much pride in Bryant to let the image of him limping off the court be the last we see of him.

Green: Why can’t he? Why risk lifelasting injury just so the public can watch him hobble through another season or two.

An Achilles injury is a pretty devastating Wikimedia Commons ordeal. Current diagnosis puts him on pace to return around December or early next season.

Asking the Lakers to go the first few months of the season without Bryant is a pretty tough request. Asking Bryant to come back and salvage the team at this point is even tougher.

Riley: We also both know that Kobe is going to beat that timetable. Would it really surprise anyone if Bryant is back by opening night next fall? It wouldn’t surprise me at all.

The Lakers haven’t been title-worthy in years and Bryant’s still gone out and performed. The Lakers won’t be title-worthy anytime soon either but you can still count on the Mamba to still be productive.

Green: Sorry, Riley. But I just can’t see Bryant going through some grueling rehab to come back for mediocrity. If he retired this summer my lasting memory of him wouldn’t be him being helped off the court. It would be him pumping in an MVP season and holding a defunct Lakers team together all season through the mist of coaching changes, injuries and the Dwight Howard debate. This might have been Bryant’s finest season in years and it might become even more significant if it turns out to be his last one.

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