Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper March 1 2014

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Volume 122 No. 30

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March 1, 2014 - March 1, 2014, The Afro-American

MARCH 1, 2014 - MARCH 7, 2014

City Council Supports Chemical Contaminating Minority Communities BWI Equal Pay Act By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent

By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO Baltimore Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke announced the passage of a resolution supporting the Thurgood Marshall BWI Equal Pay Act on Monday during a press conference at City Hall. The press conference was attended by State Sen. Catherine Pugh, Baltimore City Council President Bernard Young, General Assembly Delegate Cheryl Glenn, concessions employees of BWI, and

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Tony Brown, a BWI concessions employee members and officials of UNITE HERE Local 7, a hospitality and manufacturing workers union operating in Baltimore. The act, sponsored in the Maryland General Assembly by Sen. Pugh, creates a wage equality supplement to be paid by the state to concessions

workers at BWI to bring their wages in line with the minimum wage earned by employees of the Maryland Aviation Authority, which runs the airport. According to a survey conducted by UNITE HERE, the median wage of non-tipped concessions

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As the nation ruminates on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement during Black History Month, environmental justice activists are calling attention to what they say is the new frontline of the human rights struggle: chemical contamination of communities of color. “When corporations decide where to build chemical plants, landfills, or water treatment plants where chemicals leach, they most often choose low income communities of color,” Richard Moore, a long-time civil rights and environmental justice leader with the Environmental Justice and Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, said in a statement. “This is the next frontier of the Civil

Heroin Rising Again By Sean Yoes Special to the AFRO A long-time leader in addiction recovery talks about the spike in heroin overdoses nationally and the history of the drug in Baltimore. The death of Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman at age 46 – perhaps the greatest actor of his generation – because of a heroin overdose earlier in February has shed light on the most recent resurgence of the drug and a nationwide rise in heroin overdoses. The rise in heroin use corresponds to a decrease in the use of much more expensive illegally obtained pharmaceutical opioids used primarily as painkillers (80 milligrams of an opioid like OxyContin can cost about $80 on the street compared to a packet of heroin at a cost of $6 to $10). Perhaps one of the most unlikely states in the minds of many, Vermont, has seen a 770 percent rise in people seeking treatment for

opioid addiction since 2000 and four out of five new heroin users in the state initially abused painkillers according to health officials. Heroin use in Vermont has become so dire the governor Peter Shumlin devoted his most recent State of the State

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address in January to encourage public debate on drug abuse and addiction there. And in Maryland health officials report in the first seven months of 2012, a15 percent drop in

Rights Movement,” Michele Roberts, cocoordinator for the alliance, told the AFRO. “People of color and the poor have borne the brunt of exposure to toxins and have a disproportionate share of health issues because of the prevalence of chemical sites in their communities. You even have people migrating because they are losing their communities.” Roberts pointed to Mossville, a town just outside Lake Charles, La. that was built by Black freedmen in the late 1700s, and now faces a corporate buyout because “they are surrounded by 14 of the most toxic facilities ever.” The environmental justice movement began in the 1960s when farm workers organized by Cesar Chavez fought for workplace rights, including protection from toxic pesticides in California fields, and Continued on A5

pharmaceutical opioid overdoses was accompanied by a 41 percent increase in heroin overdoses. Of course, the heroin scourge is no stranger to Baltimore. In fact, despite the ebb and flow of heroin use nationally over the years, Baltimore has historically and accurately been known as a “heroin town.” “Baltimore’s drug of choice is heroin,” said Israel Cason, founder and CEO of I Can’t – We Can (ICWC), a spiritually based drug recovery program headquartered in Park Heights in Northwest Baltimore. Cason, who founded ICWC in 1997 after a 30year stint as a heroin addict, says the most recent national spike in heroin use and overdoses is connected to the U.S. war in Afghanistan. “The only product they (Afghanistan) have is opium. They have tons of heroin just waiting to get into the country,” said Cason. According to a United Nations report heroin production in Afghanistan increased from 185 tons in 2001when the war began to 5,800 in 2011. Continued on A5

Hoping for a Bright Future after Benjamin M. Phillips IV Enrolling in President Obama’s Elected AFRO President Affordable Health Act By AFRO Staff

He had every reason to believe he was in control of his economic future as a Certified Fiber Optics Technician, able to ply his trade anywhere around the globe. However, 12 months ago, after losing a position with a technology company in Washington, D.C., Michael Coleman was suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into unfamiliar territory. He was applying for unemployment insurance and living without the security of health benefits; benefits he lost along with his job. Michael had joined the millions in the U.S. left to chart a new course to survive and overcome the rigors of joblessness, and to recognize the impact of not having health coverage. Like many educated middle class Americans, Michael never thought he would be unemployed; never thought he would be without health insurance. While he was redoubling his efforts to acquire a new place of employment, Michael also took advantage of the new healthcare law by attempting self-enrollment online under the state’s Maryland Health Connection website. After experiencing problems with his application, he eventually found help at the Randallstown library where Certified Navigator Sheila C Bennett was stationed to

offer assistance to consumers by enrolling them into Qualified Health Plans or extended Medicaid. Bennett is a navigator with Chatman, a partner with Healthcare Access Maryland, the Central Region Connector Entity. Bennett provided Coleman with the necessary assistance. He finally was able to select a health plan of his choice qualifying for a tax credit to reduce his premium, and he also received a 70 percent reduction on certain outof-pocket expenses. Coleman was surprised to learn he qualified for two subsidies that made his cost for a private health insurance plan very inexpensive. A few weeks later, Coleman found Bennett again at the Randallstown library and gave her some welcomed news. He had gone to his first doctor’s visit using his new health insurance plan and he didn’t have to pay one cent out of pocket. He received treatment for an old untreated shoulder injury. As a result he got a full night’s sleep for the first time in six months. As part of the treatment plan he is undergoing physical therapy. He happily demonstrated to the navigator how he is now able to move his shoulder, which he declares, is already 80 percent back to normal. For Continued on A3

Jake Oliver, chairman of the board and CEO of the AFRO-American Newspapers, announced the election of Benjamin Murphy Phillips IV as president of the company. As president, Phillips will be the chief operational officer of the company reporting directly to Oliver, overseeing a myriad of operational responsibilities that may from time to time be assigned to him. Since 2007, Phillips has been the director of Global Markets responsible for the marketing, web technical management, circulation and distribution of the company’s electronic and print products. Prior to that time he had been involved in many different capacities. Phillips is a member of the AFRO board of directors, executive committee, and prior to his election as president, served as secretary of the company. Phillips’ team was

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Benjamin Phillips responsible for the successful 2009 launch of the Prince Georges County Edition of the AFRO as part of the company’s hyper-localism initiative. In 2013, Phillips was elected vice president of the Maryland – Delaware - DC Press Association whose mission is to “serve the diverse needs” of its

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