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BATON

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014

Newly Elected 2014-15 Miss Southern and SGA President

ROUGE,

LOUISIANA

VOL. 39 • NO. 34 • FREE

A PEOPLE’S PUBLICATION

Bills Allowing Teachers to Carry Guns Shot Down in Committee

Hillar Moore: Bill Creating Misdemeanor Jail In Baton Rouge Could Reduce Crime

Shanice Mae Sam (left) 2014-2015 Miss Southern University and Nicholas Harris SGA President.

BATON ROUGE- Students at Southern University cast ballots on Monday, April 7 for their candidates to represent SU’s 2014-2015 Student Government Association and Royal Court. Polls closed Monday evening and votes were tallied.

SU’s Director of Student Life, Jonas Vanderbilt announced Nicholas Harris, a junior biology major, as the new SGA President. Then he declared Shanice Mae Sam, also a junior biology major, as the 20142015 Miss Southern University.

The student body’s new campus leaders will take over officially in May. Nicholas “Nick” Harris came to Southern University with a vision. He saw himself as someone who could make a difference on the Baton Rouge campus.

For the 20-year-old Rosedale native and SU Laboratory School graduate, it’s time to get things done.

“I want to open the SGA up to anyone who wants to make a difference,” said Harris, who is taking applications for his executive cabinet.

Harris said it was a “surreal moment” when the vote totals were read showing that he had won the top student leadership position. “It was a sense of accomplishment.”

“I’m anxious to get started,” added Harris, who has been involved in student issues since he was Student Government Association president at the Laboratory School and freshman senator on the Baton Rouge campus.

Harris said he wants to increase the number of on-campus activities for students, including events where

Rep. Ray Garofalo, R-Chalmette, testifies about his bill to allow teachers to carry guns at school on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. He argued the bill would ward potential shooters from attempting to enter a school.

Two gun bills, one with the NRA’s involved support and the other with formal opposition from the pro-gun organization, were shot down in a Louisiana House committee Wednesday (April 16).

When Rep. Ray Garofalo took a seat Wednesday (April 16) to introduce his bill allowing

teachers to carry guns to school, he started out on the defense.

“I am not trying to get (teachers) to carry guns in purses,” said the Republican lawmaker from Chalmette to the House Criminal Justice Administration Committee. He wanted, instead, to send a message “to the criminals and the crazies,

that they might meet armed resistance on our...campuses should they choose to go on a killing spree.” Gun-free zones, he said, invite potential shooters to wreak havoc.

The argument Garofalo repeated most often was that his See BILLS, on page 3

Proposed Bill Would Make it Harder for Teachers to Get Arrested BATON ROUGE, LA — A bill that hopes to protect teachers from being arrested cleared a Senate Committee. The idea for the proposed bill stems from the recent arrest of a teacher in Baker.

The bill was brought after long time Baker School Teacher Deborah Anderson was arrested last month and taken to parish prison after a student complained that Anderson had grabbed and scratched him. Those charges were later dropped, but if this bill becomes law - it would make it harder for police to haul a teacher off to jail based solely on a student’s claims.

Baton Rouge Senator Troy Brown wrote the bill.

“We’re looking to address a concern here to where basically a teacher used reasonable authority to discipline a child and of course from there, the parent got involved and law enforcement officials got involved. Unfortunately, the teacher got arrested while on the campus and went through the humiliation of being arrested,” Brown testified to the Senate Committee.

“Sometimes they make accusations unnecessarily,” Vernon Wells, Baker representative of the Louisiana Association of Educa-

tors, added. “Many days I’ve felt in that same situation where we have to step up to that plate to do what is right and give guidance to those individuals.”

The bill was amended to allow a teacher to be arrested if they committed a felony or other more serious crimes, which is why Senator Brown needed the support of the Sheriff’s Association to get the matter out to the floor.

“We are very satisfied with the legislation. We believe that misdemeanor summons should See TEACHERS, on page 2

See PRESIDENT, on page 2

TOP-SEEDED PACERS TO REST 3 STARTERS IN FINALE

East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore, pictured a press conference at LSU on the Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination initiative, spoke Tuesday April 8, 2014, at the Louisiana State Capitol in support of a bill that would create a misdemeanor jail in East Baton Rouge Parish.

If Baton Rouge-focused legislation continues to sail through the Louisiana Legislature like it has so far, East Baton Rouge Parish residents with a glove compartment of overdue speeding tickets could soon find themselves behind bars.

The Louisiana Senate approved on Wednesday (April 9) Senate Bill 478, which allows the parish to open a misdemeanor jail for those who fail to appear in court on misdemeanor and traffic offenses. It passed unanimously in the Senate and will now be heard in the House.

More than 160,000 outstanding warrants exist in Baton Rouge, but there’s nowhere to book and bond those people, East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore said. He testified on behalf of the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Dan Claitor, R-Baton Rouge, Tuesday (April 8) at a Senate Finance Committee hearing.

“Basically, when (residents) get a traffic ticket or have a misdemeanor summons, nobody appears anymore,” Moore said. “We’d like to put some teeth into our misdemeanors.” When police arrest people for felony offenses, they’re booked in the parish prison.

Passage of the bill would also authorize a $50 warrant fee for failure to appear for court on misdemeanor or traffic expenses,

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the collection of which will fund the misdemeanor jail. Sen. Body White, R-Baton Rouge, pointed out that district judges have the authority to waive the $50 fee, for instance, if someone wasn’t properly served.

While the legislation addresses minor offenses, Moore said it could impact the overall crime rate, including more serious or violent crimes, as suggested by the “broken windows theory” made famous by former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani’s success in drastically reducing the crime rate in the 1990s.

By enforcing laws more evenly across the board it communicates that regardless of who commits a crime or what kind of crime, consequences exist in the parish. Moore has said those fair practices encourage a perspective among criminals or would-be criminals that the law and the authority enforcing it are “legitimate.” When that happens, “I believe people will voluntarily comply with the law, and (the efforts) will lower the crime rate,” Moore said Tuesday.

During a trial period where the a misdemeanor detention facility was set up for two weeks, the property and violent crime rate dropped 20 percent, Moore said.

“This is something that’s really dear to us,” he said of the legislation.

RELIGION

On Sunday, April 20th the New Birth Full Gospel Ministries will be holding their annual Easter Service at 11:00 am service. ..See Page 6

INDEX

EMMITT GLYNN GO TO WASHINGTON DC As a history teacher I know that With nothing at stake Wednesday night in Orlando, coach Frank Vogel plans to rest three of his starters and limit the minutes for the other two....See Page 8

seminal moments ostensibly change the world in ways that often times cannot be predicted.

Last month I got to be part of one of those seminal moments...See Page 3

BR NATIVE A SKINCARE SUCCESS

LSU graduate and Baton Rouge native Holly Emery Thaggard has entrepreneurial roots, so the decision to start her UV protection skincare product line Supergoop! in 2007 was second-nature..See Page 5

BLACK RATE THEIR HEALTH POORLY While lower income and educa-

tion among minorities have been linked to poor health for decades, this study focused just on the connection between financial worries and poor health...See Page 7

Local & State............................2 Commentary.............................4 Business....................................5 Religion....................................6 Health.......................................7 Sports.......................................8

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STATE & LOCAL

Gov. Jindal, State Baton Rouge Gallery Awards Over $1,000 in Superintendent Scholarships at Annual REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE at Odds over Common Core BATON ROUGE, LA — Political analyst Jim Engster addressed the difference of opinion recently made public between Gov. Bobby Jindal and State Superintendent of Education John White. Jindal has gone on record opposing the implementation of Common Core testing in Louisiana releasing a statement Monday.

“We share the concerns of these legislators and also of parents across Louisiana. We’re hopeful that legislation will move through the process this session that will address the concerns of parents or delay implementation until these concerns can be addressed. We think this course of action outlined in the legislators’ letter remains a very viable option if the Legislature does not act.”

White has countered Jindal’s stance publicly saying a delay to Common Core plans and other testing programs that go along with it would create a major dilemma for students and teachers already expecting the change. Engster says White’s public opposition to Jindal could end up costing him his job.

“They’re at odds over some very basic issues regarding common core and how it’s implemented and right now the governor says let’s put on the brakes and not do it and John White says let’s forge ahead See COMMON CORE, on page 7

Teachers from page 1 be given if necessary in all but very, very narrow situations,” says Mike Barnett with the La. Sheriff’s Association.

The bill now heads to the Senate floor.

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Just a Thought: “I know that my redeemer lives and that He shall stand with me at the latter days of the earth.” Job

Easter Joy

Jesus came to earth, To show us how to live, How to put others first, How to love and how to give.

Then He set about His work, That God sent Him to do; He took our punishment on Himself; He made us clean and new.

He could have saved Himself, Calling angels from above, But He chose to pay our price for sin; He paid it out of love.

With sincere and heartfelt joy, Love, Marge BATON ROUGE - On March 30, Baton Rouge Gallery once again opened its doors inside BREC’s Historic City Park to its annual REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE Juried High School Exhibition. On the following Wednesday, the gallery hosted a “First Wednesday” Opening Reception (7-9 p.m.) where the community was able to view over 40 works of original art from East Baton Rouge Parish public and private high school students. At the reception, a number of awards were presented that included over $1,000 in scholarships and prizes, courtesy of the exhibition’s sponsor, the Louisiana State University School of Art Glassell Gallery.

This energizing exhibition, on display through May 1, spotlights the work of East Baton Rouge Parish’s high school students; not only sharing their talents with their community, but encouraging and inspiring them to continue pursuing their artistic talents by exhibiting their work in a professional gallery setting. The exhibition also spotlights the importance of arts education, celebrating both its positive effects on the youths of our community and the efforts of the educators that challenge their students.

At the reception, awards were presented to the following artists: Honorable Mention Awards

and summer passes to the gallery’s Movies & Music on the Lawn series were presented to Finn Kelley from Baton Rouge Magnet High and Madison Petty from Zachary High.

Third Place and a $200 scholarship went to a student of Megan Buccere’s at Zachary High, Madison Petty for her painting, “Hand Nest” Second Place and a $400 scholarship went to a student of April Hammock’s at Baton Rouge Magnet High, Madison White for her mixed media piece, “Doll House” The honor of “Best in Show” and a $600 scholarship was awarded to a student of Lee Randall’s at The Runnells School, Sarah Garrett for her piece, “Caged Bird” In addition, the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge continued their partnership with BRG this year in offering the Paul A. Dufour & Julia Dufour Richardson Scholarship award to a selected student finalist from The REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE Juried High School Exhibition.

The Scholarship Fund will continue Dufour’s legacy by providing assistance for exceptional students to attend private classes with recognized professional artists in the Greater Baton Rouge area. Potential scholarship recipients were selected from the exhibition and announced at the April 2 reception. Each of these

seven artists are eligible to apply for the scholarship.

The finalists for the Paul A. Dufour & Julia Dufour Richardson Scholarship are: From Baton Rouge Magnet High, Sophia Marx; from Zachary High, Claytin Goss; from Catholic High, Bradley Thornton; from Baton Rouge Magnet High, Finn Kelley; from Zachary High, Madison Deckman; from Christian Life Academy, Anna Morris; and from Zachary High, Angelle Carter.

The exhibition will be on display at BRG, March 30-May 1 during normal gallery hours (12-6 p.m., Tuesday – Sunday).

As always, there are no fees for admission.

Photos from the April 2 awards reception can be downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/84ecdrulnagn5ca/ MDT2c1_mle. Names of those pictured can be provided upon request.

In March, roughly 150 works of original art were submitted for possible inclusion in this competitive exhibition. In keeping with the spirit of the exhibition’s title, this truly is a “real-life experience” in that not every student who submits work is included in the exhibition. As professional artists find every time they seek to participate in a juried exhibition, life as a visual artist is highly competitive.

For this exhibition, a panel of three jurors was assembled to select the works to be included in the show and the prize-winning works via a completely blind jurying process. None of the jurors knew the artist’s name, grade level, school or teacher prior to the selection of any work, thus allowing them to select pieces for the show based solely on their artistic merits.

BRG artist members Mary Lee Eggart, Matt Morris and MiSee GALLERY, on page 5

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President from page 1 student artists can showcase their talents. “They shouldn’t have to go off campus to show their painting or musical talent,” he said.

How Harris wound up at Southern, shows this is the place he was supposed to be. He admits he had dreams of going to Morehouse University, “that’s Martin Luther King’s alma mater” and even other schools around Louisiana.

However, Harris said, that while he was a senior at the Lab School he took classes on the Baton Rouge campus “and I felt comfortable with everyone.”

“I had a good feeling about Southern,” he said, adding that receiving a scholarship from the Dolores Margaret Richard Spikes Honors College, helped considerably. Harris said he eventually plans to attend dentistry school.

Harris praised his campaign team, adding that they helped him with speech and debate preparation and meeting students on campus. “They really went hard for me,” he said.

One of oddities of the race is that his competitor, Charissa Carroll, is a dear friend. Carroll received 438 votes. “She helped me when I was a freshman,” he said. “It was really awkward because we are so close-knit.”

He said they are still friends and that she has promised to help him in his post as SGA president.

Among his goals, Harris said, he wants to start a Students Assisting Students program in which upperclassmen will advise younger students about campus life, what is expected of them in college, basically how to navigate the college landscape both socially and academically.

He also wants more students involved in the recruitment process, which he says could be pivotal in continuing to stabilize and boost enrollment.

The 2014-2015 Miss Southern title goes to Shanice Mae Sam, a junior biology major from Maurice, La. And what a relief and feeling of excitement it was for the 20-year-old when she received a text from her sorority sister saying, “You’re Miss SU!” The “Southern Sweetheart,”

which she used as her campaign theme because “everyone knows me as a sweetheart and I’m also sweet,” said Sam, was too nervous to get out of the car on Election Day. Sam said she did not want to look nervous in front of cameras and be too emotional.

Sam described the past few days as “a tough campaign week with a lot of ups and downs, and at times I wasn’t too confident I would win.” For guidance through the whole process, Sam looked to former Miss Southerns Erin Rogers, also a sorority sister, and Sabrina Whitney.

As she sat in the car to await word of the winner, Sam replayed the week in her head, making sure she did all she could do and attended every event.

The North Vermilion High School alum is not new to the Royal Court. In her first year at Southern, she served as the 20112012 Miss Freshman. She said it was exciting to be on Miss Southern’s court and to get a chance to experience her first Bayou Classic.

That was a great way to break into the university’s culture.

Sam said she came to Southern for a change in scenery after attending a predominantly white high school. She knew Southern was the place for her, as it was the place for her father who had attended Southern.

Why did she decide to run for Miss Southern? Simple. Sam said she competed because “I wanted to bring back the student moral and I felt that I was the person that could do it with grace, poise, and charisma.”

One of the first things on her agenda as Miss Southern is to unify the student body by incorporating the new diversity being brought to the campus with the growing enrollment of students from Brazil, Turkey and other countries.

Sam would also like to see more student involvement at sporting events, such as softball and soccer games. “I reached out to the softball team and realized there should be more students at the games…we should do better as a student body and support,” said Sam.

“Team Working Success Through Through Quality Performance” “Team Working ForForSuccess Quality Performance”

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Emmitt Glynn Go to Washington DC for the Discussion of Board Certification Teachers

Emmitt Glynn from Zachary Career and Technical Center (middle) seat between Nancy Miles, (Left) and Kathleen McKenzie (Right) doing his visit to Washington, DC for conference.

By Emmitt Glynn, III N.B.C.T. As a history teacher I know that seminal moments ostensibly change the world in ways that often times cannot be predicted.

Last month I got to be part of one of those seminal moments. My name is Emmitt Glynn, III and I am an N.B.C.T. who teaches high school in Zachary, Louisiana at the Zachary Career and Technical Center.

I was recently invited by the National Board to participate in a Congressional panel in Washington D.C. where 13 other

N.B.C.T.’s and I discussed how using the medical model of board certification could better prepare teachers for the classroom with members of Congress who are currently board certified doctors and other national educational policymakers.

I then had the opportunity to attend the Teaching & Learning 2014 Conference. I left Washington D.C. positively changed and inspired from my trip learning valuable knowledge about the craft of teaching from my colleagues at the conference and helping to make our profession

Bills from page 1 bill “set a high bar” by requiring training for teachers who choose to carry a gun to school, adding few would actually oblige. He ultimately volunteered to defer it after fielding resistance from a number of committee members from both parties. While the committee failed to voice support for the bill that would expand gun access based on his focus on training, the members also failed to support a bill limiting gun access that hinged on just that -- training. A few minutes later,

the committee narrowly killed a bill by Rep. Austin Badon, D-New Orleans, requiring first-time gun owners to undergo safety training. A 6-6 vote on the bill resulted in failure to pass due to lack of a majority.

Rep. Barbara Norton, DShreveport, the first to question Garofalo on House Bill 707, calling it “ridiculous.” “You think the safest thing for our children and schools today is to allow everyone to carry a gun to school with all

stronger through contributing to the Congressional panel event.

I once asked a fellow historian what the future held for him and he simply replied “I study the past, not the future” and although I adhere to the same credo I believe our Congressional meeting and the conference were both seminal moments for the teaching profession.

Please contact Emmitt Glynn, III N.B.C.T. at emmitt. glynn@zacharyschools.org or by calling 1(225) 658-7381 ph. ext.718 (District Only), and by fax at 1(225) 658-7385 for additional information. the mental situations and the stress and the pressure that’s going on our in our nation?” she pressed.

“And you think we should vote yes to that?

Rep. Terry Landry spoke more mildly, but asked Galofaro, right off the bat, to pull his bill. He said putting guns in schools addresses s symptoms of the “crazies,” as Garofalo put it, but fails to address the problems. “One of the suggestions is we might fund mental health in this state...we’re sending the message that guns are the cure-all to See BILLS, on page 7

T:21.25”

Registration is now in progress.

All camp sites will be open for walk-in registrants.

Visit the site at which you want to attend camp and register in person.

Spaces are limited; first come-first served.

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Encore Entrepreneur Workshop Tuesday, April 22, 2014 • 5:30 PM–8:00 PM Goodwood Library • 7711 Goodwood Blvd Baton Rouge, LA 70806 To RSVP, call 1-877-926-8300 Cosponsorship Authorization # 14-6010-52 SBA’s participation in this cosponsored activity is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any cosponsor or other person or entity.

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COMMENTARY Thursday, April 17, 2014 • The Weekly Press • Page 4

50 Years Later, Voting Rights Still Threatened

By Donna Brazile, DNC Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation Nearly 50 years ago, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, to outlaw discrimination based on race, religion, gender, and more. The law strengthened voting rights and pushed for an end to racial segregation in schools, at the workplace, and in public places. The law passed with bipartisan support -- in fact, Republicans helped lead the charge and break the filibuster.

Unfortunately, today’s GOP retreats headlong from the battle towards greater equality. In fact, many Republican are trying to sabotage or undermine crucial protections in the Civil Rights Act. One of the critical goals of the Civil Rights Act was “to enforce the constitutional right to vote.” But instead of ensuring this right, today’s Republican Party wants to make it more difficult for people to cast their ballots.

Republicans are engaged in an aggressive and sustained campaign to make voting harder for millions of Americans. Across the country, Republican controlled legislatures enact laws that put barriers between voters and the ballot box. Apparently, Republicans have decided that if voters reject their ideas at the polls, they’ll just rig the system by decreasing participation and making it more difficult to cast a ballot.

• In Texas, Alabama, Arizona, and Kansas, they have passed strict photo identification and proof of citizenship laws. The result: voters who change their name because they get married or can’t provide an original birth certificate find it more difficult to have their vote counted.

• In Wisconsin, Ohio, and North Carolina, the GOP is restricting early voting periods.

• And in Minnesota, Republicans are trying to sue the Secretary of State to stop that state from implementing online voter registration.

Voting restrictions like these impact all Americans, but they disproportionately hurt African Americans, Latinos, working people, seniors, young people, and women – the very groups the Civil Rights Act has been

helping for fifty years.

Meanwhile, Democrats are committed to our mission of ensuring that every eligible voter can register, that every registered voter can vote, and that every vote is accurately counted. Because we know that our nation has never moved forward with less participation. So as we mark 50 years since the Civil Rights Act became the law of the land, it is more important than ever that we recommit ourselves to protecting and expanding the franchise for ALL Americans.

And it’s not just on voting rights that the GOP is standing on the wrong side of progress: • Republicans made clear this week that they do not support legislation that would move us closer to equal pay for equal work and address the persistent discrimination that millions of American women experience in the workplace.

• On rights for LGBT Americans, the GOP blocked the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and in many states authored legislation to enshrine discrimination in the legal code.

• Republicans want to repeal the Affordable Care Act and take us back to the days where insurance companies could deny coverage to those with preexisting conditions, or even for just being a woman.

• The GOP continues to oppose and obstruct efforts to raise the minimum wage and ensure folks who work full time don’t remain in poverty.

• Republicans refuse to act on immigration reform, dividing families and leaving millions of people stuck in a broken system.

• When it comes to civil rights, equality, and progress, Republicans are not only on the wrong side of the issues, their positions stand in stark contrast to the views of the American people. As Democrats, we will keep fighting to move our country forward, and work to get even closer to the ideals embodied in the Civil Rights Act over the next 50 years.

Donna Brazile is the Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation at the Democratic National Committee.

Why Are Louisiana Drivers The Worst In The United States?

By Jim Brown For the fourth year in a row, Louisiana is number one. That’s right! Once again, the Bayou State has been named as the home of the worst drivers in America.

One of the major causes of such ranking is Louisiana’s tolerance for drunk drivers.

Louisiana has always been a “free and easy” state when it comes to drinking and driving.

Visitors are dumbfounded when they see drive through Daiquiri shops across the state.

And the results shouldn’t be surprising. Fifty-three per cent of all serious injuries and highway deaths involve a drunk driver. So why hasn’t there been more outrage and should there be tougher laws on the books?

Actually, Louisiana has some of the toughest DWI laws in the country. For a third offence DWI there is no discretion for judges.

An offender with three convictions faces a mandatory sentence of two years in jail. And get this – the party convicted is supposed to have their car seized and sold out from under them. Have a mortgage? Tough luck.

Should have thought about that before you went drinking and got behind the wheel.

In 1996, as insurance commissioner, I wrote the current law. But have you ever known of a third offender DWI having his

or her car taken off the road and sold — or the offender actually serving two years jail time with no suspended sentence? These are rare occurrences, unless someone else is killed in a collision with the drunk driver.

The problem is one of enforcement. Many judges and prosecutors ignore the law.

Often the DWI charge is reduced to careless and reckless driving.

And compounding this problem is that computer information systems in one parish are unable to communicate with systems in another parish, so a prosecutor is not aware of previous convictions.

A driver in the Baton Rouge area was recently charged with his 7th DWI. That’s seven DWI charges. Where were the red flags at three, or four or five or six? How could a guy like this slip through the cracks?

Many states have enacted new laws that cut little slack for drunk drivers. In Virginia, accused drunk drivers who fail breath tests when stopped by police will have their licenses suspended immediately, even before they are tried in court. New Mexico requires an “ignition interlock” for every convicted drunk driver, even on the first offense. No exceptions.

In New York, tough new steps have been taken to curb a major drunk driving problem.

See DRIVERS, on page 7

Memories of LBJ, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton

By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist Covering the three-day celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act at the University of Texas last week brought back a string of memories – some fond, some bitter. As a son of the South –Tuscaloosa, Ala., to be specific – I saw first-hand how the region was transformed from America’s version of apartheid to one that is perhaps more genuinely accepting of African Americans than any other geographical section of the country.

Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton – all White Southerners who grew up in the Jim Crow South – played a significant role in the region’s transformation. But that didn’t happen in a vacuum. Each was pushed and challenged by the modern Civil Rights Movement, a multi-racial movement, with Blacks serving as chief architects that prodded the U.S. to have its deeds mirror its professed ideals. (George W. Bush, a wealthy Texan, is omitted from this discussion because he did nothing significant to advance civil rights. In fact, his appointment of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court represented a setback to the cause of civil rights.)

While Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC); Whitney Young of the National Urban League;

NAACP Executive Director Roy Wilkins; John Lewis, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Roy Innis of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) receive the lion’s share of publicity about the movement, the true heroes were the everyday men and women of the South who risked their jobs and lives to be treated as equals.

As a senior at Druid High School, I participated in the last leg of the Selma-to-Montgomery March. A group of us skipped school one day and went to Birmingham to protest the killing of the four little girls at 16th Street Baptist Church. And when we boycotted the segregated buses in my hometown, I borrowed Uncle Percy’s car and joined dozens of others who retraced the bus routes through our community, picking up people and giving them a free ride to their destination.

A few Alabama-born Whites took a principled stand for civil rights. Bill Shamblin and Bill Plott, editors of the Crimson White, the University of Alabama newspaper, were among the most memorable. They supported desegregation in the face of death threats. That took a lot of courage, especially in a city that was also home of Robert Shelton, the head of the Ku Klux Klan.

Neither LBJ, Carter nor Bill Clinton demonstrated that level of courage and commitment to civil rights in their youth. Yet, they, too, are sons of the South and though

they grew up on the other side of the tracks, they carried a special sensitivity to race – some say guilt – with them to the White House.

Of the three, Lyndon Johnson was by far the best. His signature legislation – the Civil Rights Act of 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 – forever changed America, particularly the South.

But Johnson didn’t start out as a progressive. As President Obama said of Johnson in his speech in Austin, Texas, “During his first 20 years in Congress, he opposed every civil rights bill that came up for a vote, once calling the push for federal legislation ‘a farce and a sham.’”

But stepping into the Oval Office upon the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Johnson was able to rise above his past.

Unlike Johnson or Clinton, Jimmy Carter had a close relationship with African Americans growing up in Georgia.

“I grew up in a little village, unincorporated named Archery, Ga., just a few miles west of Plains,” Carter recounted. “…

We were surrounded by 55 other families who were African American. All of my playmates, all of my companions in the field – the ones I hunted with, fished with, wrestled with, fought with – were Black people,” Carter said in his speech.

He explained, “I learned to appreciate, you might say, Black culture. When I wrote a book

called Hours Before Daylight, at the end of the book, I tried to think of five people other than my parents who had shaped my life and only two of those five were White.”

Bill Clinton was a good president but was probably the most overrated of the three Southerners. When looking at permanent cabinet positions, he appointed more Black cabinet members than Barack Obama, he was a firm supporter of affirmative action and appointed two liberals to the Supreme Court – Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. But he also was part of the successful movement to shift the Democratic Party to the right and signed into law a regressive welfare reform measure.

Last week’s summit at the University of Texas celebrated the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It could have also been a celebration of three Southern-born presidents who managed to overcome the rampant discrimination of their youth.

George E. Curry, former editorin-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA.) He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at www.twitter. com/currygeorge and George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook.

Equal Pay for Women Helps Us All

By Lee A. Daniels NNPA Columnist Could you use an additional $24,000 in your yearly wages?

How about nearly $19,000? Or even just another $11,000 to $12,000?

Those figures are what you get – or rather, what women who work full-time don’t get because of the pervasive “wage gap” between women and men.

Correcting that injustice is one reason President Obama last week issued an executive order and a presidential memorandum meant to ensure that contractors for the federal government follow equalpay provisions.

True, election-year politics also played their part in the action: One purpose it served was to underscore the opposition of the Republicans in Congress to another proposed federal act – here, the Paycheck Fairness Act – aimed at advancing the rights of women.

That’s an important electoral “talking point” both parties are grappling with as the Democrats try to offset a widely-expected GOP surge in November that may win them control of the Senate and leave the president facing an implacably hostile Republican

majority in both chambers of Congress his last two years in office.

President Obama won the women’s vote by 14 and 12 points, respectively, in 2008 and 2012, and there’s no reason to believe that either the GOP’s policy positions – on, for example, reproductive rights or social-safety-net issues – or the continual stream of sexist comments from GOP state and federal officials has changed the ratio of women’s voters’ preference.

That’s likely the reason GOP officials last week were careful to denigrate the president’s and the Democrat’s actions while fervently declaring their support for the idea of equal pay for equal work – without suggesting any proposals to aid its advance. Their mantra has been to declare the president’s orders will end up hurting women by limiting employers ability to offer job flexibility and merit raises and bonuses.

The president’s two orders bar federal contractors from retaliating against workers who discuss their pay with one another, and order the Department of Labor to write new rules requiring federal contractors to give the government data on what they pay their

workers broken down by race and gender.

Many private-sector employers forbid workers from discussing their salaries with other workers, and punish those who do. The discrepancies in wages that enables employers to promulgate was underscored by the Lilly Ledbetter case, which reached the Supreme Court shortly before Obama took office. Ledbetter, a 21-year mid-level manager for Goodyear Tire, had discovered shortly before she was to retire that her salary had always been significantly less than men who had the same job title and duties even though her years of service was equal to or greater than theirs.

The Supreme Court ruled that she had discovered the discrepancy too late to bring a case against the company. Immediately upon Obama’s taking office, the Congressional Democrats, who then held both chambers of Congress, passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act to correct that injustice, and it became the first act the new president signed.

The Democrats’ Paycheck Fairness Act is going nowhere because it won’t pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. But, given that federal contracting involves more than

20 percent of the U.S. workforce and includes Fortune 500 giants as well as small parts and services suppliers, the president’s orders can still have a wide impact.

There is, of course, another way of considering the wage-gap issue beyond playing the Washington political game. That is to consider the questions posed at this column’s beginning. Those figures come from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics setting the overall wage gap between men and women: that women working full-time earn just 77 cents for every dollar that men earn.

Republicans claim the figure is so broad in the occupations it includes as to be “misleading.”

But there’s no doubt that an overall gap of at least 5 to 12 cents exists between women and men who do the same work. And there’s no doubt that the wage gap that Black and Latina women endure is far sharper than that of their White counterparts. So, given that mothers are the primary or co-breadwinners in nearly twothirds of American families, and the primary or sole breadwinners for nearly 40 percent of American families, one would be justified in thinking that—in addition to the See EQUAL PAY, on page 5

The views expressed in the editiorial columns are not necessarily the veiws of The Weekly Press or its staff. Address all opinions and comments to: Letters to the Editior, P.O. Box 74485 Baton Rouge, La. 70874 or E-mail them to: theweeklypress@yahoo.com

Thursday, April 17, 2014 • The Weekly Press • Page 5

AARP Louisiana, SBA to Hold Encore Entrepreneur BATON ROUGE, LA – Do you dream of becoming your own boss? AARP Louisiana, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Baton Rouge Mayor-President’s Office are teaming up to help aspiring entrepreneurs get started growing a new business or making an established one more successful at Encore Entrepreneur.

Encore Entrepreneur is a free workshop and is open to AARP members and non-members. The workshop is designed to provide counseling, mentoring and training for those aged 50 and older who would like to start or grow a business.

“Many older Americans pursue entrepreneurship as a way to generate income and strengthen financial security,” said Nancy McPherson, AARP Louisiana, and State Director.

“It’s also a way to turn a hobby or passion into a paycheck. AARP creates real possibilities by connecting experienced workers with the resources and guidance they need to help start or grow a small business,” McPherson added.

AARP, SBA and the Mayor’s Office will match “encore entrepreneurs” with successful business owners and community leaders for advice and assistance.

Mentor Month in April is part of a larger national effort by AARP and SBA to provide a range of resources this year to thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners over the age of 50. The events will help connect encore entrepreneurs with mentors such as those from SBA’s network of Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and SCORE chapters who can help throughout the life of an entrepreneur’s business.

Encore Entrepreneur will be Tuesday April 22, 2014 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the Goodwood Library located at 7711 Goodwood Blvd.

Contact 1-877-926-8300 for registration Denise Bottcher the Communications Director with AARP Louisiana located at T 225-376-1145, M 225368-6120, F 225-387-3400, dbottcher@aarp.org

Equal Pay from page 4 principle of fairness—eliminating the wage gap would provide a much-needed income boost to women whose wages sustain their families.

Rep Rosa DeLauro, DConn, a sponsor of the bill, said, “This not about women, it is about ensuring families,

who are more reliant than ever on women’s wages, are not being shortchanged.”

Lee A. Daniels is a longtime journalist based in New York City.

His latest book is Last Chance: The Political Threat to Black America.

Gallery from page 2 chaelene Walsh were faced with a difficult and inherently subjective task of whittling down the pool of roughly 150 works to create an exhibition of fewer than 50 pieces. Each artist has shown in respected galleries across the United States and brings a first-hand knowledge of what “real-life” is like for

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professional artists. More information on this year’s jury panel can be found by clicking on each artist’s name at http:// www.batonrougegallery.org/ our-artist-members/.

For more information on this exhibition and/or the awards presentation, contact Baton Rouge Gallery at 225-383-1470.

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BUSINESS

Baton Rouge Native a Skincare Success Thanks to Strong Entrepreneurial Foundation, Partnership with Tennis Superstar Maria Sharapova LSU graduate and Baton Rouge native Holly Emery Thaggard has entrepreneurial roots, so the decision to start her UV protection skincare product line Supergoop! in 2007 was secondnature.

Thaggard initially set out to raise awareness for skin cancer after a friend had been diagnosed with melanoma. But after a few years of unexpected success in the form of annual triple-digit growth and space in major retailers such as Sephora and Nordstrom, she recently signed international tennis superstar Maria Sharapova on as her coowner who, as it turns out, was a faithful customer.

“Her agent reached out to us and it turns out she had been using Supergoop! products for several years,” Thaggard told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.

In a statement, the four-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova said, “as an avid user of Supergoop! daily, for a number of years, I was drawn to not only the quality of the product but also the opportunity to educate people around the world about the importance of practicing safe sun habits every day.”

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, however Thaggard said the company has averaged triple-digit growth for six years straight. It’s also opened a New York marketing office, which Thaggard’s brother Stephen Emery leads.

“When I set out to build this company there were two key points: significantly raise the awareness for every single day sun protection. I also wanted to develop a line of skin care products that felt good on the skin.” Thaggard said of the San Antonio, Tx.-based skincare line.

Thaggard graduated from LSU with a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1994, and for a short time after, was a third grade teacher. The idea for Supergoop! came as she found out that a friend and fellow teacher was diagnosed with melanoma.

“Every day I would watch kids outside playing with no sun pro-

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LSU graduate and Baton Rouge native Holly Emery Thaggard (right) has entrepreneurial roots, so the decision to start her UV protection skincare product line Supergoop! in 2007 was second-nature. But after a few years of unexpected success in the form of annual triple-digit growth and space in major retailers such as Sephora and Nordsrtom, she recently signed international tennis superstar Maria Sharapova(left) on as her co-owner who, as it turns out, was a faithful customer. (Supergoop!) tection,” she said. That experience, along with her college days as a Broadway harpist who was drawn to the marketing side of the music business, helped her come up with her original plan: to place Supergoop! in dispensers in classrooms everywhere, much like anti-bacterial hand gel.

Born into a family of entrepreneurs Thaggard’s father James Emery owns machinery company Emery Equipment in Baton Rouge. Her mother Janie Emery is a renowned portrait artist with paintings archived in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. “Growing up watching that was a big influence on my life.

In seeing a strong mother with a strong career,” Thaggard said adding, “It’s important for children can see families can be func-

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tional and adjusted having parents in business for themselves.”

Years later, Thaggard also credits her dad’s business drive for helping her achieve such success. “My father always said to me once I accomplish one thing, ‘that’s great Holly, but what are you going to do next?’”

Thaggard’s “next” involved giving her business, and overall mission of sun protection awareness, a voice, something she felt a partnership with Sharapova could achieve. “When we started to entertain this idea, we realized that in starting the conversation needed in encouraging sun habits across the globe, we needed a bigger voice. We think we have found that in Maria and we think that the relationship is authentic.”

Over the next five years, Thaggard said she’s looking for-

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ward to raising more awareness about the need for sun protection.

“Our goal is for sun protection to be as recognized as the need for women to get mammograms,” Thaggard said. “To date, there’s never been a significant voice for education around the message of sun safety. We’re going to position Maria, because she lives this habit and she’s very influential, especially the younger demographics,” she added.

Locally, Thaggard’s Supergoop! line can be found at Baton Rouge retail store, Currie, 7445 Corporate Blvd. The brand is in all Sephora stores nationwide in virtually all U.S. states, though product assortment and depth differs amongst stores. Supergoop! is also in 60 Nordstrom locations, on TV network QVC and at birchbox.com.

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Page 6 • The

Weekly Press • Thursday, April 17, 2014

RELIGION

THE CHURCH LADY REPORT Port Arthur Evangelist’s Book Hey my babies, I hope that all of you are doing well and blessed in the Lord. Babies, do you all know that you are the apple of God’s eye? Chile he can’t even see nobody else when he is looking at you accept of course unless I happen to walk in the room; hee hee…I’m just playing, but sweeties ya’ll need to know who you are. First of all, you need to know whose you are then once you are certain of this the rest is a piece of cake. Sometimes the devil will lie to you and tell you all kinds of things about who you are. But you have got to remember that he is a master deceiver. He will tell you that you are poor because you have pennies in your pocket. He will tell you that you aren’t wealthy because you live in the hood. He will tell you that you aren’t a good man because you work on a job where you get your hands dirty.

He will try to make you think that you are not a princess just because you have encountered a whole bunch of frogs who told you weren’t good enough because your kisses couldn’t turn them into a prince. Lies! All lies ya’ll. Babies you better know that the devil is a liar and a deceiver too. Yes he is, and you are good enough whether your boss gives you a raise and tells you are doing a good job or your preacher acknowledges your gifts and talents or your spouse treats you like the King or Queen God intended you to be. I’m serving you notice today that you are good enough just where you are and the God of the universe loves you honey.

I just feel the need to remind ya’ll of how much Daddy loves you. And I ain’t talking about the

Centers On God’s Agape Love

By Donald Lee

one that Jr. is named for cause he might not even be his daddy no how. Ahh don’t you try to get mad at me because some of you have done some foul stuff! I mean it is so foul that even a good can of glade can’t get rid of the stench, but God! Come on now tell the truth and shame the devil. You don’t have to tell it to me, but before you leave here you better at least tell it to Jesus, but he knows it anyway. Back in the day they use to say mama’s baby, papa’s maybe, and ya’ll know what that means. Hallelujah! I better leave that alone.

Honey I’m so glad that God is who he is though, and even gladder about who he is to me. I call him Abba, and that means “daddy” just in case someone didn’t know that, but all of you are Bible readers so this stuff here is common knowledge. God is my father and a bunch of yours too because when those earthly fathers (paternal, pastoral and any others that I missed) have often forsaken, Abba was there all the time. Thank you Jesus! I tell you what my babies I am glad See CHURCH LADY, on page 7

One of the things that I’ve found to be true in life is that if more people walked in love, this world would be a much better place. And when I say “love,” I don’t mean the flawed, fluctuating love that people have for one another — the type that embraces someone today but abandons him tomorrow. Instead, I’m talking about agape — God’s kind of love, which is perfect and unchanging.

Dr. Shari Maiben, a Port Arthur-based evangelist and author of “Agape: The Language of Unfeigned Love,” (released earlier this year in paperback) does a superb job in her debut as a writer. With her passion for seeing others realize their value to God, which gives them a greater sense of self-worth and empowers them to love others authentically, Dr. Maiben defines love in its purest form.

The greatest demonstration of “agape,” or “unfeigned” love, can be seen when we look in scripture at how the Lord Jesus gave His life for the redemption of mankind, Dr. Maiben explains in her 11-chapter, 92-page paperback, which will be available soon on Amazon.

“My goal in writing this book calls first for self-

examination: a reality check, a heart and mind check,” says Dr. Maiben, a self-published author.

“Ask yourself, ‘Am I walking in love?’ Secondly, it calls for repentance and recognizing how love is the foundational truth to all of the principles in the Word of God. “Thirdly, it calls for an action plan (‘faith without works is dead,’ according to James 2:1720),” she says. “Deliberately walk in love at all times, no matter how hard it seems to be or to do.”

“Agape: The Language of Unfeigned Love” is very thorough in how it conveys the how-to part of walking in sincere, unwavering love. This book certainly is a must-read because, from chapter to chapter, it offers its readers biblical albeit practical examples of how to love everyone, including those who have purposely inflicted pain on them.

Chapter titles in this powerful nonfiction include: See BOOK, on page 7

New Birth Full Gospel Ministries Easter Sunday Program

Baton Rouge, Louisiana – On Sunday, April 20th the New Birth Full Gospel Ministries will be holding their annual Easter Service at 11:00 am service.

Bishop Ivory J. Payne is the pastor of New Birth Full Gospel Ministries and he will be bringing the service on Easter Service. The church is located at 1283 Rosenwald Road.

For additional information, please contact the church at 225-775-2002.

CHURCH DIRECTORY

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. - Hebrews 10:25 Let the community know whats happing at your place of worship. Email your church event or religious organization news to The Weekly Press @ theweeklypress@yahoo.com or call 225-775-2002

Email your church event or religious organization news to The Weekly Press @ thewpress@yahoo.com or call 225-775-2002

Pastor Rev. Dr. Roosevelt Florida, Jr. Co-Pastor Rose J. Florida

VISION CHRISTIAN CENTER, INTERNATIONAL 1047 Rosenwald Road Baton Rouge, LA 70807 Telephone: (225) 774-8125 • E-Mail - visionchristianc@bellsouth.net Sunday Worship.........................................................................10:00 a.m.

Holy Communion2nd Sunday.................................................... 10:00 a.m.

Intercessory Prayer Wednesday................................................. 6:00 p.m.

Mid-Week ServiceWednesday.................................................... 7:00 p.m.

Divine Light Church of Evangelist

JOSEPHINE JONES

ON EVERY SATURDAY AT 2:30PM.

NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH

ALL ARE WELCOMED. No Dress Code-Come as you areCasual Wear

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Come enjoy the Sweet atmosphere of love with us. Please bring you children for the children are the future to tomorrow’s World. You will experience blessings of Healing, Deliverance, Freedom of Bandages, and so much more of what the Lord has for you, your family and your love ones!!!

Direction to Hope Christian Center is located at 5013 Windfalls Coutts If you are coming from Airline Highway north or south come to Hank Drive. Once on Hank Drive go through two (2) STOP SIGNS and to you left will be 5013 Windfalls Court to your immediate left Hope Christian Center is located at 5013 Windfalls Courts, Baton Rouge 70812 For more information, please contact either of these numbers (225) 355-8194 or 225-673-1633.

Rev. Leo Cyrus Sr., Pastor Order Of Services Sunday Worship...................................................... 11:00 A.M. Holy Communion.................................. 3rd Sunday 6:00 P.M. Sunday School..........................................................9:00 A.M. Bible Study................................................Thrusday 7:00 P.M.

Thursday, April 17, 2014 • The Weekly Press • Page 7

Common Core from page 2 and the question is whether the governor will forge ahead with or without John White,” said Engster.

The disagreement between White and Jindal is also throwing state lawmakers for a loop.

As the face of the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, many say they expect White to go along with Jindal no

matter the issue.

“It has to be confusing for the teachers, the kids and the parents throughout this area because it’s confusing for me as a legislator when BESE is on one side and the governor is on the other, then it’s giving mixed messages to those in the legislature,” said State representative Alfred Williams.

Bills from page 3 any conflict.”

Rep. Steve Pylant, R-Winnsboro, a former sheriff, noted that often fatally shot police officers are killed with their own gun.

He questioned the risk the bill poses in the event that a student or potential shooter overpowered a teacher carrying a gun.

Garofalo emphasized his earlier argument that training could prevent such a situation from occurring. When no one piped up in support of the bill, Garofalo stopped the discussion, said it would work on the measure and deferred it himself.

Minutes later, Badon asked the committee for support for House Bill 13, requiring safety training for first-time gun buyers.

“It’s a common sense bill. It’s the right thing to do,” he said.

“Before you purchase a firearm, a customer needs to take a safety course. “ Pylant said he couldn’t support a bill that requires the public to have more training to use a firearm than a part-time law enforcement officer, adding he planned to present legislation to require that training for part-time officers.

Badon’s bill would have enacted a first-time penalty of $500 for gun sellers who sold guns without seeing a copy of a training certificate. It would enact a $1,000 penalty for second-time offenses.

Drivers from page 4 Drivers there who have been convicted of being drunk while carrying passengers 15 years or younger face up to four years in prison, even when there is no wreck involved. And how’s this for a tough sanction: A Long Island, New York jury recently convicted a drunk driver of murder for killing two people in a head-on collision. The district attorney who brought the charges had been elected on a “take no prisoners” approach to drunk drivers.

Was this too tough a penalty? Not according to the mother of one of the female victims.

She used no euphemisms in describing the damage done. “As I crawled out of the car, the only thing that was left of Kate was

her head. This was murder and no different from carrying a loaded gun around, pointing it at people and having a few shots go off killing them.” The prosecutor made no bones about how she will act in dealing with drunk driving deaths. ”We hope that his verdict sends a message that if you drink and drive and kill somebody, you will be prosecuted for murder.”

For far too long, having a few drinks then driving home has been no big deal in Louisiana. To many drivers, it is still a normal way of life. Hopefully, much stiffer sentences handed down by tough Louisiana judges, who will enforce the strong laws already on the books, will go a long way in reducing too many pointless and unwarranted deaths.

Book from page 6 “Love Language”; “Where is the Love? Dealing with Church Hurt”; “Unfailing Love”; “Love Saves”; and “Love and Forgiveness of Enemies.” This literary masterpiece also offers prayers for its audience and has sections set aside for quizzes.

“Agape: The Language of Unfeigned Love” was produced

by Kingdom View publishing company of Houston.

Dr. Maiben is CEO and founder of Cross2Crown Ministries, International, an evan-

gelistic and outreach ministry.

She also is a motivational speaker and plays hostess to conferences and workshops. In addition, Dr. Maiben teaches a Spiritual Foundation Class and is a professor at the Life Christian University Theology Program/Degree in Lake Charles, La. To book Dr. Maiben for speaking engagements, please call (409) 293-7513 or send e-mail correspondence to slmaiben@yahoo.com.

Church Lady from page 6 that I knew my father, but I am even gladder that I know my God. Glory! Chile when daddy was nowhere to be found, and pastor was acting like I was a bastard child and the men’s were acting a fool and the sisters well that’s another story; God was there and he was good. That’s why ya’ll always see me saying God is good all the time, and all the time God is good! That’s because I know it not just to be factual, but also to be true. Facts change, but the truth remains.

Hm, hm, hm that was good.

Alright, alright, alright. Glory!

I just felt the need to encourage my sugars a bit this week because babies I know sometimes life can get you down and so can people. They can low rate you, berate you, rebuke and scorn; Oh, and let’s not forget talk about you sure as you’re born. Sometimes the people that are supposed to love you the most are the ones who will talk about you bad and make you feel real sad. They will back stab, and deceive, but Oh let’s be thankful that father God is not like this! Even when he knows your deepest darkest secrets he will never talk about you and he will never tell. He won’t put your business out in the street or text and tell it across the land or put it on that book face or face off or whatever it is. He will just love you so well that he takes all of the guilt and shame and pain away. My, my, my… ya’ll isn’t our God awesome?

Now I believe that some of you out there have been wrestling with some demons and I’m talking about the kind walking on two legs and two feet. Chile

and those are the worst kind of demons because they often disguise themselves as angels. Ut oh! Somebody just got the lights turned on Hallelujah! Babies these kinds may only leave by fasting and praying, or calling the po po before you have to put on a hot pot of grits. Sometimes you just have to wave your troubles away. Say bye bye, Frank, bye bye Sally, bye bye Sister/brother who? Ya’ll better hear me what I am telling you. If you turn to the middle of the Bible you will find these words “Don’t put your trust in man; trust God”. Trust God babies and God alone!

Babies I hate to be the real one who breaks the news to you that there is no Santa Claus, but you better recognize. Let me tell you some good news though because I don’t want to leave you on a sour note. He loves you, he loves you, he loves you. God loves you babies and don’t you ever forget it, and don’t you let nobody turn you around you hear me; not even your mother or father. Just remember God loves you, God loves you, and God loves you!

I want to send out my condolences to the Churches of God and Christ here in the city who lost their longtime leader Bishop James Gordon. He was a good man bless his heart. The Church community will miss him greatly.

Rest in Peace Bishop, I’ll see you in the rapture.

Well I got to go, but ya’ll be Blessed babies and love somebody with the love of Jesus and keep rebuking them devils. I’ll see you in church.

HEALTH healt Black Adults With Financial Worries What’s Good For Your Heart Is G Have Lower Health Scores tantRum from page 6

apart. You must continue to hold therefore, humble yourselves on to your faith and stay before under the mighty hands of God, the Lord. But, it may be that the that he may exalt you in due time, time has come when you may “casting all your cares upon him, need to take some quality time for he cares for you,”(1st Peter for yourself and spend some of 5:6-7). that time with God. After you finished having your Get on your knees before God tantrum. You may have a stopped and tell him of how you are feel- up nose and swollen eyes and (NAPSM)-A survey commissioned ing inside. And maybe the words mucus running down your lip by two leading health organizations comeAout exactly as you and dried tears on your face, but Bwont y Sharyn lden that have fewer family and social found that although two out of three wish but you can have a good you’ll feel better after emptying networks to reach out to for help African Americans (61 percent) exweeping, wailing falling, yourself of those things which Feeling stresscrying about finances pressed concern about developing when they run into financial probout tantrum andadults give toallrate those leads some Black their had been heavy on your heart. heart disease and two out of five (40 lems,” she said. problems to poorly, him. finds a new Sometimes we go for weeks health more Reitzel noted, “Results of our percent) expressed concern about While you are praying, you or months trying to take matters study suggest that health care or study in the American Journal of developing Alzheimer’s, only about might forget some of the things into our hands and try to solve our community agencies that routinely Health Behavior.

While lower inone in 20 are aware that heart health that vexed you but God knows own problems. We are not super work with individuals at risk of come and education among minoriis linked to brain health. what you are going through. he humans; we can’t handle everythe Alzheimer’s Association is income inadequacy might consider ties to poorflows health thing alone. We need God’s help. canhave readbeen the linked pain, which joining forces with the American screening for financial strain probfor decades, this studyeven focused just We have to let go of those situthrough your tears. though heart Association to educate African lems.” She added that proactively on the connection between finanhe knows what’s troubling you, ations and let God handle them.

Americans that by managing their addressing financial strain to the cial andtopoor health. he worries still wants tell him about there are some things we can’t cardiovascular risk, they may also extent possible “can enable con“Because the study was crossit and bring your problems and humanly do anything about. strengthen their cognitive health. burdens towe him. sectional, cannot say that one nections with local resources and “What’s good for your heart is provide education about how to caused the other, but we know that good for your brain,” says Jennifer financial strain is associated with Manly, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Associa- deal with stress in adaptive ways poorer self-rated health among tion spokesperson. “every healthy such as via mindfulness training black adults,” said the study’s lead rate their health from poor to ex- symptoms.” heartbeat pumps about one-fifth of or relaxation techniques.” hildRen page 4 author Lorraine R.from Reitzel, Ph.D., Addo added a different percellent and complete the Financial yourFenaba Addo, Ph.D., Robblood toR. your brain to carry on associate professor of health in the Strain Questionnaire which cap- ert Johnson Health & Society theWood daily processes of thinking, prob- spective. “While I believe that endepartment of educational psychol- the ering all children. citizens the nation must lem solving and remembering.” tures how anofunfavorable income Scholar at University of Wisconsin, couraging individuals on a personal CDF Action Council, build- demand that our leaderslike freesuitable our ogythe at the University of Houston.

“By the said year research 2030, the has number of level to address their depression may impact lifestyle Madison, found ing on the best practices in states children from the false ideological African Americans age 65 or older is and stress related to financial strain Reitzel and her colleague that the perceived vulnerability of food, housing and clothing. and lessons learned aboutcandidate children and political tugs of war among expectedclass to more than double to 6.9 through mindfulness and relaxation Elaine Savoy, a Ph.D. Blacks is stressful People reporting greater finan- middle through the bureaucraticat those who put excesstoprofits million,” said emilsource Matarese, M.D., techniques is a good idea, I believe infalling the department of psychology cial strain tended reportahead poorer largely due to their of wealth cracks of Medicaid and SChiP, of children’s lives.

American heart Association spokesthe University of Houston, studied self-rated health. being predominantly income and that policy solutions need to be strongly urged Congress to enact how well did Congress protect person. “Although Alzheimer’s is focused on the roots of financial the relationship between financial Reitzel added, “Furthermore, not asset based. the All Children Act, children in 2007? Not well enough: not part of normal aging, age is the strain (unemployment, low wages strain andhealthy self-rated health among the relationship financial “Income volatility can lead to S. 1564/h.r. 1688, introduced 276 Members ofbetween Congress had greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s 1,341 Black adults from a large strain and poorer health may be debt accumulation and financial and more) and not necessarily the by representative Bobby Scott good CDF Action Council Condisease. So it is important that AfMethodist church increasing the chances influenced by both stress (D-VA) in the housein andHouston.

Senator gressional Scorecard scores of 80and insolvency, rican Americans take steps now to mediators of the strain-health reStudy participants were mostly of bankruptcy and downward so- lationship if we really want to see depressive symptoms, such that Bernie Sanders (i-Vt) in the Sen- percent or higher, and 198 of those decrease their risk of heart disease, women made would at leastprovide $40,000 had financial strain may linked to cial mobility. be espeate. thewho measure stellar scores of 100bepercent. which researchThis has can shown could long-term improvements in health Research shows a link between heart and brain heal acomprehensive year. Participants wereincluding asked to But cially true of middle blacks outcomes.” greater stress and more60depressive benefits 231 members scored percent also decrease the risk class of cognitive heart function could lead to impaired brain functio dental and mental health, simpli- or lower—a failing grade from our decline.” fied bureaucracy, and a national school days. eligibility plan for families up to Whether Members of Congress 300 percent of the federal poverty are liberal, conservative or modlevel. We thank the 62 house co- erate; Democrat, republican or sponsors for their support. how- independent, children need all of ever, we regret that neither a single them to vote, lobby, speak for and house republican nor—any WASHINGTON Theother Cen- protect them. Adults need to listen (NAPSi)-here’s an alert worth ness of diabetes, particularly when increased p Senator joined them to push for carefully to what candidates say sus Bureau, the authoritative source paying attention to: According to it is left undiagnosed and untreated. delay or pr coverage for all children. they will do for children and famiof health insurance data for more the American Diabetes Association the day is held on the fourth tuesday diabetes. the CDFdecades, Action Council strongly lies and, once they are in office, than three is changing (ADA), learning your risk for type 2 of every March.

Among supports long overdue health covwe need to hold them accountable. its annual survey so thoroughly diabetes could save your life. on that day, people are encour- for type 2 erage for everyone in America as Please thank your Members of Conthat it will be difficult to measure Diabetes is a serious disease that aged to take the Diabetes risk test, weight, sed soon as possible—because children gress with scores of 80 percent or the effects ofAs President Obama’s strikes nearly 21 million children either with paper and pencil or online. 45 and hav cannot wait.

SChiP comes up above and let those with scores of health carereauthorization law in the nextinreport, and adults in the U.S. it is named the risk test requires users to answer diabetes. Af again for early 60 percent or below know you are the “silent killer” because one-third seven simple questions about age, Native Ame due this fall, census officials said.

2009, we hope every Member of dissatisfied with their performance. of those with the disease--more than 6 weight, lifestyle and family history-- islanders a The changes areonintended Congress will insist coveringto And please convey that same mesmillion--do not know they have it. all potential risk factors for diabetes. are women improve theand accuracy of mother the sur- sage to each presidential candidate. every child pregnant For many, diagnosis may come People scoring 10 points or more are more than vey, being conducted this month in now by enacting and adequately We must demand that our leaders seven to 10 years after the onset of at a high risk for type 2 diabetes and the Dia funding thewith provisions the All commit to children as a condition interviews tens of of thousands type 2 diabetes. early diagnosis is are encouraged to talk with a health healthy Children Act.the country. of our vote. of households around critical for successful treatment and care professional. that are we so could ButSpecious the new claims questions difcan delay or prevent some of the An estimated 54 million Amerinot find the money—$70 billion Marian Wright Edelman is Presiferent that the findings will not complications such as heart diseases, cans have pre-diabetes. those with over five years—to coversaid. all dent of the Children’s Defense Fund be comparable, the officials blindness, kidney disease, stroke and pre-diabetes have blood glucose levchildren is belied by that amount and its Action Council whose Leave An internal Census Bureau amputation. els higher than normal but not high spent in eleven taxquescuts No Child Behind® mission is to document said months that thefor new that’s one reason the ADA holds enough to be diagnosed with type for the top one percent of richest ensure every child a Healthy Start, tionnaire included a “total revision the American Diabetes Alert® Day, 2 diabetes.

Americans and in seven months a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe tofor health insurance questions” and, Start and a Moral Start in life and a one-day wake-up call to inform the early intervention via lifestyle the iraq War. We do not have ina money a test last year, produced lower American public about the seriouschanges such as weight loss and problem in America: We successful passage to adulthood estimates of the uninsured. have a priorities and politicalThus, will with the help of caring families officials it will beadults difficult deficit. itsaid, is time for all to and communities.

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Page 8 • The

Weekly Press • Thursday, April 17, 2014

SPORTS

Top-Seeded Pacers to Rest 3 Starters in Finale INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers finally have a chance to relax.

With nothing at stake Wednesday night in Orlando, coach Frank Vogel plans to rest three of his starters and limit the minutes for the other two. Players and coaches are smiling again, and the stress of 5 1/2 grinding months of tracking standings and scores seems to have vanished, literally overnight.

It’s a welcome respite for the Eastern Conference’s top playoff seed. ‘’I think now it’s time to just play basketball,’’ All-Star starter Paul George said Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the Pacers locked up home-court advantage through the conference finals. ‘’We can really focus on basketball and focus on our other goal.’’

That would be winning a title, and home-court advantage should help Indiana after it had an NBAbest 35-6 home record this season.

The next quest begins this weekend when Atlanta comes to town for a best-of-seven playoff series for the second straight year.

But it was a rugged path getting here, something George was reminded of Wednesday.

Exactly one year ago, he and three of his teammates stood at the finish line of the Boston Marathon before leaving to get some food.

About 30 minutes later, two bombs went off. ‘’We were right there,’’ George said as expressed condolences to the people of Boston on the one-year anniversary of the tragedy. ‘’That day could have turned out bad for all of us.’’

Instead, George and the Pacers went on to a successful playoff run - beating the Knicks in the second round and pushing Miami to seven games in the conference finals.

They returned this season with one regular-season goal - to make sure they would host Game 7 instead of playing at Miami, a feat that looked increasingly plausible after a 33-7 start and even probable

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, right, drives against Indiana Pacers guard George Hill in the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Sunday, April 13, 2014. when they took a three-game lead over Miami on March 26.

A late-season swoon threatened everything.

On March 31, the reeling Pacers surrendered the lead, trailing the Heat by mere percentage points. Indiana retook the top spot last Wednesday before giving it right back with a loss at Miami two nights later. Another loss by the two-time defending NBA champs, at Atlanta on Saturday, again gave Indiana the inside track and this time the Pacers took advantage by beating Oklahoma City.

The Heat (54-27) then conceded the top spot Monday night by keeping LeBron James and Chris Bosh on the bench at Washington.

Indiana (55-26) enters the playoffs as the East’s top seed for the first time in a decade and only the third time in the franchise’s NBA history - and all this despite going 11-13 since March 1 and failing to win consecutive games

since a four-game winning streak ended March 19.

Indiana has looked fatigued and out of sync for most of the second half.

But with the regular-season race over, the Pacers seem more at ease. ‘’We’re feeling good,’’ Lance Stephenson said with a smile, noting that the Pacers are starting to have fun. ‘’We worked hard all season to get it, we deserve it and we’re ready for business.’’

Vogel believes what his team needs most now is rest.

He said George, Stephenson and David West would rest against the Magic, while Roy Hibbert and George Hill will log something less than their customarily heavy minutes.

Vogel hopes the decision will help Hibbert and Hill get jumpstarted before the playoffs. Hibbert missed all nine of his shots in Sunday’s victory over Oklahoma City, while Hill has taken just three total

shots in Indiana’s last two games.

Vogel made a similar decision last week, benching all five starters against the floundering Bucks.

Indiana’s backups still managed to win the game, giving them a confidence boost in the run up to the playoffs, and after looking rusty at Miami; the rested starters appeared to be re-energized Sunday.

Now the Pacers have the luxury of starting over. ‘’The last month or so, we weren’t really focused on outcome as much as we were focused on the process,’’ Vogel said. ‘’Today was no different from that standpoint, but we started to get that playoff juice going.’’

The question, of course, is whether some extra rest and a new purpose can propel the Pacers into their first NBA Finals since 2000. ‘’We set our goal at the beginning of the season, and we accomplished the job,’’ Stephenson said. ‘’Now we’ve got to take it to the next level and finish the job.’’

How Al Jefferson Became a Beast in the East with an Assist from Patrick Ewing Everyone assumes that the Miami Heat will just roll through the first round of the playoffs, but there is one possible early matchup that could end up like the movie 300, with the dominant army being put to the test by a team that fights together, is a master of defensive tactics and has a strong and massively scary, King Leonidas-like leader.

That would be the Charlotte Bobcats, led by 6’10”, 289-pound Al Jefferson, who was recently named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for March after averaging 24.7 points and 10.6 rebounds and shooting 55.5 percent from the field. So far this month, he’s even better at 26.6 points and 13.7 rebounds for the 42-39 Bobcats, who are back in the playoffs for the first time in four years.

“My main goal right now is to turn the Bobcats into one of the elite teams in the East,” Jefferson said. “I think that from the beginning, the respect that we now have is great, but I think it’s just the beginning of something special.”

You might just overlook the Bobcats’ success because they never appear on national television—a result of Charlotte’s smaller-market status, the team’s previous disastrous seasons and its lack of a high-flying, insideout scoring superstar. But Jefferson, as a down-low anchor, has single-handedly brought back to relevance a team that needed a franchise player on both ends of the court.

So what if his offensive production mostly occurs within five feet of the basket, where he shoots 65.2 percent—the second-highest mark in his career? In a similar way to watching Stephen Curry’s crafty footwork off of pick-and-rolls and how he brilliantly gets his shot off in traffic from 25 feet out, there is an art to Jefferson’s interior game that should get top-10-highlight love but doesn’t in the newer NBA of deep three-pointers and dunks

Evans, Pelicans Stun Thunder 101-89 NEW ORLEANS - Tyreke Evans scored a career-high 41 points to go with nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals, and the New Orleans Pelicans snapped an eight-game skid by shocking the playoff-bound Thunder 101-89 on Monday night.

Evans made 14 of 26 shots while scoring mostly on quick, powerful bursts to the hoop. He also scored 12 points at the foul line and made a 3 that put the Pelicans ahead 90-82 with 4:21 left.

Kevin Durant scored 25 for the Thunder, who have lost two straight and won’t lock up the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs without at least one more win or a Los Angeles Clippers loss.

Oklahoma City played without Russell Westbrook, who was given the night off to rest.

Tyreke Evans Luke Babbit scored 12 for New Orleans, which beat the Thunder for the first time in 11 meetings, dating to Jan. 24, 2011.

How Much Money Does The NCAA Make From College Basketball?

NEW YORK — Four letters, hundreds of millions of dollars, and a major influence on a massively popular sports industry.

The business of the NCAA is thriving.

But is it sustainable?

The non-profit organization says it puts its money where its mission is “equipping student-athletes to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life.”

The NCAA rakes in around $800 million dollars each year.

Its endowment is more than $500 million.

So where does all the money come from?

“The institution itself that’s based in Indianapolis, makes money primarily through television rights to the March Madness basketball tournament. They get somewhere in the neighborhood of $770 million dollars a year.

That constitutes around 90% of all of the revenue that goes to the NCAA,” said Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College.

CBS and Turner Sports, part of the Time Warner family along with CNN, own those broadcast rights.

Ticket sales also make money for the NCAA. And corporate sponsors pay millions to get their names in the game.

AT&T, Capital One, and Coca-Cola are NCAA “corporate champions” Other big names have signed on as official corporate partners.

But most of that cash is headed back to campus.

About $100 million supports programs for players.

And more than $500 million is distributed directly to schools - or to the conferences they belong to.

The schools can spend the money however they choose, but much of it pays the salaries and benefits of coaches and staff.

The rest is split between expenses like facility costs and team

travel.

And then, there are the scholarships.

More than 150,000 studentathletes get athletic scholarships every year -- from colleges and universities, a value the NCAA puts at $2.4 billion.

And it’s a perk the organization has used to justify the money it makes off players.

But some critics say the NCAA is at a crossroads.

“The organization is in a difficult position because they are the supervisors of a system that is a hybrid system. It’s presumably halfway between commercialism and amateurism,” Zimbalist explained.

Many now say it is time to pay athletes.

“They’re talking about $2500 to $5000 dollars a year, which would be optional, you’d give it to obviously only your star players.

They would then be able to go to college, and not have to dip into their own pocket or not have to look for boosters to help them pay for many of their living expenses,” Zimbalist told CNN. There’s a huge class action lawsuit challenging the NCAA rules that prohibit athletes from being paid.

A few thousand dollars a year is obviously far from the millions professional athletes make.

But it would mark one of the most significant changes in the NCAA’s 100-year history.

The NCAA said in January its members do not support the professionalization of college sports.

NCAA board of directors chairman Nathan Hatch also said he’s opposed to the idea of paying players.

He says it gives the wrong incentives for student athletes, and it could have very damaging effects on other sports, particularly women’s sports, with much of the revenues going to football and basketball.

Census from page 7 Al Jefferson, who was recently named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for March after averaging 24.7 points and 10.6 rebounds and shooting 55.5 percent from the field. in transition.

“I would say that the biggest thing when I watch him play is that he has great balance; he can pivot on either foot,” Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. “He’s very quick and very strong with his moves. He has a variety of fakes at different levels, and he can deliver shots from different angles. So he’s really—when you just sit and watch the film some nights—just textbook with those fakes. But I think a lot of it goes back to his balance, and then his strength and quickness. His moves are so quick in (the paint).”

Since 2010, the Bobcats have been more recognized for their owner, Michael Jordan, than for any of their players. But that has changed dramatically with Jefferson, the best traditional lowpost player in the East, who has been a main catalyst for the team’s franchise-changing defensive turnaround—from dead last in defensive rating in 2012-13 to sixth-best this season.

With the postseason ahead, he’ll finally get the TV attention he deserves.

Big Al’s Big Adjustment Recently, the Bobcats unveiled a new website simply to promote Jefferson for the All-NBA team. You see, in Charlotte’s littleknown NBA country, with the season that Jefferson is having, this is how excitement unfolds. The site’s theme is Jefferson as a painter, with this saying on the side of his can: “Big Al’s All-NBA Grade Paint Presence, Second to None Trademark Low Post Formula.”

For starters, that kind of oldschool recognition is a pleasure for NBA legend and Bobcats assistant coach Patrick Ewing.

“It’s great,” he said. “I’m happy to see a guy like Al embody what the game used to be when we were playing, when there were a lot more bigs. These days, most of the bigs want to be on the perimeter shooting threes and stuff like that. So it feels good to see him get in there and mix it up, but also

be able to step out and shoot the face-up jump shot.”

But what the creative AllNBA campaign for Jefferson really represents is a vision that Ewing, along with Clifford, had for him before the season started. As Jefferson recalls, “(Ewing) said that he felt like I could be a superstar in this league, but I’ve got to do it on both ends.” Defense was his true calling card, and Clifford also saw potential there, which he mentioned in their first meeting together in Charlotte last summer, before Jefferson signed a threeyear, $40.5 million contract—the biggest in franchise history.

“One, he has a natural feel for the game, so decision-making on defense is similar in a lot of ways to offense,” Clifford said. “People always look at guys and say, ‘The guy knows when to shoot, when to pass and when to drive. He’s a good decision-maker.’ And the same thing is true defensively— when to help, when not to help, how much to help

benefits of the health law, which is an issue in many of this year’s midterm elections. The Department of Health and Human Services and the White House Council of Economic Advisers requested several of the new questions, and the White House Office of Management and Budget approved the new questionnaire. But the decision to make fundamental changes in the survey was driven by technical experts at the Census Bureau, and members of Congress have not focused on it or suggested political motives.

The new survey was conceived, in part, to reduce a kind of bias or confusion in the old survey. When asked about their insurance arrangements in the prior year, people tended to give answers about their coverage at the time of the interview — forgetting, for example, if they had Medicaid for a few months early in the prior year.

People are continually moving on and off Medicaid rolls.

The number of people who say in surveys that they have Medicaid coverage is almost always lower than the enrollment figures

reported by federal and state agencies that administer the program.

The new survey asks people if they have coverage through an exchange, if it has premiums and if the premiums are subsidized.

Census Bureau research in Massachusetts found that consumers “inevitably conflate Medicaid and the subsidized exchange.” And many people with subsidized private insurance, purchased on the exchange, said they were receiving coverage from the government or the state.

Such perceptions are understandable. “Exchange coverage is a hybrid, partly private and partly government,” said Joanne Pascale, a Census Bureau researcher who helped develop the new questionnaire.

Kathleen Thiede Call, a professor at the University of Minnesota who was consulted by the Census Bureau, said: “I am excited about the redesign of the survey. For the first time, we will be able to look at monthly changes in coverage over a 14- or 15-month period.”