baton
THURSDAY, december 8, 2011
rouge,
louisiana
Vol. 36 • No. 29
a people’s publication
Maritime Security Operations Center Opening Plans Underway To Bring Ceremony at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge Grocery, Fresh Foods To Scotlandville ‘Desert’
Photo by James Terry III
Shown in the photo is Edgar Cage, commentator with Mr. William Jones at the St. Michael Episcopal Church, where the discussion was about bringing a grocery store to the Scotlandville community. The new Maritime Security Operations Center at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge.
BATON ROUGE, LA - A keynote address by a U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral, comments from members of Congress and a ribbon cutting were among the activities held this morning, December 5th, 2011 to dedicate the
IRS Seeks to Return $153 Million in Undelivered Checks to Taxpayers WASHINGTON — In an annual reminder to taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service announced today that it is looking to return $153.3 million in undelivered tax refund checks. In all, 99,123 taxpayers are due refund checks this year that could not be delivered because of mailing address errors. Undelivered refund checks average $1,547 this year. Taxpayers who believe their refund check may have been returned to the IRS as undelivered should use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov. The tool will provide the status of their refund and, in some cases, instructions on how to resolve delivery problems. Taxpayers checking on a refund over the phone will receive instructions on how to update their addresses. Taxpayers can access a telephone version of “Where’s My Refund?” by calling 1-800-8291954. While only a small percentage of checks mailed out by the IRS are returned as undelivered, taxpayers can put an end to lost, stolen or undelivered checks by choosing direct deposit when they file either paper or electronic returns. Last year, more than 78.4 million taxpayers chose to receive their refund through direct deposit. Taxpayers can See IRS, on page 3
new Maritime Security Operations Center at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. The recently completed facility overlooking the Mississippi River and the capitol city is located next to the port’s admin-
By Jasmine Hastings Josef Syndicate reporter istrative offices in Port Allen. This regional center has the capacity and resources to operate during catastrophic events such as hurricanes, floods or other natural or man-made disasters and will assist multiple federal, state and
local agencies in responding to maritime emergencies and in facilitating security of the Mississippi River in the port region, which encompasses approxiSee maritime, on page 2
Condoleezza Rice Says America Will Never Be Race Blind In 2004, then-U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama made his national political debut by delivering an eloquent and moving keynote address at the Democratic National Convention about the role of race and a more perfect union in this nation that would aspire to provide educational and economic opportunities for all. Four years later, he became the first African-American to be elected president of the United States. But, according to former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, the second African-American to serve in
that role, despite how far the nation has progressed, it still has a long way to go. “We have a Black president. We’ve had two Black secretaries of state. We have Black CEOs. Obviously African-Americans are pushing way into territories that, probably, my grandparents would never have thought possible,” Rice said on CBS’s Face the Nation, but added that race will always be a factor in American life. “It is a birth defect with which this country was born
Condoleezza Rice
See blind, on page 7
SCOTLANDVILLE - The Food Access Team of Together Baton Rouge revealed the organization’s plan to bring a “high-quality” grocery store or farmers market to North Baton Rouge, an area identified as a food desert for decades. “The progress we have made in less than three months is very encouraging. We are not there yet, I don’t want to be too optimistic but we are very, very close,” said Together Baton Rouge leader Edgar Cage. The organization looked to Nielsen Company research to understand the Scotlandville market. The company reported that the 2011 demand for food and beverage stores in north Baton Rouge is more than $20.9 million dollars, while the supply was only $7.6 million. “This leaves a leakage of $13.3 million which has an investor interested,” said Cage. The investor, identified as connected with Associated Groceries, is interested in property adjacent to the Palisades apartments on Scenic Highway, near Southern
University. Although the property has legal issues, redevelopment authorities said they can be resolved and two to three acres can be carved from the 10-acre track for a grocery store. “(The grocery) will be brand new, serve this neighborhood, and it will be in accessible to the people,” said Together Baton Rouge leader Margret Reed. But, Broderick Bagert, lead Together Baton Rouge organizer, said this is nowhere near being a done deal. “Although the land looks like it has potential, the community is merely organizing for this. No one is saying ‘we want to put a grocery store in Scotlandville,’ it’s the community saying this is what we want.’” Bagert said. Now the broader community needs to respond by completing a food access survey, organizers residents who met Dec. 1 at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 1620 77th Ave. This was the first public food access committee meeting. The next meeting will be February 9 at 6:30 at the church. Surveys were distributed for residents to share with See plans, on page 3
Attorney General Buddy Caldwell Recognized for Strengthening Diversity New Orleans --Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has received the Diversity Challenge Award from the Network 2011 Coalition. Caldwell was honored during an awards ceremony in New Orleans on November 25. The Network Coalition is a collaboration of elected and appointed officials from various organizations and business and religious leaders from across the state. Special awards are presented annually to outstanding
Pigford Settlement Claims Filing Period Opens
individuals who demonstrate the willingness to make a difference in public service. Other recipients of special merit awards at this year’s event included State Senator Sharon Weston Broome, State Representative Herbert Dixon, Baton Rouge Attorney and former National President of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Arthur Thomas, and former National President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Adrian Wallace.
local & state news
Pictured from left to right are Wallace, Caldwell, Broome, Dixon, and Thomas.
Business NEWS
Health news
religion
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage had commandeered the Christmas decorating operation for yet another year. I am not quite sure how she remembers when to start all of this, ...See Page 6
INDEX
Alumni Association Christmas Baskets Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently reminded African American farmers and ranchers that the period to file a claim in the Pigford II settlement has opened, and eligible candidates must file claims no later than May 11, 2012....See Page 3
The Scotlandville High School Hornets Alumni Association will distribute “Christmas Baskets” containing all the essential items for a complete Christmas dinner on December 13, 2011 at 1:00 p.m for Scotlandville residence. . ...See Page 3
Andrews Receives Visionary Award
Dr. Donald R. Andrews, dean of Southern University’s College of Business, the recipient of the “Charles I. Hudson Visionary Award”...See Page 5
Diabetic Eye Disease
Diabetes affects nearly 26 million people in the United States. In addition, another 79 million people are estimated to have pre-diabetes, a condition that puts people at increased risk for diabetes...See Page 7
Local & State............................2 Commentary.............................4 Business....................................5 Religion....................................6 Health.......................................7 Sports.......................................8
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