The Weekly Press 4-18-13

BATON

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2013

ROUGE,

LOUISIANA

70- t /0 t FREE

A PEOPLE’S PUBLICATION

President Obama Offers Cautious Response to Boston Bomb Blasts

SU Mourns The Death Of Long Time Educator Dr. Huel Perkins

Congressman  Cedric  Richmond

Rep. Richmond Introduces Legislation to Combat Tax Preparer Fraud

Dr.  Huel  D.  Perkins Dr. Huel D. Perkins, long time educator and author of Southern University’s fight song, died Monday in Baton Rouge. He was 88.

The Baton Rouge native has been an influential leader in the local higher education community for more than 50 years. He served on a number of local, state and national organizations including a six-year appointment by President Bill Clinton to the Board of Advisors of the J.W. Fulbright foreign scholarship. “Baton Rouge has lost a great leader whose life’s work has been to make education exciting and important,� said SU Chancellor Dr. James L. Llorens on Monday. “Dr. Perkins was a man of great dignity, who believed in Southern University and its mission. His family is in our prayers.�

Perkins graduated from See PERKINS, on page 3

Audit Finds Possible $118 Million Misspent In Road Home, Rental Repair, Elevation Programs BATON ROUGE -- The state and its legislative auditor have found that grants and forgivable loans totaling $118 million may have gone to waste in post-Katrina housing recovery programs.

Legislative Auditor Darryl Purpera took a sample of 45 Road Home grants and found that nearly half of those homeowners failed to comply with three-year rebuilding covenants. In addition, the state agency running the Road Home identified 1,142 ineligible awards totaling $58 million that may have to be repaid to the federal government.

More than 130,000 homeowners received more than $8.5 billion under the Road Home program, and state contractors received another $1.5 billion to dole out the money. This legislative audit is just the latest report to find a significant percentage of homeowners sampled may not have used the money properly.

Also, the legislative auditor See AUDIT, on page 2

President  Barack  Obama  leaves  the  podium  after  speaking  at  the  White  House  on  April  15,  2013,  following  the  explosions  at  the  Boston  Marathon In the face of twin bomb blasts in Boston, a restrained President Obama betrayed no emotion, and did not dwell on the details. “The events in Boston,� he said, without describing the twin bomb blasts that ripped through crowds of spectators at the end of the city’s annual marathon Monday. “People have been wounded,� he said, without mentioning the two deaths already confirmed. He declined to use the word terrorism HYHQ WKRXJK KLV DLGHV TXLFNO\ RIfered this statement to the press:

“Any event with multiple explosive devices — as this appears to be — is clearly an act of terror.�

Instead Obama went before the cameras in the White House briefing room to perform a duty he had long known could be expected of him. For five years, the possibility of an explosion on U.S. soil killing innocent Americans has always shadowed the President.

At least twice before it nearly took place: in a botched 2009 attempt to blow up an airplane with an underwear-sewn explosive over

Detroit and an attempt in 2010 to set off a car bomb in a Nissan Pathfinder parked near New York &LW\¡V 7LPHV 6TXDUH But now that the moment came, Obama simply carried out his primary responsibility: claiming control of the situation and promising to restore a sense of order and safety to a shaken nation. “We will find out who did this; we’ll find out why they did this,â€? he said. “Any responsible inSee BOSTON, on page 3

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Cedric Richmond (LA-02) introduced the Taxpayer Protection and Preparer Fraud Prevention Act of 2013, which implements and enforces policy that would allow the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to certify paid tax preparers and ensure they are competent, of good character and able to render services. “In these challenging economic times, the last thing hardworking Americans need is to be made vulnerable by a tax preparer that is unfit to do the job,� said Rep. Richmond. “This common sense bill would provide the IRS with tools to ensure consumers are choosing from only the most competent pool of preparers when it is time to file their return.�

The Taxpayer Protection and Preparer Fraud Prevention Act would also allow the IRS to create penalties for tax preparers who have been found to be disreputable, incompetent or fraudulent.

Key provisions of the legislation include: ‡ *LYLQJ WKH ,56 WKH DXthority to license or certify tax preparers ‡ 5HTXLULQJ WD[ SUHSDUHUV WR be competent, of good character and able to render services ‡ $OORZLQJ SHQDOWLHV IRU WD[ preparers that have been found to be disreputable, incompetent or fraudulent In January of 2013, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the IRS did not have the authority See FRAUD, on page 2

Clergy Leaders Pray For Legislators At The Louisiana State Capitol Texting While Common Sense Campaign Holds Day of Action in Baton Rouge Driving is Banned in Louisiana

Clergy  and  lay  leaders  with  the  Common  Sense  protesters.                                                                                                    Photo  by  James  Terry  III BATON ROUGE, LA Clergy and lay leaders with the Common Sense Campaign will gather at the Huey P. Long Statue in the Formal Gardens at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge to hold a prayer vigil at noon on Tuesday, April 16, praying for legislators to support policies that create pathways to opportunities for hard-working families in Louisiana. The vigil is part of a Day of Action, to include a Prayer Breakfast with the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus,

BANKS REPEATS AS LSWA COACH OF THE YEAR

meetings with legislators, and receiving official proclamations from the Louisiana State House of Representatives and Senate.

The Common Sense Campaign believes that, in order to ensure pathways to opportunities for all Louisianans, we must: ‡ &ROOHFW VXIILFLHQW UHYHQXH to fund needed public investments that are vital to our state’s safety net and help to create socioeconomic opportunities for low- and moderate-income families;

‡ 6WUHQJWKHQ WKH VWDWH¡V long-term economic vitality through the expansion of Medicaid eligibility; and ‡ 5HGXFH WKH RYHU LQFDUFHUation rate, which tears families apart, drains our budget, and has been largely unsuccessful in reducing our national ranking as one of the most violent states in the country.

The Micah Project, PICO Louisiana, Working Interfaith Network, and One Voice Louisiana are spearheading the

Common Sense Campaign.

The Micah Project, Working Interfaith Network, and PICO Louisiana are non-partisan, non-denominational, multiracial, multicultural, faith-based organizations affiliated with the PICO National Network. One Voice Louisiana works to advance the development of a progressive advocacy and legislative infrastructure and nonpartisan technical assistance and training for state and local elected officials in Louisiana.

HEALTH NEWS

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LOCAL & STATE NEWS

BUSINESS NEWS

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission reminds motorists that texting while driving is prohibited for all drivers in Louisiana, with a first offender subject to fines of up to $175.

In 2011, the Legislature strengthened the texting-whiledriving ban to make it a primary offense, meaning that officers can stop and ticket a driver they observe texting. Previously, officers could issue a ticket for texting only if the driver was stopped for another offense or reason. “Studies have shown that text messaging while behind the wheel is a major driver distraction that greatly increases the risk of being involved in a crash,� said Lt. Col. John LeBlanc, executive director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. “We remind motorists that texting while driving is prohibited in Louisiana and can result in a stiff fine.�

See TEXTING, on page 2

RELIGION NEWS

The Hope Christian Center located at 5013 Windfall Court will be hosting a revival from Monday, May 20 through May 24, 2013 with service starts daily at 12 noon...See Page 6

INDEX

HOLDEN TALK TO RIVER LEADERS After guiding Southern University to its first appearance in the NCAA Championships since 2006, head coach Roman Banks was selected as the Louisiana Coach of the Year as the All-Louisiana Men’s Basketball Team was released on Saturday by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association..See Page 8

Mayor Melvin Holden addressed the America’s WETLAND Foundation’s “Big River Works Leadership Forum� in Chicago, calling on other Mississippi River leaders to commit to working together to secure the

JOSEPH A. DELPIT KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Joseph A. Delpit, President of Chicken Shack Systems and D&W Health Services, Inc. served as the keynote speaker for the luncheon session of the 9th Annual “Connecting Businesses to Contracts� Procurement Conference...See Page 2

BREAST, CERVICAL HEALTH PROGRAM

Andrew Muhl, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Government Relations Director in Louisiana, issues the following statement from the House Appropriations Committee hearing..See Page 7

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

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Capital Area United Way Hosted an Employee Coordinators Recognition

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From  left:  Mike  Albano,  CAUW  Campaign  Cabinet  Chair/Board  Member,  with  The  Dow  Chemical  Company;  Jessica  Wilson,  Sr.  Director  of  Resource  Development  at  CAUW;  Christy  Reeves,  CAUW  Board  Chair,  with  Blue  Cross  and  Blue  Shield  of  Louisiana;  Tobie  Craig,  CAUW’s  immediate  past  board  chair/current  governance  chair,  with  Turner  Industries;  and  Richard  Williams,  Interim  President  &  CEO  at  CAUW

BATON ROUGE, LA - On Wednesday, April 10, Capital Area United Way hosted an Employee Campaign Coordinators Recognition event at Theatre Baton Rouge, gathering over 30 ECCs from area businesses. Those in attendance were nominated to receive an award for their hard work and dedication to this year’s Capital Area United Way campaign. ECCs represented various industries that run a workplace campaign for the organization, focusing on education, income and health in our 10-parish area.

Five Star Awards: Turner Industries ExxonMobil Mike  Albano,  CAUW  Campaign  Cabi-­ net  Chair,  receives  a  token  of  appre-­ ciation  from  Christy  Reeves,  current  board  chair.

Registration begins April 13

Entergy River Bend ¡ SGS Petroleum ¡ Dow Chemical New Company Campaign Award: Louisiana Healthcare Connections Top Notch Award: Nustar Energy Campaign Spirit Award: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana and Volunteers of America Movin’ on Up Award:

AUDIT

THOUGHT FOR the Louisiana State THE WEEK: Those Museum earlier this who are charismatic week. It was amazand courageous should ing how many prayers have empathy and went up for our state, sympathy for those nation, and world and less fortunate. French in spirit and in truth.

EASTER has The music of praise come and gone but I and inspiration was had to share this with shared by the SouthMarge you. A man took his ern University and Lawrence nagging wife to the Louisiana State UniHoly Land. While versity Gospel Choir, they’re the nagging woman died. which was ably directed by Dr. The funeral director told the man Everett Gordon Parker, a talented he could do her arrangements musician of excellence. (What for $100 or he could ship her to do you expect of someone from the states for $5,000. The man Donaldsonville?) Welcome was replied that he would take the extended by Gov. Bobby Jindal latter, the $5000 offer. Puzzled (among others); opening prayer the funeral director reiterated his by Pastor Robert Davis; dynamic offer of $100. The husband was speaking by Bishop Paul Morton; adamant, “I’ll ship my wife to Senator Sharon Weston Broome the states.� “Why?� The funeral was the mistress of ceremonies, GLUHFWRU TXHULHG :HOO WKH PDQ and Rep. Katrina Jackson, LLBC replied that he heard a man was Chairman. The program was buried there in the Holy Land indeed a winner!! and in three days He got up. . .

THE UNITED STATES . (Hope you had a happy Easter.)

POSTAL SYESTEM, If you Mrs. Cynthia Butler-Mcare still wondering, has retreated Intyre was at Southern University about Saturday delivery of mail. in the cotillion ballroom. It was a While most people are using the great program and a good way to swift email, some are still writspend a Monday evening and was ing their friends and receiving well attended by the students and mail by the postal system. It is community. She is the national president of Delta Sigma Theta said that the postal system is losSorority, Inc. And her speech was ing millions because many are so full of hope and encouraging to emailing, but some still want the those who are really into impact- snail mail. Keep checking your ing their communities. Thanks Saturday mail.

LOVE, KINDNESS, for the invitation from the Alpha EMAILS etc.

Tau chapter of Delta at Southern go to the families in Bosand Ms. Emerald Pinckney, my dear niece, who is second vice ton, Massachusetts. It is so sad president and chair of the event. to know that people do not care Speaking of Southern Uni- about their neighbors. These are versity, the spring elections are the people that we must love as over and two of the winners were ourselves. When we deliberately announced while we attended the plan evil to hurt someone, we above event. The first winner an- must give an account of ourselves nounced was Ms. Ayanna Spivey, to God. He is the only one who the twenty-year old candidate for gives life and the only one who Ms. Southern University. She is can take back again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to presently a junior and a social work major. The second winner Mrs. Virgie Brown Ricardo in who was announced was Simone Houston, Texas. Happy birthday Bray. She is a junior also from to Mrs. Verda Dixon-Scott who this city and one who avowed makes 99 on Thursday, Za’nya that she lives by Roman 12: 2. Dixon and Kanyre Dixon her Simone won among three male great-nieces.

WITH LOVE & SYMPAcandidates. The results here of candidates are inconclusive but THY to the Brenda Price’s family. we wish all winners and other She was laid to rest on last week.

Have a very blessed weekcandidates well.

The Louisiana Legislative end. Enjoy the weather.

Love, Black Caucus (LLBC) sponsored Marge their annual prayer breakfast at

TEXTING

See UNITED WAY, on page 3

from page 1

looked at the Road Home’s sister programs, the Small Rental Property Program that paid forgivable loans to mom-and-pop landlords to help them fix their storm-damaged rental properties, and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to help Road Home recipients pay to elevate their houses to safe flood levels.

In the rental repair review, WKH DXGLWRU IRXQG D TXDUWHU RI WKH properties sampled were likely ineligible, and the state Office of Community Development identified another $33 million in loans that needed to be recovered.

And in the elevation program audit, the state tapped 801 grants totaling $22.8 million for possible recovery. The auditor also found that contractors might have been compensated for elevation and shoring work they didn’t actually perform.

Read the audit summary and/ or full audit.

from page 1

A study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute reported that texting while driving creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted. Sending or receiving a text message takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the HTXLYDOHQW DW PSK RI GULYLQJ the length of a football field, blind. The study also found that dialing a cell phone made the risk of a crash or near-crash event 2.8 times higher than non-distracted driving.

Louisiana law also prohibits people under 18 years of age from using any wireless

FRAUD

to regulate paid tax preparers, UHPRYLQJ NH\ UHTXLUHPHQWV VXFK as compliance testing. This, in turn, left taxpayers vulnerable to possible dishonesty, negligence or fraud with little recourse. “I am hopeful that my colleagues on both sides of the

2531 Airline Hwy. Baton Rouge, LA. 70805 225-­356-­6063 225-­572-­9597 trinityhouse1@aol.com

aisle can come together and recognize the need to institute basic IRS protections,� said Rep. Richmond. “This bill is a long overdue step towards protecting average Americans who shouldn’t have to worry about being defrauded.�

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device, such as a cell phone, while driving. Because of their limited experience behind the wheel, teenage drivers have higher crash rates than their older counterparts. Young people are among the most prolific users of text messaging.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2011 more than 3,000 people were killed and 387,000 were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver. In Louisiana, seven people were killed and 995 were injured in crashes involving the use of a cell phone or other electronic device in 2011.

from page 1

TRINITY HOUSE LLC

brec.org/summercamp

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Holden Addresses Mississippi River Leaders in Chicago to Call for Unified Effort to Sustain River CHICAGO, IL - MayorPresident Melvin “Kip� Holden this afternoon addressed the America’s WETLAND Foundation’s “Big River Works Leadership Forum� in Chicago, calling on other Mississippi River leaders to commit to working together to secure the health of the river. Chaired by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and cochaired by Louisiana Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne, the forum assembled experts from diverse Mississippi River interests to discuss keeping the river a viable passageway for commerce while sustaining critical environments.

The focus was on navigation, flood control, the beneficial use of dredge materials and coastal erosion.

Holden highlighted a panel discussion on the role of governance in sustaining the river, and detailed how Baton Rouge has reconnected to the river through its downtown development projects. Holden helped kick off this national initiative by the America’s WETLAND Foundation last June in New Orleans. The Chicago meeting is the last of five leadership forums to move toward a more formal cooperation among Mississippi River states to sustain the river system. “Let’s find some common issues that hold us together,�

Holden told the group. “Let’s take our special interests and put

BOSTON

EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH- BREC will host a community open house at Flannery Road Park, located at 801 Flannery Road, on April 18 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in order to give residents in the area a voice in the creation of a Master Plan for improvements to the park.

Residents can come to the Flannery Road recreation center any time between 4:30-6:30 p.m. to look at drawings which will illustrate different options for renovations to the park, discuss their ideas with BREC Planning and Engineering staff and to fill out a survey which will help determine the final decision.

In November, BREC staff joined volun! teers from Humana, KaBOOM, neighborhood residents and community groups to rebuild the Flannery Road Park playground in just six hours. This public meeting is the next step in planned improvements to the park which will be funded by the Imagine Your Parks tax plan which was approved by voters in 2004.

Flannery Road Park serves the Sherwood Forest/Florida Boulevard area of East Baton Rouge. Current amenities include a recreation center, indoor basketball court, KaBOOM playground and lighted baseball field.

Plank Road Park Open House Information On Tuesday, April 23, BREC will host a community open house at Plank Road Park, located at 19550 Plank Road in Zachary on from 4:30-6:30 p.m. which will give residents in that area the ability to participate in the creation of a Master Plan to guide improvements to their neighborhood park.

Residents can come to the Plank Road recreation center any time between 4:30-6:30 p.m. to look at drawings which will illustrate different options for renovations to the park, discuss their ideas with BREC Planning and Engineering staff and to fill out a survey which will help determine the final decision. Improvements will be funded by the Imagine Your Parks tax plan which was approved by voters in 2004.

Mayor-­President  Melvin  “Kip�  Holden

them in the context of a unified vision for sustainability. Let’s move the discussion beyond the abstract and finally link environmental needs to commercial prosperity, because that’s what it’s going to take.�

Holden called today’s gathering of leaders from the Mississippi River watershed states a step in the right direction. “Coming together to secure the health of the Mississippi River is critical to American cities like mine, so I’m optimistic about where we are heading,� he said. “Through these forums we’ve raised the key issues and know many of the barriers in our way. Let’s agree to the very fundamental concepts of cooperation here, and then focus on the details.�

from page 1

dividuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.�

All across the federal government, the response had the same feel of efficient formality. The White House released a photo of the President talking on a phone with the director of the FBI. House Speaker John Boehner released a photo of himself speaking with the President by phone. The flags on the Capitol were lowered to halfmast. The U.S. Navy deployed an explosives-denotation team to help Boston police clear the city streets of suspect bags. The various other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, promised their substantial resources to investigating and solving the crime. The FBI took the lead of the criminal investigation.

Left unanswered were the TXHVWLRQV WKDW ZLOO LQHYLWDEO\ EH asked in the coming days: Were the increased antiterrorism measures taken over the past decade sufficient? Did the massive federal infrastructure seeking to identify such threats before they were acted upon let clues slip by them?

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland Security had attempted to formalize and rationalize the federal support to local law-enforcement trying to protect major sporting events and political gatherings. In 2005, the department published a Prioritized List of Special Events, grading each gathering on a scale of one to four with a certain level of recommended federal assistance. As of Monday night, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security had QRW UHVSRQGHG WR TXHVWLRQV DERXW how the Boston Marathon had been rated or whether that rating

BREC to Host Open Houses at Flannery Road and Plank Road Parks

Unity Day! Empower the People, Baton Rouge Summer Camp Enrollment & School Safety Discussion

had been changed in recent years.

In the wake of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, FBI Director Robert Mueller had made clear that the marathon was a major federal priority. “More resources also means a much stronger presence at special events,� he said in a 2002 speech in California. “We were out in force, for example, at this week’s Boston Marathon.�

There will likely be no simple answers in the coming weeks. “You could have prevented something like this from happening today, but you would have completely destroyed the race,� said Edward Connors, the president of the Institute for Law and Justice, who authored a 2007 federal study on proper guidelines for planning and managing security for major special events. “For these kind of events the expectation is set that you have tremendous public access.�

Ironically, President Obama had begun his day planning to praise the athleticism of his country, with a public photo opportunity with members of the University of Alabama football team, winners of the 2013 Bowl Championship Series. Instead, he ended the day praising sport in a very different context. “It’s a day that draws the world to Boston’s streets in a spirit of friendly competition,� Obama said about the marathon. “Boston is a tough and resilient town. So are its people.

I’m supremely confident that Bostonians will pull together, take care of each other and move forward as one proud city. And as they do, the American people will be with them every single step of the way.“

Pictured  from  left  to  right  are  Ms  Michelle  McCalope,  Reporter,  WAFB  TV,  John  G.  Daniel,  President,  John  G.  Daniel  Productions,  Adam  Knapp,  President,  Baton  Rouge  Area  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Dr.  Bernard  Taylor,  East  Baton  Rouge  Superintendent,  Ms.  Anni  Zhang,  East  Baton  Rouge  Parish  Schools,  Student  of  the  Year,  Mr.  Tony  Brown,  Acclaimed  Journalist,  Ms.  Jacqueline  Vines,  Cox  Communications  Southeast  Region,  Senior  Vice  President  and  General  Manager,  Senator  Sharon  Weston  Broome,  Louisiana  State  Senate,   Sheriff  Sid  Gautreaux,  East  Baton  Rouge  Parish  Sheriff’s  Office,   and  Lee  Melancon  III,  Director  of  Academic  Affairs,  University  of  Phoenix.

The event will occur on May 4, 2013, between 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m. at the ExxonMobil YMCA in the BREC Gymnasium, at 7717 Howell Blvd., Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Specifically, we would like your organization to do three things: One, offer a five (5) minute overview of your services at the beginning of our event at 12:00 noon, to the entire body of participants. Two, offer information about your services to the public at a display table during the event.

Participate in our Unity Day Youth and Family Zone Self-Defense Seminar.

The purpose of this event is to promote enrollment of youth into pro-social summer camp and after school activities that enhance their social, emotional, physical, ethical, and academic skills. We believe that thoughtful community collaboration that includes: local schools; youth, and families; business, government; faith based and health institutions, and law enforcement, will drive greater enrollment into summer pro-social activities and therefore arrest crime and promote positive human development.

We will also discuss the important topic of school safety.

Key K-12 school officials, college administrators, law enforcement, and state leaders will lead the discussion to help us understand how we can address this issue as a community to create a greater DQG VDIHU TXDOLW\ RI OLIH LQ (DVW Baton Rouge Parish.

PERKINS

We look forward to dialogue soon to discuss your organizations’ participation in Unity Day! Empower the People, Baton Rouge Summer Camp Enrollment & School Safety Discussion.

Unity Day is an opportunity for Louisiana citizens to share Fun, Family Values, and Fitness.

Our last event, Opening A Black History Time Capsule, with Tony Brown was a great community success as a result of collaboration.

Tony Brown acclaimed journalist, host and producer of, Tony Brown’s Journal, inspired 800 students about the value of education and at Baton Rouge Magnet High School on February 26. 2013. Cox Louisiana will broadcast video content for this event several times this year to reach many more Louisiana citizens.

Unity Day Youth and Family Zone, www.UnityDayZone. com, is a working organization with diverse participants who believe in empowering youth and families for envisioning and living every moment like it’s, “GOLDEN�! Indeed, we understand that accomplishment is possible through human development, i.e., teaching and demonstrating: social, emotional, academic, ethical, economic, and spiritual growth skill sets.

One major addendum, --development of these life skill sets is only possible by building a relationship of TRUST and RESPECT. That’s what Unity Day

Youth and Family Zone is--a safe space and place to learn how to OHDUQ DQG OLYH D TXDOLW\ OLIH Unity Day Youth and Family Zone is an opportunity for Louisiana citizens to share Fun, Family Values, and Fitness. Our partners include the: Capital District YMCA; East Baton Rouge Children and Youth Planning Board, Louisiana Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness; Department of Health and Hospitals; Department of Children & Family Services; Louisiana Workforce Commission; the Louisiana Department of Education; City of East Baton Rouge Parish; East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office; Baton Rouge Police Department; Baton Rouge City Constables Office; the East Baton Rouge Metro-City Council, Cox Communications Southeast Region, and many others. (See our website, www.UnityDayZone. com, under Partners section) Unity Day Youth and Family Zone’s Karate Seminar and Wellness Training under the auspice of the Louisiana Governor’s Games, is offered to youth and families at schools, churches, recreation centers, and commuQLW\ VTXDUHV 7KLV IUHH HYHQW KDV been successfully implemented since 2008.) Indeed, Unity Day has been featured on the Catholic Life TV series, Faith In Action, with Carol Spruell.

Our next “Unity Day� will be on May 4, 2014, at the ExxonMobil YMCA, 12:00 noon - 4 p.m.

UNITED WAY

from page 1

Southern in 1947 with a degree in music. In 1951, he wrote and published Southern’s fight song.

He earned a master’s degree and a doctoral degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. From 1960 to 1968, Perkins served as the director of the Department of Music at Southern, and then as the dean of the College of Arts and Humanities from 1968 to 1978.

He worked at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., and at Louisiana State University where he served as Professor of Humanities; Assistant Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs; Executive Assistant to the Chancellor; and Special Assistant to the Chancellor.

Perkins was awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from LSU for his service to

education and to LSU. A Doctoral Fellowship Program at LSU has been named in his honor.

Information on funeral services will be published as they become available.

Southern Fight Song Here is the fight song: Southern University, Defenders of the gold and blue We will always loyal be And raise a cheer for you.

All for one and one for all We’ve got the will to win for thee And We’ll fight, fight, fight Til we win the victory.

from page 2

For small business: Hannis T. Bourgeois For medium business: Rubicon And for large business: Southern University Leading the Way: Whitney Bank Live United Award: Small Business: Faulk & Winkler Medium Business: Direct General Insurance Best of the Best Award: Kit Janis and Paul Martin from Total Christy Reeves, board

chair for CAUW, presented a token of appreciation to Mike Albano with The Dow Chemical Company. Albano is currently wrapping up his term as this year’s Campaign Cabinet Chair and serves on the organization’s board of directors.

Because of the hard work and dedication of the Employee Campaign Coordinators, Capital Area United Way will be able to once again invest millions back into our community which may one day help your neighbor or even you when you least expect it.

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BUYING OR SELLING A SERVICE? Call one of our sales reps DQG ÀQG out how you can reach your target group

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charlesmcmanus@ mcmanuslawoffice.brcoxmail.com www.charlesmcmanus.com

COMMENTARY 7KXUVGD\ $SULO ‡ The  Weekly  Press ‡ 3DJH

Political Maneuvering Over the Budget

BY GEORGE E. CURRY NNPA Columnist There has been much discussion about the big picture items in President Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal 2014. If the devil is in the details, as politicians like to say, some parts of Obama’s budget will mean hell for some needy citizens.

Before getting into the details, let’s talk approach. As I have often said, I am not a fan of some of the tactical approaches Obama takes.

I understand that his reasoned approach – as opposed to the meat cleaver style of House Republicans – is far better than the GOP alternative. Still, it makes no sense to offer a compromise position in advance of actual negotiations.

A report by the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a nonpartisan think tank that analyzes government policy and programs, notes, “It is unusual for a President to include these kinds of compromise policies in his budget.

Typically, the President’s budget would include policies that are more akin to an opening bid in a negotiation — that is, the President’s budget generally reflects his preferred policies. This budget, in contrast, reflects the President’s position at a stage of the negotiations after several rounds of offers had been made. This budget differs significantly from the approach taken in earlier Obama budgets.�

Clearly, compromises will have to be made at some point – even compromises President Obama will not want to make – but this is not the time to make them.

Robert Greenstein, president of CBPP, said: “Politically speaking, I had thought that the White House should not put these concessions in its budget, as distinguished from offering them in bipartisan negotiations if and when Republicans agreed to dedicate substantial savings from curbing tax credits, deductions, and other preferences (known as ‘tax expenditures’) to deficit reduction. The Administration took a different approach.

Having done so, it is appropriately insisting that the part of its budget that contains the President’s last offer to Boehner is an indivisible package — that policymakers cannot cherry pick the budget cuts on their own, as some Republicans

are already suggesting, without taking the accompanying revenue increases.�

Given President Obama’s overtures, one would think reasonable people would meet him half way. But the operative word is “reasonable.� Instead of also making concession, Republicans have become even more recalcitrant. “When it comes to deficit reduction, the playing field is not level,� Greenstein stated. “The President is sticking with his final offer to Boehner despite the anger that it’s creating in his party and his political base due to the chained CPI and other proposals. “The Speaker and other Republican leaders, however, have buried their last offer to Obama in December and are ignoring the fact that it included $400 billion in revenue increases beyond what policymakers enacted at the start of the year. They now brand any new revenues as unacceptable. The contrast between the President’s approach and that of Republican leaders is striking.�

Beyond the political wrangling, there is plenty to be concerned about. “The budget proposes to reSODFH VHTXHVWUDWLRQ IRU DOO \HDUV — 2013 through 2021 — with other deficit-reduction measures.

While most of the proposed deficit reduction is in the form of higher revenues and lower entitlement spending, the budget also reduces funding for discretionary programs by $200 billion below the already austere caps set in the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA),� the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report states. “The $200 billion in proposed cuts are evenly split between defense and non-defense programs, consistent with the President’s December offer to Speaker Boehner. Non-defense discretionary programs include a broad set of government functions, such as education, public health, law enforcement, veterans’ health care, housing supports for low-income families, and scientific and medical research.�

Calling the non-defense discretionary program funding “ill-advised,� The center’s report See BUDGET, on page 7

Jackie Robinson: “Too Bad He’s The Wrong Color�

BY LEE A. DANIELS NNPA Columnist You could say “42,� the film about the life of Brooklyn Dodgers great Jackie Robinson, is a gripping baseball tale, and your assessment would be correct – but woefully incomplete. “42� is not just a baseball story. It’s a compelling history lesson as well. It tells the story of not just baseball, but of a central facet of 20th Century American life – the suffocating reach of racism – in the decades before the 1960s.

It conveys the grievous wrong Black Americans endured and signals what it cost them, and America as a whole. And it indicates how the barrier of racism was cracked

by Blacks and Whites who worked – many over the course of decades – to destroy it. “42� reminds us, as the Major League’s season gets underway, that, given its mythic status in American life, baseball’s s most important milestone had nothing to do with the mechanics of playing the game or a particular game that was played but with cleansing the moral center of American democracy itself. It recounts once again in popular form the story of a man whose life proved that history sometimes acts through individuals and individuals can act to influence history. “42� tells a story that never gets old; for it’s rooted in the saga of an America that once was, and then began to change sharply – a change which has yielded enor-

mous benefits but which also remains both incomplete and resisted.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson, born in 1919, grew up in an America where the words “Too bad he’s the wrong color� were often the kindest remarks White Americans would say about Black Americans.

A Boston Red Sox scout said them in April, 1945 during the now-infamous sham tryout at which that storied team passed on signing the future Hall of Famer despite his impressing Sox officials with his hitting and fielding. (A few years later, the Sox would also pass on signing Willie Mays. They would be the last team in baseball to add – in 1959 – a Black player to their roster.)

Of course, the scout was wrong. As would become evident two years later, beginning on April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson was the right color, and of the right character, after all, to help ratchet up the pressure that had been building for decades among Black Americans in the North and South to confront the country’s great sin. To repeat, that wrong wasn’t merely Blacks’ 50-year exclusion from the playing fields of Major League Baseball.

Even as White America was boasting that its victory over Germany and Japan in World War II had made the world “safe� for democracy, Black Americans could see in every sector of American society – higher education, the movie industry, the civil service, residential housing, the military, See TOO BAD, on page 5

Time to Embrace Blackopoliticonomics

BY JAMES CLINGMAN NNPA Columnist As George Benson sang in Moody’s Mood, “There I go, there I go, there I go‌â€? making up words again. I couldn’t resist this one in light of our penchant to choose sides when it comes to economics versus politics. It seems we cannot understand, nor act upon, the fact that by combining the two disciplines and leveraging the resulting power from such a sensible strategy we could build a stronger base and finally put an end to being ignored and taken for granted.

So I made up this word in an effort to indoctrinate us, to condition us, to program us, or whatever you want to call it, so that Black people can stop being sacrificial lambs led to the political and economic slaughter.

We do not have to choose between the two, but as I always say, if I had to choose I would definitely take economics over politics. Why? Isn’t it obvious that while politics runs most of our lives (because we have no real economic base) it certainly does not run the lives of those who are economically empowered?

Whatever Wall Street wants Wall Street gets. The stock market hits record highs; but Black people are sinking lower in net worth and income. Black people

are too busy watching the Wives of ‌ or Scandal, or all of those BET Award shows to recognize the subordinated consumeroriented role we are playing in the economy. Like sister Sweet Brown said about the fire on YouTube, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!â€?

As the war machine cranks up once again, the moneychangers are rubbing their greedy hands together in anticipation of another windfall from supplying the tools of war, the food for the troops, the HTXLSPHQW WKH XQLIRUPV DQG DOO the accoutrements necessary to dispose of those pesky Koreans, Syrians, and Iranians.

This is the country of the Golden Rule – He who has the gold makes the rules. Blacks aren’t making any rules; we are just playing by them, and being used as grist for profit mill. Sadly, some of us are so entrenched in the political shenanigans in Washington, so enamored by the celebrity of our president and those with whom he socializes, that we either ignore the weightier things in life or simply refuse to listen, even though we know that the road we are on leads to destruction.

Just watch the dueling news channels, MSNBC and Fox, and you will get a steady dose of Obama love and Obama hate.

He can hardly do any wrong on MSNBC and can seldom, if ever,

do anything right on Fox. I often wonder if these newscasters have a life outside of the bashing they do of each other’s political parties. Even sadder is the fact that Black people, who have little or no skin in the game, take sides and starting fighting one another over emotional rhetoric centered on who likes or dislikes the POTUS and his policies.

It makes little sense for us to spend 90 percent of our capital and time on 10 percent of our problem, as Khalid Al-Mansour suggested in his book, Betrayal by any Other Name. When it comes to choosing instead of combining and leveraging, Al-Mansour says, “Blacks feel helpless because they hear so many conflicting voices and so much empty rhetoric. It’s easy to throw up one’s hands, get drunk, and have another baby. The African American has been hearing about the problem and the solution since he can remember and yet, his condition always continues to disintegrate.�

We get a daily dose of political rhetoric and hardly ever take any economic medicine; it’s no wonder that many Black people see no way out of our economic/ political dilemma. We have chosen political rhetoric over practical tried-and-true economic initiatives to free us from psychological bondage – a prescription that has not and does not work.

The political hacks are doing what they do because they get paid to do it, not because they necessarily believe in everything they promote. Our problem is allowing these jokers to dominate our thinking and our actions, as though what they say, or who they support, or what ideology they promote will move Black people to a position of real power rather than mere influence. And if that happens at all, whatever influence we attain will have to be channeled through them, because they are the political gatekeepers.

As Malcolm said, â€œâ€Śyou are chumps‌â€? when it comes to politics; and I say we are pawns when it comes to economics. However, if we combine politics with economics and not be led around by the ears by so-called leaders who only care about themselves, their political connections, and the money they make from selling us down the road, we will be much better off than we are now.

So, turn off the television and start reading more, start learning more for yourself, and start initiating and participating in efforts, where you live, to combine and leverage your collective economic and political clout – a winning strategy for sure. In other words, start practicing “Blackopoliticonomics.�

Natural Gas is Boosting the U.S. Economy

BY HARRY C. ALFORD NNPA Columnist Yes indeed and it is documented that the growth of natural gas production is creating jobs, expanding manufacturing at a rate that was inconceivable a few years ago. The reason for all of this is fracking. The formal name is hydraulic fracturing. It is a process for extracting natural gas from underground rock formations (shales). It’s clean and safe despite the contrary claims of environmental extremists.

Fracking was invented by Floyd Farris in 1947. His tools were drilling instruments, water and sand. The popularity and production of the use was rather slow until 1997 when energy engineers devised certain chemicals to mix with the water. It was then that the process became more cost effective. Now it is estimated that more than 60 percent of all oil and gas wells in the world are being fracked. Of late, engineers in Canada are introducing a waterless form of fracking. U.S. companies have not yet utilized the process. They are so happy with the current utilization.

Happy they should be.

Through fracking our nation has become the number one producer of natural gas in the world. The estimates of our reserves keep

being increased as new shales are being discovered all the time. We have the cheapest priced natural gas as a result of our great supplies. In fact, we are now exporting natural gas to other nations.

Japan, for instance, has a natural gas price that is four times that of WKH 8 6 &RQVHTXHQWO\ -DSDQ LV our number one market for exporting. In addition, many nations of Europe and elsewhere are good customers of our energy companies. These are new found dollars DQG MRE FUHDWLRQV 2XU OLTXHILHG natural gas (LNG) import facilities have now been refitted for exporting. This is great.

Right now, our natural gas energy industry is responsible for more than 3 million jobs. The National Association of Manufacturers estimates that one million more jobs will be created by the middle of the next decade. They also report: Dow Chemical plans to build a new ethylene unit on the Gulf Coast by 2017. Formosa Plastics plans to spend 1.5 billion dollars on an ethylene plant and downstream assets in Texas by 2015. Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. announced a feasibility study to be completed this year on the merits of constructing an ethane cracker and ethylene derivatives facilities at a current site on the Gulf Coast. Bayer Corporation is reported to be discussing op-

portunities with chemical companies to build an ethane cracker at current sites in the middle of the Marcellus shale basin (Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland).

Westlake Chemical will expand ethylene capacity in Louisiana by the end of 2012 and again in 2014.

Shell Oil is building a petrochemical refinery in the Appalachians.

Nucor is building a $750 million direct-reduced iron facility in Louisiana near the Haynesville Shale. This is all a result of the low cost of natural gas.

Some states may miss out on all this growth. New York and Maryland officials are trying to limit fracking in their states.

That is fine with Pennsylvania and other neighboring states who are witnessing an economic boom within their borders. Pennsylvania has received more than $400 million in impact fees alone during the first two years of exploration of its portion of the Marcellus shale. There is no justification to limit or stop fracking. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been trying to find a reason but so far there is nothing to point a finger at.

In fact, Ernest Moniz, President Obama’s nominee for the Secretary of Energy, has just told Congress, “A stunning increase in production of domestic natural gas

in recent years was nothing less than a revolution that has led to reduced emissions of carbon dioxide. The natural gas boom also has led to a dramatic expansion of manufacturing and job creation ‌ brought about by widespread use of fracking and it must continue.�

Shale gas now accounts for 30 percent of total gas consumption compared with just 1 percent in 2000. Again, we have gone from being the world’s largest gas importer to being self-sufficient and a major exporter. Natural gas YHKLFOHV XVH D WHFKQLTXH NQRZQ DV Compressed Natural Gas that has an affordable price of $1.95 per gallon. It is just amazing.

All of this growth will give local, state and the federal governments billions of new dollars via payroll, corporate and property taxes. New restaurants, hotels, homes, schools etc. will be built to accommodate the new workers and their families. God has truly blessed us.

So now, let’s build the Keystone Pipeline and start doing more oil exploration on federal lands and off shore.

Harry C. Alford is the cofounder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of CommerceÂŽ. Website: www.nationalbcc.org. Email: halford@ nationalbcc.org.

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

7KXUVGD\ $SULO ‡ The  Weekly  Press ‡ 3DJH 5

BUSINESS

Before You Rent, Do Your Homework

BY JASON ALDERMAN

Maybe you’re a college student looking to rent your first apartment; or a downsizing homeowner reentering the rental market for the first time in decades. Whatever your situation, there are many precautions you should take before renting any property. The last thing you want is to be saddled with a 12-month lease you can’t afford or to be stuck in a neighborhood you’ve come to detest.

As one who’s been there, let me share a few tips for renting a home: Before you even start looking, know how much you can afford to spend. Housing is the biggest monthly expense for most people so if you miscalculate what rent is affordable; your budget will suffer from the get-go. Besides rent, don’t forget such additional expenses as a security deposit, utilities, cable/ satellite, Internet access, renter’s insurance, parking and laundry facilities and one-time move-in expenses like window treatments, appliances or rugs.

Scope out the neighborhood. Determine how safe you feel walking around, especially if you’ll be parking on the street.

TOO BAD

Come back to see if the neighborhood’s character changes at night or on the weekend. Also note the proximity to parks, schools, grocery stores, public transportation and busy commuter routes.

Thoroughly inspect each potential rental: Consider total useable space – sometimes a smaller unit with a well-designed floor plan is more desirable than a larger space with a poor layout.

Use a tape measure to measure each room to determine whether your furniture will fit.

Ensure there’s sufficient closet, cupboard and storage space.

Look for safety features like deadbolts and peepholes on exterior doors, well-lit corridors, stairwells and parking structures, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and bars or other security features on first-floor windows.

In multi-unit buildings, note the condition of common areas – that’s a clue how attentive the owner/manager is regarding upkeep.

Note the condition of appliances, plumbing fixtures, floors/ carpeting, electrical outlets and switches, light fixtures, walls and windows. If you spot damSee HOMEWORK, on page 7

from page 4

large corporations and small businesses alike, the labor unions, collegiate and professional sports, and so on – that bigotry, not democracy, was triumphant.

The South’s apartheid system had its explicit “Whites Only� and “No Colored Allowed� signs. But, although the signs were absent, the same noxious sentiments existed almost everywhere in the North and West, from Boston to Pasadena, Calif., where the Georgia-born Robinson grew up.

In the immediate postwar environment, Robinson’s signing by the Branch Rickey-led Dodgers was the thunderclap that heralded the massing of new forces in the domestic fight to make America itself safe for democracy.

By then, Black Americans had the diverse organizational strength at the national and local levels to field multiple challenges to racism. By then, a still very small but growing number of White organizations – and in-

dividuals like Branch Rickey – were actively looking for ways to break the numerous “color barriers� that characterized American society. And by then, America’s position of global leadership was beginning to exert pressure on it to live up to its boasts about loving freedom by extending it to Black Americans, too. It was no accident of history that within a year of Robinson’s breaking baseball’s color barrier, President Truman ordered the desegregation of America’s other signal mythic institution – the military.

Jackie Robinson’s story was but one facet of the diamond of Black determination that in the 20 years after World War II would dismantle the legalized structure of racism. But he – an extraordinarily-gifted, fiercely-competitive athlete who possessed a deeply spiritual, disciplined character – was superbly suited for the challenge he, and America, confronted.

The wrong color? Not on your life.

Small Business Owners Hear From President of Chicken Shack Systems, D&W Health Services, Inc. BATON ROUGE – Joseph A. Delpit, President of Chicken Shack Systems and D&W Health Services, Inc. served as the keynote speaker for the luncheon session of the 9th Annual “Connecting Businesses to Contracts� Procurement Conference on April 4 in the Cotillion Ballroom of the Smith-Brown Student Union on the Southern University Baton Rouge campus.

Delpit encouraged small business owners to use what they learned at the conference to help improve their businesses and network of fellow business owners.

He also shared some of his positive and negative experiences as a small business owner and way in which he overcame negative situations.

The free conference which fosters partnerships between small businesses and Federal, State and Local Government and major prime contracting agents, attracted a crowd of nearly 400 participants including new and existing businesses, exhibitors, private and government agencies.

The conference was held throughout the Smith-Brown Student Union and featured workshop on the topics of: Understanding Leanding to Grow Your Business-Capital One Bank, presented by Cindy McGee and Terry Fendley and James Hobson and Chuck Benoit; Marketing by Cindy Carrier, Louisiana PTAC;

Joseph  Delpit  speaks  to  small  business  owners

Affordable Care Act, by Michael Ricks, District Director of the SBA Louisiana District Office and Tony Gregg, Business Specialist GSA of the Office of Small Business Utilization; a Procurement Panel presented by Carolyn Staten, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in Fort Worth, TX, Edward Foley, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New Orleans, Jon Atkinson and Alfred Salas, Sr. Loan and Loan Officers

at Seedco, respectively; Contracting with the State of Louisiana presented by Ann Campbell, LA Office of State Purchasing and &DUO %RXUTXH /$ 6WDWH /LFHQVing Board Contractors; Contractor Fraud presented by Lisha Landry, Office of Attorney General and Preparing Your Pricing for Your Bid/Proposal presenter by Morgan Watson, Chief Executive Officer, MEL, Inc.

The conference was hosted by the Center for Rural and Small Business Development in the Southern University Agricultural Research & Extension Center, U.S. Small Business Administration, USDA Rural Development, Louisiana Small Business Development Center at Southern University, Louisiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center and Louisiana Economic Development.

FUNdraising Good Times: “Lean in� for Leadership in a Nonprofit Career Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook has a new book out. “Lean In� has generated a lot of media attention.

It’s all about women and leadership in the business world. Bottom line: she encourages women to seek leadership-level positions.

Listening to the news stories we asked ourselves, “what about the nonprofit sector?�

What does it take to advance to leadership level positions in the nonprofit sector? Our experience has shown that fundraising experiHQFH LV DQ LPSRUWDQW SUHUHTXLVLWH for securing an executive position and most importantly for remaining in the position. Related to this is

an understanding of fund development and the ability to manage a fundraising operation. These are QRW WKH RQO\ SUHUHTXLVLWH EXW LW LV an important one that is too often overlooked.

If you are working for a nonprofit and want to progress in your career, make your intentions known and begin to prepare yourself. Our guidance relates to building your fundraising skills and network. Here’s why: securing funds from philanthropic sources is often times the primary revenue stream for a nonprofit. Even those funded through government grants or contracts, or through earned income streams, find that philan-

thropic funding is what makes the difference between a “just getting by� institution and a thriving one.

The willingness to raise funds and build a fundraising team provides an organization with the funding and resources it needs.

Lean in and prepare yourself to be a leader. Develop career goals that include responsibility for fundraising. Learn about the different types of fundraising and how they work together. Invest in your education and training. Participate in online and in-person training sessions that expose you to new areas of fundraising and ones that deepen your current skill set. If your employer won’t invest in your

professional development, make the investment yourself. Network with people you meet at conferHQFHV RU RQOLQH $VN TXHVWLRQV RI those who are more experienced.

Ask someone from a similar type of organization in another part of WKH FRXQWU\ IRU D FULWLTXH RI D IXQdraising project you are working on. Read journals, books and blogs.

Get a mentor.

If you don’t currently work for a major nonprofit institution, consider becoming a fundraising volunteer for a local hospital, university or public television station.

These institutions typically have See CAREER on page 7

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Sales Position  Utility  Technology  Services,  an  authorized  dealer  of  Sensus  water  and  electric  smart  meters  is  looking  for  an  experienced  sale  profes-­ sional  to  cover  the   Southern  part  of  LA.   Experience  in  the  waterworks  industry  or   working  within  a  Municipality   or  Parrish  would  be  helpful.  Applicants  should  upload  their  resume  and  salary  requirements  to  www.utili-­ tytechnologyservices.com.   Excellent  benefits,  including  company  car.

SALES EXECUTIVES The  Weekly  Press,  Baton  Rouges’  oldest  muti-­cultural  community  newspaper  is  building  a  diverse  sales  team.  We   are  seeking  sales  personnel  to  service  the  Baton  Rouge,  Baker  and  surrounding  areas  who  are  looking  to  earn  an  above  average  income.  The  right  person  must  be  a  team  player,  professional,  aggressive,  creative,  earnest,  able  to  think  outside  of  the  box,  have  reliable  insured  transportation,  committed  to  working  and  great  communication  skills.   Contact  Mr.  Ivory  Payne  at  (225)  775-­2002  for  appointment  and  interviews.

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Do you enjoy interacting with many different people on a daily basis?? Do you want the great feeling of helping people every day?? Then this may be the right opportunity for you! We are currently seeking experienced people for registration in the following areas: ‡ $FFRXQWV 3D\DEOH ‡ $FFRXQWV 5HFHLYDEOH ‡ 3D\UROO 6WDII ‡ %RRNNHHSLQJ Office Managers (accounts based) Contact summittoolslltd@gmail.com for more info.

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RELIGION

Cancer Survivor Tracy Randall Has Learned To Live With Pain But Sings “It Feels Good� To Be Alive On New Radio Single

Lavish Records artist Tracy Randall isn’t supposed to be here. In 2006, he was diagnosed with acute blastic leukemia and after aggressive rounds of chemo and radiation therapy, his doctors gave up and in February 2007 told him to go home and prepare to die. “The doctor told me to get my affairs in order because he didn’t know if I had 3 months or 6 months to live,� he recalls. He left the office that cold, rainy afternoon and started walking. “I began to pray and talk to God not about me but about my family and their survival because I’m the breadwinner,� as he walked past the 42nd Street subway where he usually caught the train and kept walking, talking. “By the time I got to 96th Street this voice said, `You’re going to be okay.’�

Randall fought his illness back with his renewed faith and improved his diet. He also began an expensive medical therapy that isn’t covered by insurance. “I don’t want people to think that I no longer have the illness,� Randall says. “I have pain and depression. There are times that I don’t sleep for days because I am afraid to sleep. However, my faith has grown tremendously. I am still growing and I still get mad and ask God, `why me?’Yet, He touched my soul and I am still here.�

It’s against this backdrop that Randall wrote his new radio single, “It Feels Good,� a bouncy track guaranteed to make the stiffest body move. “I opened up my eyes and thanked God for a new day,� he sings on the up-tempo beat. “I’ve

Jesus The Way Full Gospel Church to host Appreciation for Men of God BAKER, LA – On Saturday, April 20, 2013 at Jesus The Way Full Gospel Church will host the Appreciation for Men of God at 5:30 p.m. Pastor Lettie Braxton pastors Jesus The Way Full Gospel Church and the church is located at 1700 McHugh Road in Baker.

For additional information, please contact the church at (225) 774-6385

Revival at Hope Christian Center

Tracy  Randall been blessed in so many ways if I wanted to write `em down there wouldn’t be enough pages.� The song is the latest single from Randall’s sophomore CD “Troubled Times� that features fourteen tracks of what he calls Rhythm & Gospel. “It’s gospel music,�

Randall explains. “But it has that urban R&B beat.� Randall just wrapped a new concept video on the track and has now impacted pop radio with his inspiring tune “I Am All You Need� debuting at #36 on the Top 40 Main chart this

Call the Weekly Press to place your advertisment.

week with almost a 50% increase in spins.

The Lake Charles, LA native grew up on a musical diet of Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. After completing his undergraduate degree from LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Randall was signed to the Isley Brothers’ T-Neck/Island Records label. After Universal/ Polygram took over the company in 1999, he left to start Lavish Records. He released his first gospel CD “Sinners Have Souls

Too� in 2007 and has done a lot of behind the scenes work in the music industry. Randall co-wrote four songs on Shaggy’s Grammy Award nominated “Summer in Kingston� CD that reached #1 on Billboard’s Top Reggae Albums chart in 2012. To stream “It Feels Good� log on at https:// soundcloud.com/tracy-randall/ it-feels-good-so-good-tracy or view it at http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Rb2LNaE7NbQ &feature=youtu.be&a

Women in White Program at the National Holy Trinity Baptist Fellowship Association BATON ROUGE, LA – On April 21, 2013, at 3pm at the Greater New Hope Baptist Church located at 1896 Flancher Road in Zachary, pastored by Nathaniel Thomas will be holding their “Women in White Program.�

Holy Trinity Baptist Fellowship Association is located

at 1700 McHugh Road in Baker, Louisiana.

Women Division President is Minister Ruby Paynes and Vice President is Co-Pastor Paula Shepherd.

For any additional information, please contact Minister Ruby Paynes at (2250 615-4817

BATON ROUGE, LA – The Hope Christian Center located at 5013 Windfall Court will be hosting a revival from Monday, May 20 through May 24, 2013 with service starts daily at 12 noon.

On the following dates the following person will be delivering the sermon for that day: ‡ 2Q 0RQGD\ 0D\ Bishop Ivory J. Payne will be delivering the sermon. ‡ 2Q 7XHVGD\ 0D\ Reverend Ernest Jenkins will be delivering the sermon. ‡ 2Q :HGQHVGD\ 0D\ 2013 Bishop Printos Taylor from Los Angeles will be the speaker. ‡ 2Q 7KXUVGD\ 0D\ Reverend Leo Le Fleur from Las Vegas will be the speaker. ‡ 2Q )ULGD\ 0D\ Archbishop Jackie Roberts from Chicago will be delivering the sermon for the day.

The service starts daily at 12 noon at Hope Christian Center and for more information, please contact Reverend Henry Martin, at (225) 355-8194.

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

NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH *UHHQZHOO 6SULQJV 5RDG ‡ %DWRQ 5RXJH /RXLVLDQD 7HOHSKRQH ‡ )DFVLPLOOH

7ROO )UHH Websites: www.newhopebr.com

VISTIT US ONLINE @

www.theweeklypress.com EMAIL YOUR CHURCH NEWS ARTICLES TO

thewpres@bellsouth.net

Rev. Leo Cyrus Sr., Pastor

7KXUVGD\ $SULO ‡ The  Weekly  Press ‡ 3DJH 7

HEALTH

Outpatient Woman’s Clinic TANTRUM Agreement Reached; Health Care Services Preserved American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Statement GoodHealth For Your Heart Is G on Funding for Louisiana Breast What’s and Cervical Program from page 6

BATON ROUGE - On the LSU Women’s OB/GYN Clinic will reopen for scheduled appointments under the operation of Woman’s Hospital. The reopening comes as a result of a public-private partnership agreement reached between DHH, LSU and Woman’s Hospital on Wednesday, April 10. LSU has operated the clinic in the Physician Office Building on the new Woman’s campus since September 2012; and this location will not change. The agreement will support graduate medical education for LSU residency programs and improve patient access to TXDOLW\ KHDOWK FDUH VHUYLFHV DHH Interim Secretary Kathy Kliebert said, “This agreement allows uninsured women and women on Medicaid continued access to critical OB/GYN services when Earl K. Long closes its doors. Woman’s Hospital’s extensive experience will best meet the needs of women in our region, and we are proud to partner with them to ensure ZRPHQ KDYH DFFHVV WR TXDOLW\ health care services.�

Woman’s Hospital President and CEO Teri Fontenot said, ´7KLV LV D XQLTXH RSSRUWXQLW\ WR fulfill our mission of improving the health of women and infants.

7R HQVXUH FRQWLQXHG TXDOLW\ FDUH we will be working in the coming days to finalize operations and service plans. Patients of the LSU Clinic with urgent medical needs will receive care, and they will continue to see their same LSU physicians.� Patients who need to schedule or reschedule routine appointments are asked to call 225-215-7960 beginning Monday, April 15.

BUDGET

from page 4

noted, “The BCA funding caps already significantly constrain this area of the budget. In fact, under the BCA caps, spending for non-defense discretionary programs is on track to reach, by 2016, its lowest level on record as a share of the economy (these data go back to 1962). This area of the budget, which has been cut significantly in recent years and is not a driver of longer-term deficits, would be cut still more deeply under the President’s budget.�

In addition the CBPP said, “The budget would increase the income-related premiums paid by upper-income beneficiaries and gradually expand those premiums to cover a larger fraction of beneficiaries. It would also increase cost-sharing for new beneficiaries by raising the deductible for physician services, introducing co-payments for certain home health care services, and intro-

HOMEWORK

ducing a premium surcharge for those who purchase Medigap supplement plans that provide near-first-dollar coverage (which encourages greater utilization of health care services).�

There are plenty of good things in the president’s proposed budget, including his plan to expand early education and infrastructure investments, but Obama needs to break his addictive habit of making major concessions to Republicans before sitting at the bargaining table with them.

George E. Curry, former editor-in-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.

from page 4

aged or worn items, ask whether they’ll be replaced. If not, make sure they’re noted in the rental agreement.

Check the water pressure DQG KRW ZDWHU TXDOLW\ Check seals around doors, windows and vents; if leaky, they can boost utility bills.

Look for evidence of previous water leaks and mold.

Check for soundproofing, especially if there are adjoining apartments.

Once you find a suitable place, read the rental agreement carefully. Don’t hesitate to ask a lawyer or more experienced friend to review it. If not spelled out in the lease you may want to ask the landlord: How much is the security GHSRVLW DQG ZKDW DUH WKH UHTXLUHments for getting a full refund?

How are rent increases determined?

What happens after the

CAREER

LSU System Executive Vice President for Health Care and Medical Education Redesign Dr. Frank Opelka said, “This agreement will preserve critical graduate medical education for LSU residency programs and LPSURYH SDWLHQW DFFHVV WR TXDOity obstetrics and gynecology services.�

LSU has been working to accelerate a system redesign through public-private partnerships over the past several months due to Congress’s sudden action in July that reduced Louisiana’s Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) rate to the lowest it has been in more than 25 years. The FMAP reduction eliminated $126.9 million in State General Funds from the LSU Health System’s budget, which amounts to a total reduction of $329.2 million when federal funds that would have been used for match are considered. This funding loss has prompted immediate and significant reform of the State’s health care programs.

LSU officials in October announced a plan for bringing their budget to balance with these unexpected FMAP reductions that keeps all hospitals operational and maintains critical services, including the medical home-model clinics that provide much of the care to recipients in the public hospital system today.

The final, and most instrumental, part of this plan involved establishing public-private partnerships across the state, which will transform the delivery of health care services in Louisiana at the most efficient value for tax payers.

lease term ends? Often, it’ll convert to a month-to-month rental agreement where you can leave anytime with proper notice (usually 30 days).

How many tenants are allowed?

What are building policies for things like houseguests, noise curfews, maintenance and repairs, pest control, smoking, lost keys and pets?

Can you sublet the unit before your lease expires?

And finally, be aware that many landlords check credit reports of potential tenants. Before you start looking, check your own credit report so there are no surprises.

You can order one free report per year from each of the three PDMRU FUHGLW EXUHDXV ² (TXLID[ Experian and TransUnion. (Order through www.annualcreditreport. com; otherwise you’ll pay a small fee.)

TKHUHIRUH KXPEOH \RXUVHOYHV XQGHU WKH PLJKW\ KDQGV RI *RG WKDW KH PD\ H[DOW \RX LQ GXH WLPH ´FDVWLQJ DOO \RXU FDUHV XSRQ KLP IRU KH FDUHV IRU \RX ¾ VW 3HWHU

$IWHU \RX ILQLVKHG KDYLQJ \RXU WDQWUXP <RX PD\ KDYH D VWRSSHG XS QRVH DQG VZROOHQ H\HV DQG â&#x20AC;&#x153;Reduced access to screenPXFXV UXQQLQJ GRZQ \RXU OLS ing will lead to later diagnoses, DQG GULHG WHDUV RQ \RXU IDFH EXW with reduced chances for survival. \RX¡OO IHHO EHWWHU DIWHU HPSW\LQJ Some women could even die from \RXUVHOI RI WKRVH WKLQJV ZKLFK undetected cancers.

KDG EHHQ KHDY\ RQ \RXU KHDUW â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thousands of Louisiana 6RPHWLPHV ZH JR IRU ZHHNV women face this reality every year RU PRQWKV WU\LQJ WR WDNH PDWWHUV because they have no insurance LQWR RXU KDQGV DQG WU\ WR VROYH RXU or are underinsured. Fortunately, RZQ SUREOHPV :H DUH QRW VXSHU KXPDQV ZH FDQ¡W KDQGOH HYHU\ the Louisiana Breast and Cervical WKLQJ DORQH :H QHHG *RG¡V KHOS Health Program has been there to :H KDYH WR OHW JR RI WKRVH VLWX provide access to life-saving breast DWLRQV DQG OHW *RG KDQGOH WKHP

and cervical cancer screenings for TKHUH DUH VRPH WKLQJV ZH FDQ¡W many of these women.

KXPDQO\ GR DQ\WKLQJ DERXW â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now that state funding for the program has been cut, fewer women will have access to cancer screening. We must not let this tragedy occur. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When detected early, the

1$360 $ VXUYH\ FRPPLVVLRQHG five-year relative survival rate for E\ WZR OHDGLQJ KHDOWK RUJDQL]DWLRQV breast cancer is 98 percent and, IRXQG WKDW DOWKRXJK WZR RXW RI WKUHH for cervical cancer, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 91 percent. $IULFDQ $PHULFDQV SHUFHQW H[ These figures decline dramatically SUHVVHG FRQFHUQ DERXW GHYHORSLQJ when cancer is not found until later KHDUW GLVHDVH DQG WZR RXW RI ILYH stages, and the cost of treatment SHUFHQW H[SUHVVHG FRQFHUQ DERXW rises significantly.

GHYHORSLQJ $O]KHLPHU¡V RQO\ DERXW â&#x20AC;&#x153;If funding is not restored, RQH LQ DUH DZDUH WKDW KHDUW KHDOWK the state will lose matching dollars LV OLQNHG WR EUDLQ KHDOWK from the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s federal grant.

TKH $O]KHLPHU¡V $VVRFLDWLRQ LV Louisiana could lose up to $1.7 milMRLQLQJ IRUFHV ZLWK WKH $PHULFDQ lion in federal funds if the funding HHDUW $VVRFLDWLRQ WR HGXFDWH $IULFDQ is completely eliminated. $PHULFDQV WKDW E\ PDQDJLQJ WKHLU â&#x20AC;&#x153;In closing, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to take FDUGLRYDVFXODU ULVN WKH\ PD\ DOVR a moment to look to the future.

VWUHQJWKHQ WKHLU FRJQLWLYH KHDOWK According to a study conducted ´:KDW¡V JRRG IRU \RXU KHDUW LV by George Washington UniverJRRG IRU \RXU EUDLQ ¾ VD\V -HQQLIHU sity, more than 61,000 women 0DQO\ 3K ' $O]KHLPHU¡V $VVRFLD will not be covered for cervical WLRQ VSRNHVSHUVRQ ´EYHU\ KHDOWK\ cancer screenings and almost KHDUWEHDW SXPSV DERXW RQH ILIWK RI \RXU EORRG WR \RXU EUDLQ WR FDUU\ RQ WKH GDLO\ SURFHVVHV RI WKLQNLQJ SURE TKH FLWL]HQV RI WKH QDWLRQ PXVW OHP VROYLQJ DQG UHPHPEHULQJ ¾ GHPDQG WKDW RXU OHDGHUV IUHH RXU ´%\ WKH \HDU WKH QXPEHU RI FKLOGUHQ IURP WKH IDOVH LGHRORJLFDO $IULFDQ $PHULFDQV DJH RU ROGHU LV DQG SROLWLFDO WXJV RI ZDU DPRQJ H[SHFWHG WR PRUH WKDQ GRXEOH WR WKRVH ZKR SXW H[FHVV SURILWV DKHDG PLOOLRQ ¾ VDLG EPLO 0DWDUHVH 0 ' RI FKLOGUHQ¡V OLYHV $PHULFDQ HHDUW $VVRFLDWLRQ VSRNHV HRZ ZHOO GLG &RQJUHVV SURWHFW SHUVRQ ´$OWKRXJK $O]KHLPHU¡V LV FKLOGUHQ LQ " 1RW ZHOO HQRXJK QRW SDUW RI QRUPDO DJLQJ DJH LV WKH for providing access Philadelphia in 1982 to meet the solutions 0HPEHUV RI &RQJUHVV KDG JUHDWHVW ULVN IDFWRU IRU $O]KHLPHU¡V WR TXDOLW\ KHDOWK FDUH IRU WKHLU JURZLQJ QHHG IRU TXDOLW\ FDUH IRU JRRG &') $FWLRQ &RXQFLO &RQ GLVHDVH 6R LW LV LPSRUWDQW WKDW $I populations. the underserved, many of which underserved JUHVVLRQDO 6FRUHFDUG VFRUHV RI ULFDQ $PHULFDQV WDNH VWHSV QRZ WR As a result, more states are turned to emergency rooms as SHUFHQW RU KLJKHU DQG RI WKRVH GHFUHDVH WKHLU ULVN RI KHDUW GLVHDVH turning to AmeriHealth Caritas their primary source of care.

KDG VWHOODU VFRUHV RI SHUFHQW ZKLFK UHVHDUFK KDV VKRZQ FRXOG government-funded health Today, AmeriHealth Cari- for %XW PHPEHUV VFRUHG SHUFHQW DOVR GHFUHDVH WKH ULVN RI FRJQLWLYH solutions. Since January tas is an experienced leader in care RU ORZHUÂłD IDLOLQJ JUDGH IURP RXU GHFOLQH Âľ government-funded programs, 2012, AmeriHealth Caritas VFKRRO GD\V operating in 13 states and serv- doubled the number of states in :KHWKHU 0HPEHUV RI &RQJUHVV ing more than 4.7 million Med- which it serves Medicaid fullDUH OLEHUDO FRQVHUYDWLYH RU PRG HUDWH 'HPRFUDW RHSXEOLFDQ RU icaid, Medicare and Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s risk members to six and saw its IQGHSHQGHQW FKLOGUHQ QHHG DOO RI Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Medicaid full-risk membership WKHP WR YRWH OREE\ VSHDN IRU DQG members through its integrated increase on an organic basis by SURWHFW WKHP $GXOWV QHHG WR OLVWHQ Medicaid managed care products, 28 percent. Specifically, the 1$36I HHUH¡V DQ DOHUW ZRUWK FDUHIXOO\ WR ZKDW FDQGLGDWHV VD\ achieved the following: pharmaceutical benefit manage- company SD\LQJ DWWHQWLRQ WR $FFRUGLQJ WR WKH\ ZLOO GR IRU FKLOGUHQ DQG IDPL Â&#x2021; /D&DUH LQ /RXLVLDQD SDUW ment services, behavioral health WKH $PHULFDQ 'LDEHWHV $VVRFLDWLRQ OLHV DQG RQFH WKH\ DUH LQ RIILFH the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bayou Health proservices and other administrative of $'$ OHDUQLQJ \RXU ULVN IRU W\SH ZH QHHG WR KROG WKHP DFFRXQWDEOH gram, began enrolling members services.

GLDEHWHV FRXOG VDYH \RXU OLIH 3OHDVH WKDQN \RXU 0HPEHUV RI &RQ February 1, 2012. To date, Said Michael A. Rashid, on'LDEHWHV LV D VHULRXV GLVHDVH WKDW JUHVV ZLWK VFRUHV RI SHUFHQW RU serves more than 154,000 president and chief executive LaCare VWULNHV QHDUO\ PLOOLRQ FKLOGUHQ DERYH DQG OHW WKRVH ZLWK VFRUHV RI in parishes throughout officer of AmeriHealth Caritas, members DQG DGXOWV LQ WKH 8 6 IW LV QDPHG SHUFHQW RU EHORZ NQRZ \RX DUH state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Care is at the heart of our work. the WKH ´VLOHQW NLOOHUÂľ EHFDXVH RQH WKLUG GLVVDWLVILHG ZLWK WKHLU SHUIRUPDQFH Â&#x2021; $UERU +HDOWK 3ODQ ZDV Our mission-focused approach to RI WKRVH ZLWK WKH GLVHDVH PRUH WKDQ $QG SOHDVH FRQYH\ WKDW VDPH PHV launched on July 1, 2012 to serve care management has helped to PLOOLRQ GR QRW NQRZ WKH\ KDYH LW VDJH WR HDFK SUHVLGHQWLDO FDQGLGDWH eligible beneficiaries living in improve the lives of Medicaid )RU PDQ\ GLDJQRVLV PD\ FRPH :H PXVW GHPDQG WKDW RXU OHDGHUV VHYHQ WR \HDUV DIWHU WKH RQVHW RI counties in rural Nebraska. beneficiaries living in urban and 83 FRPPLW WR FKLOGUHQ DV D FRQGLWLRQ W\SH GLDEHWHV EDUO\ GLDJQRVLV LV currently provides services rural communities across the na- Arbor RI RXU YRWH FULWLFDO IRU VXFFHVVIXO WUHDWPHQW DQG more than 22,000 members tion for 30 years. Our exciting to FDQ GHOD\ RU SUHYHQW VRPH RI WKH the state. new name heralds a new era of throughout Marian Wright Edelman is PresiFRPSOLFDWLRQV VXFK DV KHDUW GLVHDVHV Â&#x2021; 7KH FRPSDQ\ DOVR ZRQ QHZ caring our company.â&#x20AC;? dent of thefor Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Defense Fund EOLQGQHVV NLGQH\ GLVHDVH VWURNH DQG as part of the expansion AmeriHealth Caritasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and its Action Council whose Leavein- business DPSXWDWLRQ of Pennsylvaniaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s HealthChoices tegrated, outcomes-based, comNo Child BehindÂŽ mission is to TKDW¡V RQH UHDVRQ WKH $'$ KROGV and now serves 53 of passionate approach to care ensure every child a Healthy Start,has program WKH $PHULFDQ 'LDEHWHV $OHUWÂ&#x160; 'D\ ahelped Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe beneficiaries better man- the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 67 counties.

Start Moral Start in life and Â&#x2021; )ORULGD 7UXH +HDOWK ZDV age and theira chronic illnesses while D RQH GD\ ZDNH XS FDOO WR LQIRUP WKH $PHULFDQ SXEOLF DERXW WKH VHULRXV successful to adulthood approved by Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s providingpassage states with attractive recently with the help of caring families and communities.

CHILDREN from page 4

your skills and your network.

Most importantly make it known that you want to learn more about fundraising. Most people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t embrace fundraising. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a mistake you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to make. Lean in and you will find opportunities to learn and ultimately to lead.

HEALT

26,000 women will have no access to breast cancer screenings in Louisiana after 2014. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Without the Louisiana Breast and Cervical Health Program, where will these women turn for cancer screening? â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no doubt that this is a necessary program, and that it saves lives. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m asking you to put yourself in the shoes of these women and vote to restore funding.

Please contact Denise Billings the Media Advocacy with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network at 615-483-0201 or by e-mail at denise.billings@ cancer.org for additional information.

AmeriHealth Mercy Becomes AmeriHealth Caritas HULQJ DOO FKLOGUHQ TKH &') $FWLRQ &RXQFLO EXLOG LQJ RQ WKH EHVW SUDFWLFHV LQ VWDWHV DQG OHVVRQV OHDUQHG DERXW FKLOGUHQ IDOOLQJ WKURXJK WKH EXUHDXFUDWLF FUDFNV RI 0HGLFDLG DQG 6&HI3 VWURQJO\ XUJHG &RQJUHVV WR HQDFW WKH $OO HHDOWK\ &KLOGUHQ $FW PHILADELPHIA, PA â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 6 H R LQWURGXFHG AmeriHealth Mercy Family of E\ RHSUHVHQWDWLYH %REE\ 6FRWW Companies, a national leader ' 9$ LQ WKH HRXVH DQG 6HQDWRU in%HUQLH 6DQGHUV I 9T LQ WKH 6HQ Medicaid managed care and other health care solutions for the DWH TKH PHDVXUH ZRXOG SURYLGH underserved, today announced FRPSUHKHQVLYH EHQHILWV LQFOXGLQJ that it has chosen AmeriHealth GHQWDO DQG PHQWDO KHDOWK VLPSOL Caritas as its new company name.

ILHG EXUHDXFUDF\ DQG D QDWLRQDO â&#x20AC;&#x153;Caritasâ&#x20AC;? is Latin for â&#x20AC;&#x153;charityâ&#x20AC;?

HOLJLELOLW\ SODQ IRU IDPLOLHV XS WR and embodies the 30-year legacy SHUFHQW RI WKH IHGHUDO SRYHUW\ OHYHO :H WKDQN WKH HRXVH FR of caring that AmeriHealth has VSRQVRUV IRU WKHLU VXSSRUW HRZ established in several states and HYHU ZH UHJUHW WKDW QHLWKHU D VLQJOH communities across the counHRXVH RHSXEOLFDQ QRU DQ\ RWKHU try.

AmeriHealth Caritas is a 6HQDWRU MRLQHG WKHP WR SXVK IRU majority-owned subsidiary of FRYHUDJH IRU DOO FKLOGUHQ Independence Blue Cross; Blue TKH &') FWLRQ &RXQFLO VWURQJO\ Cross Blue$Shield of Michigan VXSSRUWV ORQJ RYHUGXH KHDOWK FRY holds a minority interest.

HUDJH IRU HYHU\RQH LQ $PHULFD DV â&#x20AC;&#x153;AmeriHealth Caritasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; VRRQ DV SRVVLEOHÂłEHFDXVH FKLOGUHQ legacy of caring â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which is FDQQRW ZDLW $V 6&HI3 FRPHV XS captured in its new name â&#x20AC;&#x201C; led DJDLQ IRU UHDXWKRUL]DWLRQ LQ HDUO\ to its becoming a nationally ZH KRSH HYHU\ 0HPEHU RI respected expert in care man&RQJUHVV ZLOO LQVLVW RQ FRYHULQJ agement in government-funded HYHU\ FKLOG DQG SUHJQDQW PRWKHU programs,â&#x20AC;? said Dan Hilferty, QRZ E\ HQDFWLQJ DQG DGHTXDWHO\ president and chief executive IXQGLQJ WKH SURYLVLRQV RI WKH $OO officer of Independence Blue HHDOWK\ &KLOGUHQ $FW Cross, which serves 7 million 6SHFLRXV FODLPV WKDW ZH FRXOG people nationwide. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Consider the QRW ILQG WKH PRQH\Âł ELOOLRQ proof: as a result of AmeriHealth RYHU ILYH \HDUVÂłWR FRYHU DOO Caritasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; passion for serving the FKLOGUHQ LV EHOLHG E\ WKDW DPRXQW hard-to-reach and chronically ill, VSHQW LQ HOHYHQ PRQWKV IRU WD[ FXWV membership increased by almost IRU WKH WRS RQH SHUFHQW RI ULFKHVW $PHULFDQV DQG LQ VHYHQ PRQWKV one-third in the past 15 months.â&#x20AC;?

IRU WKH IUDT :DU :H GR QRW KDYH AmeriHealth Caritas began D PRQH\ SUREOHP LQ $PHULFD :H as Mercy Health Plan in West KDYH D SULRULWLHV DQG SROLWLFDO ZLOO GHILFLW IW LV WLPH IRU DOO DGXOWV WR SURWHFW WKH KHDOWK RI RXU FKLOGUHQ

Company Doubles Number of Medicaid Plans, Increases Full-Risk Medicaid Membership by Nearly 30 Percent and Launches Medicare D-SNPs in Pennsylvania and South Carolina

Agency for Health Care Administration to serve Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Medicaid beneficiaries in Volusia County as Florida TrueBlue.

Florida is a joint Research True showsHealth a link between heart and brain heal venture between AmeriHealth heart function could lead to impaired brain functio and Florida Blue.

Additionally, in October 2012, the company was approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to offer Medicare Advantage Special Needs QHVV RI GLDEHWHV SDUWLFXODUO\ ZKHQ LQFUHDVHG S Plans (D-SNPs) to dual-eligible LW LV OHIW XQGLDJQRVHG DQG XQWUHDWHG GHOD\ RU SU beneficiaries in select counties GLDEHWHV TKH GD\ LV KHOG RQ WKH IRXUWK TXHVGD\ in Pennsylvania RI HYHU\ 0DUFK and South Car$PRQJ OQ WKDW GD\ SHRSOH DUH HQFRXU olina.

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There are approximately HOV KLJKHU WKDQ QRUPDO EXW QRW KLJK 9HQRXJK WR EH GLDJQRVHG ZLWK W\SH million dual-eligibles in the GLDEHWHV United States. About $350 bilEDUO\ LQWHUYHQWLRQ YLD OLIHVW\OH lion is spent each year on health FKDQJHV VXFK DV ZHLJKW ORVV DQG care for this population.

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Visit Us Online Rep. Brossett Responds to Opinion From the Attorney Generalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, @ TALK RADIO from page 4 www.theweeklypress.com Regarding the Authority of the LSU Board to Enter Into Privatization Of Hospitals DOO IXQQ\ RU UHPRWHO\ DSSURSUL â&#x20AC;&#x153;The response I have received DWH DERXW WKH XVH RI D O\QFKLQJ from Attorney General Caldwell UHIHUHQFH DERXW 0LFKHOOH OEDPD ¡¡ provides necessary answers to KH VDLG œ¡IW¡V I¡P VSHHFKOHVV ¡¡ WKH TXHVWLRQV , UDLVHG ODVW PRQWK $V 3UHVLGHQW %XVK SRLQWHG RXW Although the AGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opinion deterVR HORTXHQWO\ GXULQJ WKH %ODFN mined that legislative approval is HLVWRU\ 0RQWK HYHQW WKH QRRVH QRW UHTXLUHG WR IRUP SXEOLF SULUHSUHVHQWV œ¡PRUH WKDQ D WRRO RI vate partnerships, it did state that PXUGHU EXW D WRRO RI LQWLPLGDWLRQ¡¡ WKH /68 %RDUG LV VWLOO UHTXLUHG WR WR JHQHUDWLRQV RI $IULFDQ $PHUL SHUIRUP DOO RI LWV VWDWXWRULO\ UHTXLUHG FDQV 1RRVHV QRW RQO\ UREEHG VRPH duties and responsibilities for, and RI WKHLU OLYHV EXW PDQ\ RI WKHLU on behalf of, these state public hosSHDFH RI PLQG pitals.

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SPORTS

Banks Repeats As LSWA Coach Of The Year Courtesy LSWA HAMMOND, LA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; After guiding Southern University to its first appearance in the NCAA Championships since 2006, head coach Roman Banks was selected as the Louisiana Coach of the Year as the All-Louisiana Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Basketball Team was released on Saturday by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Banks, a Shreveport native and assistant coach at Southern from 1996-2002, repeated as the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top coach after leading the Jaguars to a 23-10 record and Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament championship. Under Banksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; guidance, Southern finished second among Division I schools in field goal defense (36.7 percent) and 12th in scoring defense (57.3 points per game). The Jaguars nearly pulled off an upset of top-seeded Gonzaga in the first round, falling to the Bulldogs, 64-58.

Josh Davis of Tulane was named the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Player of the Year, DeQuan Hicks of Northwestern State was voted as the Newcomer of the Year while Shawn Long of Louisiana-Lafayette was selected as the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Freshman of the Year. A panel of media voted members and sports information directors from the All-Louisiana team on across the state.

Davis was named the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Player of the Year after recording one of the top single-season performances in Tulane history averaging 17.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. On the season, the 6-foot-8 Davis scored 617 points and grabbed 374 rebounds â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the thirdmost by a Green Wave player in a single-season in each category.

The first-team All-Conference USA performer scored in double figures in 31 games and scored a career-

Head  Coach  Roman  Banks  was  selected  as  the  Louisiana  Coach  of  the  Year  as  the  All-­Louisiana  Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Basketball  Team  was  released  on  Saturday  by  the  Louisiana  Sports  Writers  Association.

high 27 points at Georgia Tech.

Hicks, a 6-7 junior and second-team selection, helped Northwestern State back to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2006 as he led the high-octane Demons in scoring (14.0 points) and rebounds (5.9) while finishing 11th nationally in field goal percentage (58.3 percent). Playing for the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second-highest scoring team, averaging 80.0 points per game, Hicks was selected as the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year and was a second-team All-Southland selection.

Long, from Morgan City and third-team selection, was the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overwhelming choice for Freshman of the Year after averaging 15.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

The Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year, Long finished the season as the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top freshman

rebounder and was 12th overall.

Long recorded 18 double-doubles on the season â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sixth nationally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and scored in double figures 30 times with a team-high 20-point contests. His 337 rebounds were the sixth-best in school history and his 10.2 rebounding average was the eighth-best mark.

Johnny Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Bryant of LSU, Raheem Appleby of Louisiana Tech, Fred Hunter of Nicholls State and Derick Beltran of Southern joined Davis on the first team.

Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Bryant averaged 13.6 points and grabbed 8.7 rebounds in earning first-team All-SEC honors by the leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head coaches.

The Cleveland, Miss., native led the SEC with 15 double-doubles and scored in double figures in 22 games. He recorded five straight double-doubles in SEC games and scored 30 points at South Carolina

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the first 30-point game by a Tiger in over three years.

Appleby, a first-team AllWestern Athletic Conference selection, was the key player in a Louisiana Tech team that posted a 27-7 record and an 18-game win streak â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the longest in the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 84-year history. Appleby scored at least 20 points in eight games, paced by a career-best 34 points at Georgia State. He added 28 points against WAC opponent Idaho, setting a career-high with seven 3-pointers.

Hunter, a fifth-year senior, averaged 19.9 points and 8.1 rebounds for the Colonels and was a first-team All-Southland Conference selection. The Denton, Texas native led Nicholls in scoring in 19 games and was the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top rebounder in 20 contests. Hunter scored a career-high 36 points in games against New Orleans and

Central Arkansas and twice pulled down a career-best 14 rebounds.

Beltran, the SWAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, averaged 15.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in helping lead Southern.

The Riverview, Fla., native earned first-team All-SWAC honors and buried a team-high 76 3-pointers on the season.

Joining Hicks on the second team was Elfrid Payton of Louisiana-Lafayette, Brandon Fortenberry of Southeastern Louisiana, Brandon Davis of LSU-Shreveport and Centenaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jonathan Blount.

Long was joined on the third team by Robert Lovaglio of Loyola, Rodney Milum of LSU-S, Malcolm Miller of Southern and Tulaneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ricky Tarrant.

Earning honorable mention notice was LSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Anthony Hickey, Jarrain Jenkins of Dillard, Northwestern Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jalan West and Shamir Davis and the Xavier tandem of Wanto Joseph and Denzell Erves. $// /28,6,$1$ 0(1¡6 %$6.(7%$// 7($0 ),567 7($0 Josh Davis, Tulane, F, Jr., Raleigh, N.C. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 17.6 ppg. 10.7 rpg.

Johnny Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Bryant, LSU, F, Soph., Cleveland, Miss. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 13.6 ppg., 8.7 rpg.

Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech, G, Soph., Jacksonville, Ark. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 14.9 ppg., 2.7 rpg.

Fred Hunter, Nicholls State, F, Sr., Denton, Texas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 19.9 ppg., 8.1 rpg.

Derick Beltran, Southern, G,

Sr., Riverview, Fla. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15.9 ppg., 4.5 rpg.

6(&21' 7($0 Elfrid Payton, Louisiana-Lafayette, G, Soph., Gretna, La. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15.9 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 5.5 assists Brandon Fortenberry, Southeastern Louisiana, G, Sr., Picayune, Miss. - 14.9 ppg., 4.5 rpg.

Brandon Davis, LSU-Shreveport, F, Jr., Pomona, Calif. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 21.8 ppg., 12.4 rpg., 3.9 assists DeQuan Hicks, Northwestern State, F, Jr., Racine, Wisc. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 14.0 ppg., 5.9 rpg., 1.6 steals Jonathan Blount, Centenary, G, Jr., Shreveport, La. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 21.0 ppg., 3.1 rpg.

7+,5' 7($0 Shawn Long, Louisiana-Lafayette, F, Fr., Morgan City, La. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15.5 ppg., 10.2 rpg.

Robert Lovaglio, Loyola, F, Jr., Winter Park, Fla. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 19.7 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 2.6 assists Rodney Milum, LSU-Shreveport, G, Sr., Houston, Texas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 22.8 ppg., 2.9 rpg.

Malcolm Miller, Southern, G, Jr., Midland, Texas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15.8 ppg., 6.0 rpg.

Ricky Tarrant, Tulane, G, Soph., Pleasant Grove, Ala. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15.7 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 3.6 assists Coach of the Year: Roman Banks, Southern Voting: Banks, Southern (17); Michael White, Louisiana Tech (9); Mike McConathy, Northwestern State (8); Kyle Blankenship, LSUShreveport (4).

A Division of Our Lady of the Lake

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on NBC Through 2015 Courtesy Southern U. Athletic Media Relations NEW ORLEANS, LA - New Orleans Convention Companies, Inc. announced last week that the 40th Annual Bayou Classic will once again be broadcast on NBC nationally. The agreement between the Bayou Classic and NBC Sports Group extends the national broadcast on NBC through the 2015 contest.

NBC Sports Group has been the home of The Bayou Classic since 1991. Last year, the nationally televised edition of the 39th Annual Bayou Classic saw a 19% rating increase.

In addition to the national broadcast, the contest will also be available on-demand at Hulu. com and NBC Sports Network will work with the 12 regional sports networks to re-air the game allowing the Bayou Classic to reach 50 million+ homes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The landscape of television sports is changing and it is important to us that The Bayou Classic continue to be an integral part of that landscape,â&#x20AC;? said Dottie Belletto, President of New Orleans Convention Companies, Inc., the management firm of The 40th Annual Bayou Classic. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This match of two HBCUs represents an important tradition within the community that we hope to continue for many years to come, and thanks to NBC Sports Group, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be able to see that come to fruition for an additional two years.â&#x20AC;?

Jeffrey Cokin, President of Cokin Communications, who negotiated the deal with NBC SPORTS GROUP, represented the Bayou Classic in contract talks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The insights and experience of Jeffrey Cokin have been key to achieving this new con-

tract with NBC Sports Group,â&#x20AC;? added Belletto. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Thanksgiving weekend, national time slot on NBC is important to building the tradition of our game and the Bayou Classic brand.â&#x20AC;?

About The Bayou Classic The Bayou Classic features one of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest college sports rivalries, bringing the fans and alumni of Southern University and Grambling State University to New Orleans for a celebration of football, family and the traditions and pageantry surrounding Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Proceeds from the annual series of Bayou Classic events provide support to the campusesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; athletic programs and fund scholarships through the SU System Foundation and the GSU Foundation.

The Bayou Classic was supported last year by the following organizations for the 39th annual series of events â&#x20AC;&#x201C; State Farm, MillerCoors, US Marine Corps, Toyota, Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board, The Home DepotÂŽ, The Coca-Cola Company, New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC), New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau, McDonalds, Cox Louisiana, Louisiana>AIDS (Louisiana Greater Than AIDS), The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, the French Market Corporation, Entergy, Visit Baton Rouge, Jacobs Engineering, State of Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Auberge Baton Rouge, Crystal Hot Sauce, CH2MHILL, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc., the Downtown Development District and 100 Black Men of Atlanta.