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Part 3: The life and death of Jimmy Jackson
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FEBRUARY 15 - FEBRUARY 21, 2013
VOLUME 21 NO. 7
‘THEY DESERVE A VOTE’ COMPILED FROM WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Hadiya Pendleton’s parents sat next to the first lady and listened, President Obama told the nation Tuesday that his gun proposals deserve a vote in Congress because of victims such as the slain 15-year-old Chicago honor student who was murdered at a park a mile from the Obamas’ Chicago home. Delivering his State of the Union address, Obama said that in the two months since the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., “more than 1,000 birthdays, graduations and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun.”
President Obama outlined a series of specific proposals in his State of the Union address, ending with a call for an up-or-down vote on gun violence prevention laws.
and killed in a Chicago park after school, just a mile away from my house.” Hadiya’s parents, Nathaniel Pendleton and Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, guests of First Lady Michelle Obama, stood and applauded as the president demanded that Congress consider his gun measures, saying that the parents of Hadiya and other shooting victims “deserve a vote.” More than 30 gun-violence survivors and loved ones were seated in the chamber during the speech. Many of them were part of a group that traveled to Washington this week to lobby for the president’s gun proposals.
leton,” the president said. “She was 15 years old. She loved Fig Newtons and lip gloss. She was a majorette. She was so good to her friends, they all thought they were her best friend. Four areas “Just three weeks ago, she was OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT Obama laid out plans in four here, in Washington, with her main areas – manufacturing, edNathaniel and Cleopatra Pendleton, the parents of murder victim ‘Loved lip gloss’ classmates, performing for her ucation, clean energy and infraHadiya Pendleton, stood with First Lady Michelle Obama as Presi“One of those we lost was a country at my inauguration,” he said. “A week later, she was shot See SOTU, Page A2 dent Obama gave his State of the Union Tuesday night. young girl named Hadiya Pend-
‘What about us?’
FLORIDA COURIER / OUT AND ABOUT
Blacks concerned about Obama’s focus on immigration
Taking some time off
BY WILLIAM DOUGLAS AND FRANCO ORDONEZ MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS / MCT
WASHINGTON, D.C. – No sooner did President Obama and a group of senators separately outline proposals to revamp the nation’s immigration system than the phone lines on several African-American-oriented talk radio shows heated up with callers blasting the plans. “Amnesty,” complained Frankie from Maryland recently on the nationally syndicated “Keeping it Real with Al Sharpton.” A political payback to Hispanic voters that does little or nothing for African-Americans, reasoned Sam from Milwaukee on Wisconsin’s 1290 WMCS AM’s “Earl Ingram Show.” “Our issues are not being highlighted and pushed, and things like gay marriage and (immigration) are being pushed to the forefront,” the caller said. “Hispanics are effectively organized. For us not to be organized and for us not to hold our leadership accountable is disheartening.”
Blacks ignored? Although the civil rights establishment, from the NAACP to the Urban League and Sharpton, squarely back Obama’s desire to tackle immigration, the president’s call has reignited complaints within the AfricanAmerican community that he is addressing the specific needs of almost all major voting blocs – Hispanics, women, gays – except for the African-Americans who gave him 93 percent of their vote. Obama addressed the immigration issue again Tuesday in his State of the Union address and is expected to do so when he visits Chicago and suburban Atlanta on Thursday
KIM GIBSON / FLORIDA COURIER
NBA Miami Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade took in a college basketball game last week between the University of Miami and the University of North Carolina in Miami. Florida Courier photojournalist Kim Gibson was also at the game.
See OBAMA, Page A2
SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3
Synthetic marijuana and bath salts still easy to get NATION | B3
Angela Davis still speaking out about injustices
BLACK HISTORY | B4
A look at those who broke barriers FINEST | B5
Meet Ashley
ALSO INSIDE
State seeks balance on drone flights
“If there was a problem and the drone is flying, and the crowd starts to scatter, any evidence that’s caught on that drone, on that camera, cannot be used as evidence,” Fewless said. “So if we have somebody in there with the crowd scattering – their child gets grabbed by somebody else and they take off in a different direction – even though we now have the suspect on video, we cannot use the drone evidence under this current language. And we don’t want that.”
BY MARGIE MENZEL THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
Lawmakers and police continue to wrangle over when law enforcement should be allowed to use unmanned drones, trying to settle on where the tipping point is on the balance scale of liberty and public safety. State Sen. Joe Negron, the chief advocate in the Legislature for what originally was envisioned as a hard ban on police use of the remote controlled aircraft, has already compromised to allow exceptions, including situations where police get a warrant, or where there’s an imminent risk of something like a terrorist attack. The Senate version (SB 92), of an anti-drone bill has been assigned to four committees, but has already been approved in two of those, and by unanimous votes in both. The House version (HB 119) of the measure flew through its first committee on last week.
Used around the state DON BARTLETTI/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT
A Predator unmanned drone flies a training mission over Victorville, Cal.
Cops against bill But Negron and police couldn’t agree on the use of drones as extra eyes in the sky at largecrowd events, such as a football game. Capt. Michael Fewless of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told the Senate Community Affairs Committee that police would like to be able to use drones to videotape big events like college bowl games, where there is no expectation of privacy.
The drones cost about $50,000 apiece, according to Fewless, and require only the cost of gas, compared to $400 an hour to operate a helicopter. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has two drones and three helicopters. Police in Miami also have drones, although so far their use has been limited. Negron said he wants to protect what he considers the right of Floridians against unreasonable search and seizure before the use of drones becomes “ubiquitous.” Florida would be the first state to pass such a ban on the use of unmanned aircraft by police, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which supports Negron’s bill.
COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: DR. WILMER LEON: IS THE USE OF DRONES TO KILL AMERICANS UNCONSTITUTIONAL? | A4