Florida Courier - March 07, 2014

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MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

VOLUME 22 NO. 10

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‘MY BROTHER’S KEEPER’ President Obama announces an initiative for Black and Latino young men, but depends on private and corporate funding to make it work.

BY CHRISTI PARSONS TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU /MCT

WASHINGTON – After addressing the issue of race sparingly in his first term, President Obama unveiled an initiative explicitly aimed at a group he says demands urgent attention – Black and Latino young men.

On Feb. 27, Obama announced a program called My Brother’s Keeper and ordered the federal government to focus resources on programs that had been proved to help minority young men stay out of trouble, succeed in school and land good jobs.

Urgent situation “So often, the issues facing boys and young men of color get caught up in long-running ideological arguments – about race and class and crime and poverty, the role of government, partisan politics,” the president said in a packed White House East Room.

“But the urgency of the situation requires us to move past some of those old arguments and focus on getting something done and focusing on what works. Doesn’t mean the arguments are unimportant; it just means that they can’t paralyze us.”

The initiative was shaped in part by two meetings Obama had

with a chapter of the Chicagobased group Becoming a Man, which left a deep impression on the president and the group’s young African-American men.

The last time they saw the president, they presented him with a Father’s Day card in the Oval Office, leaving him speechless.

‘Felt the flame’ Obama was introduced by Christian Champagne, an 18-year-old junior at Hyde Park Academy High School, who said he was coasting along with B’s and C’s when he listened to the president talk about his own struggles growing up without a father at

25 YEARS, EIGHT STATEWIDE

Happy birthday to us!

THE WHITE HOUSE

President Obama announced his new initiative focusing on improving the lives of Black and Latino boys and young men.

The effort will resemble others home. Now Champagne said he earns A’s and B’s and plans to go in Obama’s second-term agenda, to college. as it relies on existing resources, “I felt the flame in me,” he said recruits private-sector participain an interview. “I wanted to be See OBAMA, Page A2 more.”

Legislature starts session Scott gives state of state as Thurston responds FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

TALLAHASSEE – With a difficult battle for re-election looming, Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday used the final State of the State address of his first term to frame the campaign and the role of his personal biography in it.

The half-hour speech, delivered before a joint meeting of the Legislature, plowed little to no new ground on the policies the governor will tout during the 60-day session that opened Tuesday.

But Scott used the speech to connect his family’s financial troubles when he was young to his quest to bring more jobs to the state, and to introduce what seems to be his theme for the fall: “Let’s Keep Working.”

Criticizes Crist

nor as a Democrat.

“Four years ago, people were down on Florida: high unemployment, shrinking home values,” Scott said. “Florida was in retreat. ... But now, we are on the rise. Jobs are coming back, career opportunities are growing, home values are improving, and there is simply no reason that Florida cannot be the number one state in the country to find a good job, raise a family and achieve the American dream.”

The speech comes as Scott continues to trail Crist in the polls and has slimmed his legislative agenda to focus on one politically popular major issue: $500 million in tax and fee cuts.

Scott also spent much of his time Tuesday highlighting the stories of Floridians who had found work in the last few years, as well as recognizing Florida State head football coach Jimbo Fisher for the Seminoles’ national championship.

Dems respond

Scott also used the occasion to Perry Thurston, the Democratic flay the administration of former Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican leader in the House of RepresentaSee SESSION, Page A2 predecessor now running for gover-

RED HUBER/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

The Dream Defenders blocked the entrance to the Sanford Police Department in 2012 in protest against the handling of Trayvon Martin’s homicide case by police.

Dream Defenders return to Capitol THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

With this week’s issue, the Florida Courier celebrates its 25th year of continuous weekly publication and its seventh year as Florida’s only statewide Black-owned newspaper. The newspaper was founded in March 1989 by the late Charles W. Cherry, Sr. with its original news focus on St. Lucie County (Fort Pierce). Our first statewide issue, above, featured a lead article on bootlegging.

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

House proposal ranks stadium funding requests

ALSO INSIDE

NATION | A6

Clinton would face old challenges for 2016

UNCF honors AKA president

SPORTS | B3

FHSAA state basketball winners

TALLAHASSEE – After leading a month-long demonstration last year outside the governor’s office, members of the Dream Defenders returned to the Capitol on Tuesday to protest on the opening day of the legislative session.

About 100 members of the group gathered between the House and Senate chambers, chanting and calling for an end to zero-tolerance policies in Florida schools and once again asking for lawmakers to look at changing Florida’s gun laws.

Members of the group spent a month sleeping inside the Capitol last summer, after George Zimmerman was found not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin in a Seminole County case that drew nation-

al attention.

Dream Defender Ciara Taylor said Tuesday even though the makeup of the Legislature has not changed since then, her group has gained the respect of lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.

“What has changed since last session is our reputation,’’ Taylor said.

“People know that we are not afraid to sit or sleep in people’s offices to get what we feel we need to protect our communities here in Florida.”

A strong police presence was visible near the Dream Defenders all day. On a few occasions, there was talk the group would be removed from the Capitol. The chanting was loud enough to be heard in both legislative chambers when the Senate and House were in session.

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: ROGER CALDWELL: KUDOS TO OBAMA AND ‘MY BROTHER’S KEEPER’ INITIATIVE | A5

FOCUS

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MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

Russia is playing America for a chump It seems that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is the latest in a series of interaction between this aggressive government and the United States.

In 2008, when Russia invaded the nation of Georgia that was flaunting total freedom from Russian influence, we imposed economic and trade sanctions on Russia in retaliation. So when the Obama administration came in and appointed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, they decided to be nice to Russia and hope that things would get better.

So here we are. Russia has a president who wrestles bears and has a background as a KGB professional (their version of the US Central Intelligence Agency). We have a president whose background is that of a community organizer and wears “mom jeans.”

‘Overcharge,’ not ‘reset’

Don’t slash now

Secretary Clinton said they want to “reset” with Russia. In a public ceremony, they held a gadget that said “reset.” It was actually a device for a Jacuzzi which they pilfered from their hotel.

She exclaimed in Russian, “Reset!” They should have checked the actual translation. The Russian foreign secretary said that wasn’t “reset;” rather, it meant “overcharge.” How amateurish and clumsy.

While they ended all the sanctions as a good gesture and a new start, Russian President Vladimir Putin must have been smiling and said to himself, “They are so weak.”

Russia is building up its military as is China, India, Iran and others who might rival us soon.

We are proposing to slash our military like never before as “hot spots” are starting to appear right before us.

We shrunk our military in like fashion after World War II. It resulted in North Korea, Russia and China figuring we did not have the guts to support South Korea, so they invaded. We had to lose a lot of young soldiers in that war because we weren’t ready. Let us recall that hard lesson and do not repeat it.

We didn’t see this Ukraine event coming, although Sarah

HARRY C. ALFORD NNPA COLUMNIST

Palin and Mitt Romney predicted such an event.

Russia lined up 150,000 troops along their border with Ukraine and sent in another 15,000 troops into the Crimea region of the nation, which is populated with many people of Russian descent.

Putin claimed he was going in to protect those ethnic Russians.

Funny, that is the same reason Adolph Hitler gave when he invaded Czechoslovakia and Romania.

Wasn’t there The White House called an emergency strategy meeting.

They were all there except one person – our president. The next day, he put in a round of golf and then headed a fundraiser. It was like Benghazi, when four Americans were killed and he could not be found. The next day, he flew to Las Vegas for a fundraiser.

I don’t think President Obama understands or responds to pressure. Others would say he is frightened. The night our Navy SEALS went in to Pakistan to assassinate Osama bin Laden, Obama played cards with a friend and two reporters until the deed was done. He couldn’t stand to watch it.

What should he do now that

Russia has thrown down? Europe is intimidated because Russia has a monopoly on supplying coal and natural gas to those nations.

Economic opportunity We can actually begin selling coal to Europe at a better price.

We can also begin exporting natural gas, since we have become so productive via the fracking process we have started. The problem is President Obama’s cronies, the environmental movement, will complain as they want to kill coal and stop fracking.

We can’t stop as there is too much money to be made in trade and no proof of environmental danger. Nations like Russia, Brazil, China and India certainly aren’t caring about it as they use this energy like I-40 going east.

Our energy is about national security and our economic future.

This will also give our allies reason to stand strong and resist the evil ways of Putin.

Our president gave a kneejerk reaction by exclaiming he will not attend the next G8 Summit in protest of the invasion. He should have checked with our allies first. None of them are saying such and will probably attend.

Thus, we are going to be the only

SESSION

GOP pushes back “I thought it was a speech that reflected on the last three years and where we had come, and I think it reflects where we need to go in the state of Florida,” said Sen. John Thrasher, the St. Augustine Republican who doubles as Scott’s campaign chairman. “To me, I don’t think it was a campaign speech as much as I

OBAMA from A1

tion and depends not at all on the approval of Congress.

He’s calling on prominent men of color – Colin Powell and Magic Johnson are already on board – to bring police, business and philanthropic leaders to the cause.

Race-conscious remedy But the initiative is unique for Obama in that it targets beneficiaries specifically by race, a departure for the first AfricanAmerican president, who typically talks about disadvantages in economic terms rather than racial ones.

The announcement comes almost exactly two years after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the Black Florida teenager whose death provoked some of the president’s most personal remarks on race and prodded him to think about a broad-based approach to the difficulties such men face.

“If I had a son,” Obama said then, “he’d look like Trayvon.”

Martin’s parents were at the White House event.

Sobering reminder Last year, Obama had his first

Build the shield One thing we should do is start building the missile shield system we promised Poland and Czechoslovakia. This is justified, now that we know Russia is longing for the old Soviet Union days of invading its neighbors and exploiting its power through bullying.

This is about having courage and strength. Think of a schoolyard. Bullies do not choose to fight those who are willing to fight if it is necessary. Only those who are timid, unprepared and without courage will suffer from the bullying. America, let’s be strong once again.

Harry C. Alford is the cofounder and president/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Contact him via www.nationalbcc.org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

said. “I commend to you instead the advice of Theodore Roosevelt who said that each of us is given his ‘crowded hour’ to do great things even when risking failure, but to never be ‘with those poor spirits who live in the gray twilight of fear and indecision that knows neither victory nor defeat.’ Starting now we have 60 days. Sixty days. Let’s fill them with crowded hours.”

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tives, responded to Scott on behalf of the Democratic Party.

“After 16 years of Republican control, their strategies are failing to meet the needs of working families and are favoring wealthy special interests,” Thurston said.

He shared a Democratic “alternative vision,” including raising Perry Florida’s miniThurston mum wage to $10.10 an hour, opposing fee hikes on drivers’ licenses and automobile registrations, expanding health coverage using available federal dollars, and investing more in education.

Other Democrats saw politics at play in the governor’s remarks, saying the speech was more focused on the campaign than the issues lawmakers will confront in the legislative session.

“Floridians heard clearly that Rick Scott only cares about his own re-election,” Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant said in response to the address. “This speech wasn’t about the state of Florida. It was about the state of Rick Scott’s campaign, and he is desperate.”

member absent and will be seen as an outlier. We aren’t going to isolate Russia, but we will isolate ourselves. He should take this back.

Help coming

COURTESY OF THE FLORIDA CHANNEL

Gov. Rick Scott’s fourth ‘State of the State’ address set the tone for his upcoming re-election campaign. thought it was a roadmap to what we need to do to continue to be successful in our state.”

But while he pointed out that Crist was never mentioned by name in the speech, Thrasher slammed the former governor nonetheless.

“Charlie Crist left this state in a disastrous situation,” Thrasher said. “He was more interested in promoting his own personal interest in running for vice president and then running for United States Senate than he was trying to help fix the problems of the state of Florida.”

Crist, who himself faced allegations that he sometimes used the

State of the State to boost his campaign, slammed Scott’s speech and the governor’s polices over the last three years.

“With the blessing of the people, next year I will deliver a State of the State that puts people first,” he said.

meeting with the boys of the Becoming a Man mentoring program at Hyde Park Academy High School, about a mile from his South Side Chicago home, a fresh reminder of his own personal connection to the precarious fortunes of young Black men in America.

“He was really struck by the fact that, if he had grown up in Chicago, he might have not had the same opportunities he had,” said Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser and close Obama family friend.

Around that time, Obama directed his staff to start looking at how to help African-American boys in ways that didn’t involve any grand new federal programs.

The result is a public-private partnership designed to better focus existing government funds and to leverage private investment. The official announcement, originally scheduled for two weeks ago, was delayed by a snowstorm.

“The presumption that a private-public partnership could actually address the depths of the social misery confronting this population is, at best, misguided.”

Memo signed Obama also signed a presidential memorandum setting up a task force to figure out which public and private efforts are working and how to expand upon them. The task force will recommend ways to create incentives for state and local govern-

‘Shot clock’ Scott’s speech followed remarks by House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, who highlighted their priorities for the session. The two leaders have unveiled a joint House-Senate “Work Plan” meant

Eddie Glaude

Head of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University ments and the private sector to invest in the most effective programs.

Several foundation leaders joined Obama to announce plans to invest at least $200 million over the next five years in education, parenting, criminal justice and job programs.

The president decided to address such problems in terms of race for practical reasons, advisers say.

“He feels that we should have an honest conversation, and that, if we’re willing to do that, it will lead to progress,” Jarrett said.

to guide the chambers through the next two months.

“My friends, we’re on the shot clock,” Gaetz said.

Gaetz then spent about 20 minutes highlighting work-plan items like toughening laws dealing with sexual predators, approving a proposal aimed at helping soldiers and veterans, expanding school vouchers, requiring elected officials to live in their districts and overhauling the pension system for public employees. He wrapped up by quoting Theodore Roosevelt.

“Some say that the second year of a presiding officer’s term is not supposed to be ambitious,” Gaetz

Obama only occasionally spoke about racial issues in his first term. After his re-election in 2012, he began to display a new openness to discussing the subject, speaking overseas about the U.S. history of slavery and discussing his own experiences as a Black man after the Martin killing.

Limited policies With the initiative’s announcement, Obama addressed the subject in the form of policy. Some Black commentators welcomed the explicit talk, even if some were disappointed to see Obama admit he couldn’t set things right on a grander scale.

“The presumption that a private-public partnership could actually address the depths of the social misery confronting this population is, at best, misguided,” said Eddie Glaude, head of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University.

“That’s not to say it’s not needed.

But it’s the equivalent of a BandAid on a gunshot wound.

“We have babies who are starving, and families who can’t keep roofs over their heads, and workers who can’t find jobs, and our conception of government is so anemic that we can’t muster the resources to respond,” Glaude said.

For his part, Weatherford presented the work plan as an antipoverty initiative. Democrats nationwide have signaled that they are prepared to try to use the issue of income inequality to bludgeon Republicans in the fall, but Weatherford said small-government policies will help lower-income Floridians.

“I believe that strong families, a quality education and a good paying job are the only ways to disrupt poverty in this state and this country – particularly when they’re generational,” he said.

The speaker also reiterated his call to provide in-state tuition at state colleges and universities for students who are living in Florida illegally after being brought to the state by their parents.

“We invest tens of thousands of dollars to educate them through the 12th grade,” he said. “And then we shut the door on their future.

And we no longer treat them as if they’re Floridians. It makes no sense fiscally, it makes no sense economically, and it makes no sense morally – because we should never punish a child for the mistake of their parents.”

But that proposal is not included in the work plan and could run into trouble in the Senate.

Brandon Larrabee of the News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

Function of necessity Like so much of Obama’s agenda, the plans for My Brother’s Keeper are a function of necessity. Congress isn’t approving much of anything Obama proposes, so he must work with available resources.

The impact may be narrow, aides acknowledge, but it’s real.

The president has seen the results in his interaction with the Becoming a Man group from Hyde Park Academy.

Personal motivation “I think the president’s getting as much out of this as they are,” said Anthony Ramirez-Di Vittorio, a clinical social worker at the Youth Guidance nonprofit that runs the program, which he founded. “This is not a political moment. This is a moment of fatherliness.”

A year ago, Obama sat down with a dozen young men for their weekly “check-in circle” at their campus. Last summer, he invited them to his own circle – the Oval Office.

“It has definitely given me motivation,” said Kerron Turner, a 19-year-old senior. “Having the president there, talking to you ... it makes you want to put on your A-game.”

MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

FLORIDA

A3

House proposal ranks stadium funding requests Panel establishes guidelines for venues seeking sales-tax dollars

would have five years before an analysis would be used that sets the benchmarks for repayments.

Concern about investors

BY JIM TURNER NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – The new pro soccer franchise in Orlando and Daytona International Speedway would be put on the same playing field with teams from other major leagues when seeking state salestax dollars, under a measure advanced Monday in the House.

The House Economic Affairs Committee voted 17-2 to support a proposal (PCB 14-02) by Chairman Jimmy Patronis that would establish application guidelines – including a ranking system and repayment provisions – for the owners of stadiums asking the state to help fund construction or facility upgrades that top $100 million.

“We want to encourage larger, bigger, bolder venues that hopefully have greater economic impact,” said Patronis, a Panama City Republican.

2015 delay proposed The proposal would delay any government or private stadium funding requests now before the state until at least the 2015 legislative session, while expanding the number of organizations that could be eligible for state

JEFF SINER/CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/MCT

Workers attempt to dry the Daytona International Speedway track during a rain delay in the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach on Feb. 23. A Florida House committee voted Monday to expand the number of organizations that could be eligible for state sales-tax dollars to include Major League Soccer franchises and the Daytona International Speedway. sales-tax dollars to include Major League Soccer franchises and NASCAR speedways.

Currently, teams tied to Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association are eligible for sales-tax dollars for stadium work.

Stadium proposals for Major League Soccer in Orlando, the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and Daytona International Speedway failed in the 2013 session.

Lukewarm support On Monday, backers of some of those stadium projects expressed lukewarm support for Patronis’ proposal due to the repayment provisions.

Repayment, with a 5 percent penalty, would be required if a project fails to boost sales taxes by numbers projected in the application or if the team leaves a complex before the agreement expires.

For an existing stadium, improvements would have to immediately generate higher salestax numbers, while new stadiums

Miami Dolphins Lobbyist Ron Book said investors will not finance projects with provisions requiring an applicant to repay money if sales-tax numbers don’t grow to pre-set numbers.

“If you set those incremental increases, and you chisel those into a place, and you don’t wait until the end of a period to allow a franchise or facility to true up, you won’t get an investment company to come in and agree to do a financing,” Book said.

Patronis said the repayment provisions are intended to require applicants to be more realistic when projecting how much economic impact projects will create.

“We’re going to make sure that the numbers they come in with in their proposal are very conservative, we’re going to make sure they’re hitting their goals,” Patronis said. “And if they exceed the sales-tax benefits that they say they’re going to bring the state, we’ll give them one warm pat on the back.”

Timeline for owners The overall proposal also sets a timeline for owners of stadiums, private or government operated, to apply for funding from the state Department of Economic

Opportunity, which would rank projects for viability and the potential return on investment for the state.

A pool of $12 million a year would be available for stadium projects. A maximum of $2 million could be designated for any one project, of which 25 percent would remain with the state.

The rankings would go before state lawmakers to determine if projects should be funded.

Economic process debate Having resisted individual funding proposals for stadiums in the past, Americans for Prosperity of Florida opposes the proposal by Patronis for expanding the potential number of teams that could seek state funding.

“I’m not entirely sure why it became acceptable for Floridians’ hard-earned tax dollars to subsidize multimillion-dollar private enterprises,” said Abigail MacIver, director of policy for the conservative group funded in large part by the billionaire Koch brothers.

Rep. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, said the proposal doesn’t allocate any money and starts a debate on establishing a long-needed economic development process.

“I don’t give a hoot about a billionaire sports franchise owner.

When I make an investment in anything, I look at it as what is going to be the return on that investment,” Hooper said. “There is no doubt that international sports franchises, they attract people.”

Disney won’t give money to Boy Scouts because of gay-leaders ban

BY ADOLFO FLORES LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Starting in 2015 the Boy Scouts of America’s policy banning adult leaders who are gay will cost the organization donations from the Walt Disney Co. Though Disney doesn’t provide money to the Boy

Scouts’ national or local councils, the Burbank, Calif.-based company with major theme parks in Anaheim and Orlando provides small grants to local troops and packs, said Deron Smith, a Boy Scouts spokesman.

“We believe every child deserves the opportunity to be a part of the Scouting

experience and we are disappointed in this decision because it will impact our ability to serve kids,” Smith said in a written statement.

The grants have been given through a Disney program that would donate money to the Scouts in exchange for volunteer hours completed by its employees.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE FOR BLACK STUDENTS. NO EXCUSES. The classic guide from Florida Courier publisher, lawyer and broadcaster CHARLES W. CHERRY II PRAISE FOR ‘EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCUSE’: “This guide for African-American college-bound students is packed with practical and insightful information for achieving academic success...The primary focus here is to equip students with the savvy and networking skills to maneuver themselves through the academic maze of higher education.”

– Book review, School Library Journal • How low expectations of Black students’ achievements can get them higher grades; • Want a great grade? Prepare to cheat!

• How Black students can program their minds for success; • Setting goals – When to tell everybody, and when to keep your mouth shut; • Black English, and why Black students must be ‘bilingual.’ …AND MUCH MORE!

www.excellencewithoutexcuse.com Download immediately as an eBook or a pdf Order softcover online, from Amazon, or your local bookstore ISBN#978-1-56385-500-9 Published by International Scholastic Press, LLC Contact Charles at ccherry2@gmail.com

Facebook ccherry2 excellencewithoutexcuse

for info on speeches, workshops, seminars, book signings, panel discussions.

Twitter @ccherry2

Disney did not return calls for comment.

Until recently, gay people were banned from the Boy Scouts. The restriction on minors was lifted effective Jan. 1, but the group kept the restriction against adult Scout leaders.

According to the Associated Press, the company’s decision was made public

after the president of a local Boy Scouts council in Apopka sent local troops a memo on Disney’s move.

Robert Utsey’s letter was posted on the website for Scouts for Equality, an organization advocating against the ban on gay leaders. Utsey said the National Boy Scouts of America Council had reached out to

Disney to try to resolve the situation.

“However, according to (Walt Disney World), their views do not currently align with the BSA,” Utsey said.

“We will continue to keep an open line of communication with them, but at this time, are unable to reverse their decision.”

FAMU’s recruitment tour heads to Central, South Florida SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

TALLAHASSEE – After receiving an overwhelming response from last year’s President’s Tour, Florida A&M University (FAMU) Interim President Larry Robinson will return to several South and Central Florida cities to recruit the best and brightest high school seniors.

The 2014 President’s Tour is scheduled to begin March 8 through March 10 stopping in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Tampa and Miami.

Last year’s President’s Tour ignited a 10 percent increase in admissions applications at FAMU, as nearly $325,000 in scholarships were awarded.

Glimpse into FAMU experience The annual tour is an effort to recruit some of the top-performing students in the state. Interim President Robinson will meet with students and parents to award scholarships on the spot to students who meet presidential scholarship requirements.

“The importance of the President’s Tour is that it allows us to realize our goal to recruit outstanding students wishing to achieve their educational dreams,” Robinson said. “It also allows us to share, with prospective students and their families, FAMU’s wonderful array of academic and cultural programs, and inspire alumni and friends to continue their much needed and appreciated support of this great institution.”

High school seniors and their parents are invited to attend all tour stops.

The FAMU Connection, the university’s recruitment and performing group, will provide entertainment and give students a glimpse into the FAMU experience.

FAMU’s administrators, student leaders, representatives from the colleges and schools and alumni will accompany Interim President Robinson.

Life Gets Better Award The scholarships presented during the tour will include the Life Gets Better Scholarship and the Distinguished Scholar Award.

To qualify for the Life Gets Better Scholarship, a student must be designated as a National Achievement Scholar or Merit Semifinalist majoring in one of the following STEM programs: biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, physics, environmental science or mathematics.

Students must have a 1950 SAT score or a 29 on the ACT and a 3.5 GPA. Recipients of this scholarship will also receive a stipend

COURTESY OF FAMU

Florida A&M University Interim President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., met Michelle Wilson and her family during last year’s recruitment stop in Miami.

Wilson now studies cellular and molecular biology at FAMU. each semester for miscellaneous expenses, internship opportunities and a laptop.

The Distinguished Scholar Award will be offered to students who have achieved an 1800 on the SAT or 27 on the ACT and maintain a 3.5 GPA. Partial scholarships will be offered to incoming freshmen who have at least a 1650 on the SAT or 23 on the ACT and at least a 3.0 GPA.

Schedule continues Saturday The tour schedule is as follows: Tampa March 8 at 7 p. m.

Hillsborough Community College Dale Mabry Campus Auditorium 4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd.

813-253-7000 Fort Myers March 9 at 3 p.m.

Dunbar Community School Auditorium 1857 High Street 239-334-2941 Fort Lauderdale March 10 at 10 a.m.

Dillard High School 2501 N.W. 11th Street 754-322-0800 Miami March 10 at 6:30 p.m.

The Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater Cultural Arts Complex 819 NW 2nd Ave. 305-636-2390 For more information about the tour, contact the FAMU Division of Student Affairs at 850-599-3183.

EDITORIAL

A4

MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

Endorsing Common Core state standards “You can’t allow 15,000 school boards to home bake their own little standards subject to their own political pressures and think we are going to have international competitiveness. We have to at least have some bare minimum core standards if our young people are going to compete.”

Congressional Black Caucus member, Rep. Bobby Scott

cy, business and education dents need to learn at each leaders are in full support. grade level, but they do not dictate how teachers should teach. Teachers will continWhat common MARC H. ue to devise lesson plans and core is MORIAL tailor instruction to the indiFirst, let’s clarify exact- vidual needs of the students TRICE EDNEY WIRE ly what CCSS is and what it in their classrooms, ideally an historic opportunity to is not. The Common Core utilizing the state standards raise academic standards Standards were developed to create even more engagand better prepare students by Governors and chief ing and educational apfor college and good jobs. state school officers from proaches and content.

If implemented effectively, both sides of the aisle who CCSS will help bridge the brought together teachers, Key standards achievement gap by leveling parents, school administraThere is a quiet – yet in- the playing field so that all tors and education experts suggested In order to move us forcreasingly disruptive – rev- students, regardless of race, to write them. Despite what olution underway in Amer- geography or income, have some of its critics claim, CC- ward, it was determined ican education. Since 2010, an equal shot at gaining the SS is not a top-down, “Big that the Common Core State Standards must be: 45 states, the District of Co- knowledge and skills neces- Brother,” federal program.

Second, we are talking • Aligned with expectalumbia, and the Depart- sary to succeed in the 21st ment of Defense have ad- century global economy. about academic standards, tions for college and career opted Common Core State The National Urban League not a standardized curricu- success Standards (CCSS) in their and a broad cross-section lum. Common Core stanClear and consistent schools. This represents of civil rights, public poli- dards establish what stu- across all states Inclusive of contentbased knowledge and highorder reasoning skills VISUAL VIEWPOINT: ARIZONA An improvement upon current state standards and standards of top-performing nations Reality-based for effective use in the classroom Evidence and researchbased

Finally, it must be said that CCSS can only be successful if it is equitably and similarly implemented in a high-quality manner. Given that excellence and equity are inseparable, states, districts, teachers and principals must have the resources and supports necessary to fully realize the promise of Common Core State Standards.

The National Urban League will continue to join parents, educators, as well as civic and business leaders, in insisting that implementation is resourced equitably and responsibly. However, it is neither fair nor accurate to assert that the Common Core State Standards are a failure because of recent implementation challenges – for any innovation requires adjustments on its path to success. We do not need to figure out new standards; we need to figure out how to implement these effectively and equitably.

leveling of the playing field in education and the injection of additional quality as we do so. It does not serve our nation or our future when some children are systemically less prepared than others, nor does it serve our nation to have this issue tossed onto a political battlefield where it becomes a casualty of partisanship and deliberate misinformation. Instead this moment should be an opportunity for education stakeholders – parents, students, teachers, policymakers and reformers alike – to build a common agenda towards our shared goal of better educating the nation’s children and youth.

It is our belief that by raising and developing better standards for everyone, CCSS can pave the way to a 21st century American educated citizenry and workforce that is second to none.

Marc Morial is president/CEO of the National Urban League. Write your Level the field own response at www.flWe have long advocated a courier.com.

Policing the ‘N’ word and other slurs

DAVID FITZSIMMONS, THE ARIZONA STAR

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 204 ‘My Brother’s Keeper’– Sorry; not impressed.

Is this what Black America prayed for, paid for via small online campaign donations, and waited for over two presidential terms – an initiative without the power of law, with no recurring publicly or privately-funded budget, with no long-term policy impact?

A proposal that depends on the goodwill and approval of rich folks, Black celebrities, and large corporations for its existence, and that comes as Bro. Prez is suffering through the lowest public approval rating ever?

A scheme that was fully ‘baked’ at the White House, without the input of small community-based nonprofits that are doing the real work of saving Black boys and young men?

A photo op that can be used to ‘juice’ the voting turnout of Black Democrats who didn’t bother to show up at the polls during the 2010 midterms that gave the House of Representatives to the Republicans?

In his remarks last week, Bro. Prez proudly said that “My Brother’s Keeper is not some new, big government program…

And in this effort, government cannot play the only or even the primary role.”

Spoken like a diehard Republican who wants to eliminate the role of government

QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

and shrink it so that it’s small enough to “drown in a bathtub.” I guess bank and auto bailouts, the ‘Obamacare’ gift to big insurance companies, and stimulus billions that ignored small businesses are the only “new, big government programs” he cares about.

My main beef is that Barack Obama has never bothered to even make the argument to Congress, and more importantly to the American people, that government action and policy changes are necessary to change the downward historical trajectory of Black America that was largely caused by racist government action, inaction, and policy decisions beginning with America’s founding and continuing today.

I still don’t get why the Republican Party continues to attack Bro. Prez’s policies.

The GOP should just declare victory and let him serve out his term doing their bidding…

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail.com.

Opinions expressed on this editorial page are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of the newspaper or the publisher.

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ESPN’s Outside The Lines did a fantastic job on raising the issue about using the ‘N’ word in sports. It is understood that many of our civil rights organizations have fought and continue to fight every day to have this word removed from everyday language. Whether in sports, entertainment, or in the workforce, each person has a responsibility to conduct themselves in a manner that doesn’t offend their neighbor.

The National Football League is serious about imposing a penalty against players use the ‘N’ word.

In the upcoming season, a player who is caught using the ‘N’ word will incur a 15-yard penalty for his team and if he is caught repeating the same infraction, he will be ejected. This is the NFL’s way of trying to police their players and the league as a whole.

I have some serious concerns with this policing, if you want to call it that.

Problem 1 How will they enforce this rule? Who will be mic’d up and what are the parameters for being mic’d up? If a Black player uses the word towards another Black player, is there a penalty or is it when a White player uses it against a Black player?

Competitive sports bring out much emotion in players and now you’re going

DR. SINCLAIR GREY III GUEST COLUMNIST

to tell them what they can and can’t say to each other (competitor or teammate).

Problem 2 Will the NFL league also police slurs such as the ‘F’ word used in the LGBT community? If you’re going to penalize teams for using the ‘N’ word, are you going to do the same towards other slurs whether sexual, racial, and how about this one, personal (condemning one’s character). Racial slurs, in particular the ‘N’ word cannot be the only slur that’s being discussed.

Problem 3 Will the league police the use of the term ‘Redskin’ the name the Washington Football team uses as their mascot? With so much debate about this term and even President Obama weighing in on this discussion, will the league call this a slur?

Many Native Americans find this term offensive and if it’s offensive, degrading, and demeaning to them, will the Washington Football team be penalized? (I don’t think so because too much profit would be lost if this team decides to do the right thing)

Let’s get this straight – I don’t use the ‘N’ word or any other racial slur for that matter because it’s disrespectful. However, I also understand that we have freedom of speech and it’s with that freedom that people should be able to express themselves. You need to understand this - freedom isn’t always free because with freedom, not everyone is going to feel accepted, appreciated, or valued.

With so much talk about banning the ‘N’ word and restraining from using it in professional football, how about we refrain from using words that tear down. From world politics to religious faiths, isn’t about time that we come together to build up each other with words.

Yes, we have our own culture whereby certain words and/or phrases may be accepted, but perhaps it’s time to grow up and change our language. Check this out.

Use freedom of speech to encourage and empower your fellow brothers and sisters no matter who they are.

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is a speaker, activist, published author of (5) books, life coach, and liberator of persons from all intellectual, social and cultural walks of life. Reach him at drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @drsinclairgrey. Write your own response at www.flcourier. com.

Proud to be our brother’s and our sister’s keeper On Thursday, February 27th, I proudly stood with those who came to the White House to celebrate President Barack Obama’s official announcement of “My Brother’s Keeper.”

A lot of people had waited for this announcement for a very long time. I met people who had come from long distances to be there.

Almost every member of the Congressional Black Caucus was there. Trayvon Martin’s parents and Jordan Davis’ parents were there. General Colin Powell, Rev. Al Sharpton – even Bill O’Reilly – came. I saw preachers, businesspersons, heads of nonprofit groups, and mayors of cities. All appeared to have one thing in mind: how to help young men of color face the many challenges on life.

President Obama is obviously one who keeps his promises. We heard him mention the issue in his 2014 State of the Union remarks, and here we are one month later doing just what he said he would do. He put people together from all walks of life to show young men of color that their country cares, values and is willing to invest in them.

DR. E. FAYE WILLIAMS, ESQ. TRICE EDNEY WIRE

Need is clear The need for this initiative is clear. We’ve seen that boys and young men of color are disproportionately at risk throughout their lives.

Their challenges include disparities in reading, jobs, and far greater involvement in the criminal justice system. They are more likely to be victims of homicide than all other young men. I am proud of the President for taking up this challenge of highlighting ways to inspire and save these young men by showing them that there are many people who care about them.

While I thank the President for this great effort with young men of color, I would like to see the same attention given to young women of color. Rather than become discouraged that young women often live without hope, face denigration daily, and often have no

one to serve as a role model for them, I call upon my sisters to step up our game, and reach out to more of our young sisters whose lives “ain’t been no bowl of cherries.”

Even in the face of “gangsta” rapping denigration, domestic violence that crushes our self-esteem, disrespect on the job and marginalization in the church, Black women have always been the keepers of our families and communities. Too many of our brothers accuse us of taking away their manhood because we dare to stand up and do what we have to do to be “Our Sister’s Keeper,” knowing that our sisters are so often the keepers of our entire community – whether we get the support or respect we need or not.

No, “We ain’t no ways tired” when it comes to caring for our brothers and our sisters, but it sure is good to have some help! Thank you, Mr. President.

Dr. E. FayeWilliams is Chair of the National Congress of Black Women. Write your response at www.flcourier.com.

MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

The Obama legacy President Barack Obama has announced My Brother’s Keeper, an initiative to help young Black and Brown men succeed in the East Wing of the White House.

Many present described the announcement of this initiative as “an emotional moment” for President Obama and for many of the others gathered there. Several of the African-American men who were present at the announcement took to the airwaves afterwards, talking about how it felt to be in a room where the nation’s first Black president talked about his own background and his identification with troubled young Black men. The parents of slain teens Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis were in the room, reinforcing a statement the president made a year or so ago when he said that if he had a son, he would have looked like Trayvon Martin.

While president Obama says he will ask government agencies to work together to create more possibilities for young Black men, he emphasized that the Brother’s Keeper initiative is not a new government program. Indeed, early funding will come from private foundations.

No excuses

DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

pit to raise awareness about the many economic challenges African-American men face.

Using the term “no excuses” President Obama told young men that they had to take responsibility for their own success. That comment gave CNN “journalist” Don Lemon the opportunity to mouth off at Obama critics, to chide his own critics, and to demonstrate why he might be a more effective opinionator than journalist. Lemon was one of many, also, to describe Brother’s Keeper as part of the Obama legacy. Many said they expect the President to continue be involved in the empowerment of Black and Brown boys and men.

While I think Brother’s Keeper has tremendous potential, given the socioeconomic status of African-American men, there is not yet enough meat on the bones of the announcement to judge. President Obama has three years left in office. Is this as good as it gets?

Few specifics of the program Judicial appointments have been released, but preliminary activity will include a review questioned For all the good he will do with of existing programs to determine what works and what doesn’t. Still, the Brothers Keeper initiative, the the President has used the power President may leave a different of his pen, the phone and his pul- kind of legacy with his recent set

EDITORIAL

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: PLAYING DEAD

of nominees to the Georgia district court. With six vacant seats on that court, our president has chosen to appoint four Republicans, including two social conservatives. In a state that is 31 percent AfricanAmerican, there is only one Black nominee. These judges are appointed for life. Judicial appointments are a clear part of a legacy.

President Obama has been vocal about people’s right to vote, and disdainful of voter suppression tactics from long lines to voter ID. Why, then, would this President nominate Mark Cohen, who successfully defended Georgia’s voter ID law in court? Despite opposition from Rev. Joseph Lowery, as well as by civil rights veteran and Congressman John Lewis (DGA), the President has refused to rescind the Cohen nomination.

The young men he lifted up in his Brothers Keeper initiative may be the same ones denied the right to vote through voter suppression. Cohen, in his late 50s, may serve as many as two decades on the bench. What kind of anti-civil rights rulings might he make?

Rev. Lowery and Congressman Lewis are among those also opposing former state legislator Michael Boggs, on his conservative legislative record, which includes his opposition to marriage equality, his vote to keep the confederate insignia on the Georgia flag, and his efforts to restrict access to abortion.

ERIC ALLIE, CAGLECARTOONS.COM

Vote speaks volumes Through his votes, Boggs has indicated his opposition to the African-American community. To women, and to the GLBT community. What kind of votes might we expect from Boggs, who is in his early fifties, in the decades to come. And why won’t President Obama listen to those AfricanAmerican stalwarts who strongly object to this nomination?

Georgia congressman David Scott (D) told TVOne’s Roland Martin that these nominations are disrespectful to the nation and to the African-American community. The national civil rights organi-

zations have, unfortunately, been silent on this matter. Are they too frightened of losing the president’s goodwill to speak up?

Ten years from now, will we write that the status of AfricanAmerican and Latino boys and men has improved? A collective Black voice muted by the fact that a community can’t excoriate a White president after giving a black one a pass? Which is the Obama legacy?

Julianne Malveaux is a D.C.based economist and author.

Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Big money lobbying protects big tax havens Eighteen American multinationals — companies such as Nike, Microsoft and Apple — have used tax havens abroad to avoid what Citizens for Tax Justice estimates as $92 billion in federal taxes. This is money that could be used to provide universal preschool for America’s children.

CTJ also found 235 companies reported last year over $1.3 trillion stashed abroad to avoid paying the taxes that domestic companies must pay. This outrage is not illegal. In a dodge known as “deferral,” the tax laws allow companies to forego paying taxes on money earned (or reported as earned abroad) until the company brings the money back to the United States. Can anything better highlight how the rules are rigged? This perverse loophole gives companies a very big incentive to ship jobs or report profits abroad.

Through transfer pricing, mul-

REV. JESSE L. JACKSON, SR. TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

tinationals can easily game the system to report their profits in low tax countries abroad, even while the bulk of their sales are in the U.S. This, in part, is how General Electric can make millions in profits and pay nothing in taxes. But that isn’t the end of the perversity. As companies park more and more cash abroad, they then pay more in lobbying and campaign contributions to persuade Congress to give them a deep tax break if they bring the money home in what they call “a tax repatriation holiday.” But this scheme is anything but patriotic.

‘Can’t afford to pay’ The companies argue, as WinAmerica, the front for the current campaign does, that they’ll invest in jobs here in the U.S., but can’t afford to pay the taxes due (the same taxes that domestic small businesses can’t avoid). So let them bring the dough back at a nominal tax rate and they’ll reinvest millions in America.

Of course, each time the Congress provides this kind of tax holiday or amnesty, it gives the corporations an even greater incentive to stash their cash abroad.

And more and more corporations hire accountants to figure out how to report their profits abroad, even if earned here in the U.S. The last time the Congress bought this malarkey, even the jobs argument turned out to be false, as General Electric’s CEO Jeff Immelt admits. The companies bringing the dough back actually laid off workers in the ensuing years. They

Kudos to the president and his ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ initiative Any historian will tell his students that a president’s second term will define his legacy to the country and the world. President Obama will go down in history as one of America’s greatest presidents that held the office. “From the moment President Obama walked into the East Room for the My Brother’s Keeper event, you could tell this initiative was personal for him,” says Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post.

Many will argue that for five years the president has been asleep at the switch, when it comes to the deplorable condition of Black and Hispanic young men. Some would say that the president has not done anything, but they are wrong.

For the last five years, President Obama has allocated millions of dollars to young fatherhood programs around the country and continues to make a difference in thousands of young men lives. The leaders, teachers, and organizations on the front line have been engaged in this initiative for ten or fifteen years and our president has been their biggest supporter, since he took office.

More than a news item The media and Bill O’Reilly will take the credit for convincing the president to initiate a program for Black and Hispanic young men. This will be news-breaking information

ROGER CALDWELL GUEST COLUMNIST

for two weeks and eventually it will evaporate, and there will be another hot item to take its place.

But, this program for the president is more than just a hot news item, because when he was growing up, he had no dad. When he was growing up, he was angry, got high, made excuses, and sometimes sold himself short. This is why privileged White men cannot understand Black men, because there is no emotional connection to the African-American experience in America.

The difference with President Obama is that he can see himself as one of these young Black men, and he has friends that were unable to rise above the conditions in the community. “We just assume this is an inevitable part of American life, instead of the outrage that it is. These statistics should break our hearts. And they should compel us to act,” says the president at the My Brother’s Keeper event.

Here are some of the statistics rattled off by the president: During the first three years of life, a child born into a low-income family hears 30 million fewer words than a child born into a well-off family.

If a child can’t read well by the time he’s in 3rd grade, he’s four times less likely to graduate from high school by age 19.

We know that Latino kids are almost twice as likely as White kids to be suspended from school. Black kids are nearly four times as likely.

We know that students of color are far more likely than their White classmates to find themselves in trouble with the law. If a student gets arrested, he’s almost twice as likely to drop out of school.

A state of emergency When the president finished his remarks, there was not a dry eye in the East Room. It is a state of emergency with young Black and Hispanic men in the country, and everyone is affected.

There are no simple steps to the solutions for these problems, but this is an American problem.

Exposing these problems by the president is a step in the right direction, and it is essential that the entire country becomes engaged.

Everyone needs a fair opportunity to succeed and reach their highest potential. The president continues to use his office as a platform for change.

Roger Caldwell is the CEO and owner of On Point Media Group. Write your response at www.flcourier.com.

used the money to buy back stock (raising the value of their stock options), or to buy other companies, often merging and purging workers or just to pay down debt.

Now with the trillions sitting abroad, the game is beginning again. “Bipartisan” bills have been introduced in the House and the Senate to let corporations bring bucks back home at a zero percent tax rate, if they agree to use some of the money to purchase bonds issued by a newly created federal infrastructure bank. They get to bring $6 back tax-free for every $1 they invest in infrastructure bonds. Instead of taxing multinationals as it does small businesses, the federal government will borrow money from them and pay them interest on it.

This is an easy problem to solve. Congress could simply get rid of deferral and tax companies on their profits no matter where they are reported, allowing them

credit for taxes paid to foreign entities. Multinationals should pay the same tax rates as domestic companies do. The obstacle is politics — and big money — not policy. Republicans in Congress will block anything that closes overseas loopholes, but at least the states can act. Oregon recently raised millions by forcing multinationals to pay the states its fair share of taxes on profits stashed abroad.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group estimates that states could raise another billion in revenues by following Oregon’s example. Surely, it is long past time to get on with it.

Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is President/CEO of the Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

Ted Nugent - A White supremacist; not a racist When Ted Nugent, who has called President Obama, among other things, a “sub-human mongrel” because of his racial background and a “racist” because he said, “if I had a son he would look like Trayvon Martin,” says he’s not a racist I believe him.

I base this on two items I came across while living in Richmond, Va. between the fall of 1986 and the summer of 1995.

The first was an editorial in a local Black newspaper, The Richmond Afro- American, written in response to a survey done by a University of Michigan professor. He asked Blacks and Whites what they considered to be integration. Black folks described integration as a situation in which the population is 50 percent Black and 50 percent White, with a Black or White person in charge. Whites defined integration as a situation in which there is one Black person for every 15 White persons with a White always being in charge.

The second observation that leads me to accept Nugent’s insistence that he is not a racist is one credited to a Ku Klux Klansman when being interviewed. He told the reporter that there is a difference between a White supremacist and a racist. “A white supremacist,” he was quoted as saying, “doesn’t mind having a nigger around as long as a White person is always in charge. I’m a racist; I don’t want niggers around.”

Not too close

A. PETER BAILEY TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

nificant number of Black people in this country who will enthusiastically and with gratitude swoon at this position of the Ted Nugents of this country. They are the kind of Black folks who feel very proud when told by a White colleague or friend that “You are not like other Black people.” Such pathetic souls have consumed the poison of White supremacy and they will immediately attack any Black person who rejects such notions.

Racists, on the other hand, don’t accept any Black person for any reason.

They consider us to be some kind of infectious agent that must be avoided if possible and totally controlled if necessary. They don’t even want an Allen West to live in their neighborhoods, attend their churches, work at their job sites or belong to their clubs and organizations. To them we are the cursed decedents of Ham, eternally condemned to be subservient to all White people. As far as they are concerned, no amount of education or other accomplishments will ever make us good enough to be in their company.

Though it’s important for us to keep a sharp eye on both the White supremacists and the racist, they are not our most pressing problem at this time.

That problem is our absolute refusal to more purposefully and effectively manage and use our huge collective economic and cultural resources. This failure makes us an inviting target for exploitation and disrespect.

Using the above observations as guidelines, Nugent probably don’t mind having a Black person such as former Florida Congressman Allen West live in his neighborhood, attend his church, be a member of his club or share a drink at his favorite bar as long as there aren’t too many of him and they are prepared to accept Whites being eternally Peter Bailey is editor of Vital Issues: in charge. However, I’m not so sure that Nugent would want West as a brother The Journal of African American Speeches. Write your own response at in-law.

It must be noted that there is a sig- www.flcourier.com.

TOJ A6

NATION

MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

Clinton would face old challenges for 2016 Former secretary of state a favorite in Iowa, but issues of the past still linger

BY MARK Z. BARABAK LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Alta Price seems just the kind of person who could propel Hillary Rodham Clinton through the glass ceiling into the White House. A doctor and Democratic activist, she cited Clinton’s matchless resume as a former first lady, U.S. senator and Secretary of State.

Besides, Price allowed with a smile, “It would be very cool to have a woman president.”

But Price, 61, won’t necessarily support Clinton should she run again in 2016. “I would not vote for her or support her over some man if I thought the man was better on the issues,” said Price, who preferred Barack Obama to Clinton the first time she ran.

In 2008, Clinton was the overwhelming Democratic favorite, nationally and in Iowa, with an aura suggesting the actual tabulation of ballots was little more than a formality. Then Obama and his supporters proceeded to outwork, out-organize and outstrategize the New York senator, who finished a humbling third in the Iowa caucuses and never fully recovered.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Georgetown University’s annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards for Advancing Women in Peace and Security on Feb. 25 in Washington.

Still undeclared

Some past drama

Today, Clinton is once more the overwhelming favorite, nationally and in Iowa, with a wide lead in opinion polls and the same can’t-miss talk among purveyors of the prevailing political wisdom.

There are important differences, chief among them Clinton’s uncertain status: She has yet to say whether she will make a second try for the White House.

There is also the knowledge painfully acquired six years ago.

“She’s smart enough to pull back and assess what didn’t work last time, what are the lessons learned from that, and to do it differently,” said Bonnie Campbell, a former Iowa attorney general and co-chairwoman of Clinton’s 2008 campaign, who is working to coax her into the 2016 race.

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT

There are enough similarities, though, to suggest the certitude surrounding Clinton may be just as premature now as it was then.

There are plenty of Clinton supporters who say her time on the world stage only burnished her formidable credentials.

“She’s a very intelligent woman. She can handle whatever you put on the table,” said Jerry Clemens, 64, a retired pressman from Bettendorf, part of Democraticleaning eastern Iowa. “And her experience being in the White House with her husband can’t hurt.”

But all the hurdles that rose in 2008 remain in this state that starts the presidential balloting: the dynastic overtones of a Clinton candidacy; lingering fatigue from the serial melodramas of

Bill Clinton’s administration; a Democratic base that leans decidedly left; and an abiding suspicion of Hillary Clinton’s business and Wall Street ties.

“I see Hillary as a corporatist Democrat, and that tends not to, in my opinion, serve the interests of the general population,” said Bob Babcock, 61, one of about 250 party faithful who recently braved a cold, snowy night to attend Scott County’s annual Democratic fundraising dinner.

Affection for Biden too Above all, there is firm resistance to any notion that Clinton deserves Democrats’ support: for coming in second to Obama in the 2008 nominating fight, for faithfully serving him as Secretary of State, for offering the tantalizing prospect of once again making history, this time by in-

stalling the first woman in the Oval Office.

For now, Clinton has frozen the field in a way she did not in 2008, when more than half a dozen candidates competed at various points for the party’s nomination. Save for a visit apiece by Vice President Joe Biden, Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland and former Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana, Iowa has been notably absent so far of prospective Democratic White House contenders.

That is not to say, however, there is no interest in others besides Clinton. Babcock was among several who expressed hope that freshman Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who made her name crusading against Wall Street excesses, would change her mind and enter the contest. (Warren is now

backing Clinton.) There is also deep affection for Biden, who barnstormed Iowa in his 1988 bid for president, ran again 20 years later and has not ruled out a third try.

Clinton supporters say they fully expect a vigorous challenge.

(In discussing 2016, every statement must be qualified by the fact no one really knows her intentions or speaks with authority about how a presidential campaign would operate.)

“I get up every day assuming one or more people will run, and I think they’ll find a hospitable audience,” said Jerry Crawford, a Des Moines attorney and longtime Democratic activist, who helped organize January’s Iowa launch by Ready for Hillary, a national group operating independent of Clinton.

RNC’s advisory councils to focus on minority communities

SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee has launched three National Advisory Councils to strengthen ties with minority communities and expand engagement efforts across the country: the African American Advisory Council, the Asian Pacific American Advisory Council, and the Hispanic Advisory Council.

The National Advisory Councils are part of the RNC’s unprecedented commitment to engage voters year-round to build a lasting foundation for future campaigns. Council members will lend their expertise in developing better, more effective engagement strategies between the RNC and state parties and communities across the country.

In addition to providing advice and counsel to RNC leadership and staff, National Advisory Council members will attend community events, speak with grassroots activists nationwide, and attend RNC meetings.

State councils in works To complement the work of the three National Advisory Councils, the RNC is working with state parties to form state advisory councils as well.

“I want to ensure the Republican Party is building sincere relationships in every community across the country, and our advisory councils will help make that a reality,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. “They are all leaders in their communities, and each council member brings a unique perspective. I look forward to working with them to grow the Republican Party.”

“We look forward to the councils’ guidance as we continue to build the RNC’s engagement efforts,” said RNC Co-Chairman Sharon Day. “We welcome their input and advice as we take our message to diverse communities throughout our nation.”

Members of the African American Advisory Council are Renee Amoore, Pennsylvania; the Rev. A.R. Bernard, New York; Hon. John Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio; Robert Brown, North Carolina; State Rep. Mike Rep. Stefani Carter, Texas; Bishop Ira Combs, MichHill igan; State Sen. Elbert Guillory, Louisiana; State Rep. Mike Hill, Florida; Hon. Alphonso Jackson, New York; Mayor Mia Love, Utah; County Auditor Clarence Mingo, Ohio; Camilla Moore, Georgia; Roxanne Petteway, California; U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina; State Rep. Eric “Scott” Turner, Texas; George Williams, Alabama; Commissioner Michael Williams, Texas; and Bob Woodson, Washington, D.C.

Alpha Kappa Alpha’s international president Attorney Carolyn House Stewart (center), who is from Tampa, holds her Legacy Award presented by Maurice Jenkins, right, Dorothy Colson, second from right, and Rose Fenorl, vice president of Fed Ex (far left). Also pictured is Tantekra Smith, Miss UNCF.

UNCF honors Alpha Kappa Alpha president with top honor Sorority hailed for record of support, including $2 million in contributions

and encourages America’s youth to realize their full potential. According to UNCF, Stewart was the ideal candidate for this honor because of the initiatives she has promoted during her term, which support UNCF’s mission.

SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

On UNCF board

CHICAGO - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s international president Attorney Carolyn House Stewart of Tampa was presented the Legacy Award by the UNCF (United Negro College Fund) and the National Alumni Council Board of Directors (NAC).

The award – UNCF’s highest honor – was presented during the National Leadership Conference hosted by NAC and the National Pre-Alumni Council, held recently in Memphis, Tenn.

The Legacy Award recognizes individuals who serve as national role models, agents of change

Maurice Jenkins, vice president of development at UNCF, Dorothy Colson, president of the NAC and Rose Fenorl, vice president of Fed Ex, presented the award. They cited Stewart’s record of achievement and Alpha Kappa Alpha’s support of UNCF, which includes contributing over $2 million to the organization.

As Alpha Kappa Alpha’s president, Stewart serves on the UNCF board. The sorority is the only one of the Divine Nine Greek-letter organizations accorded this leadership standing within UNCF.

Commitment to UNCF In accepting the award, Stewart cited the sorority’s longstanding commitment to UNCF and its mission.

“Our commitment to UNCF is strongly rooted and well documented,” said Stewart. “As a global organization committed to service, Alpha Kappa Alpha supports the work, vision and spirit of UNCF that is embraced in its motto: ‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste but a wonderful thing to invest in.’”

Stewart noted that Alpha Kappa Alpha has a heritage of giving to UNCF. Its support began in1974 and has spanned ten administrations. During Stewart’s tenure as international president, Alpha Kappa Alpha has strengthened its commitment and intensified its giving by contributing over $275,000.

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IFE/FAITH

MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

Jazz festival to include LL Cool J See page B2

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

Kenya rejoices over Oscar win

by Nyong’o See page B5

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE WWW.FLCOURIER.COM

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FLORIDA COURIER OUT & ABOUT

CAPTURING

FLORIDA HISTORY Courier photographer shares photos, thoughts of Moral Monday

1 1. NAACP members from around the state attended the rally.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

T

he Florida State Conference of the NAACP and other organizations around the state voiced their issues loud and clear on Monday at the state’s Capitol in Tallahassee.

The NAACP and other groups launched the Florida Moral Monday social justice campaign, calling on Gov. Rick Scott and the state legislature to protect the rights of all Floridians by expanding Medicaid, protecting voting rights, addressing economic inequality and repealing stand your ground practices.

Duane Fernandez, Sr., who owns Hardnotts Photography based in Daytona Beach, is a freelance photographer for the Florida Courier and sister paper, The Daytona Times.

Fernandez traveled on a bus with members of the Volusia County/Daytona Beach, Flagler, Cocoa and Titusville branches of the NAACP to Monday’s event in Tallahassee and captured the images on this page.

2. Brendien Mitchell, president of the Florida State Conference Youth and College Division, speaks.

3. Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches

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4. Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP’s Washington Bureau

Disgusted and fed up “The mood on the bus while riding to Duane Fernandez, Sr. Tallahassee was one of disgust and fed

up with state government in Florida.

The stand your ground law has devalued the lives of African-American men in the state of Florida, and many other states across the country,” Fernandez said. “The murder of a young teenager in Jacksonville named Jordan Davis who was gunned down for what someone else deemed to be to loud music has taken its toll on African-Americans across the country.”

Fernandez said it didn’t matter if you were “a Democrat or Republican, an African-American, White, Jewish, Spanish, Asian or among other nationalities, this was a day to come together to discuss the rising cost of medical care, the discrimination against gays, lesbians, and the lack of jobs in the state of Florida.’’

5. Leon Russell, vice chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors

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Importance of rallies After spending time in Sanford last year for the George Zimmerman trial and traveling with the NAACP to the March on Washington in D.C., Fernandez said he realized how important these rallies and events are to Floridians and people all across the United States.

“I grew up in Connecticut in the 1960s and I remember listening to stories about the South and how terrible the abuse of young African-American men and women was before my time and during my childhood. With these injustices continuing to go on, how far have we really come in the America in 2014?”

Moral Monday Florida is the latest campaign in a social justice movement that began in North Carolina and has expanded to Georgia and South Carolina.

6. Leon County Branch executive board member Natalie Word sings the National Anthem.

7. Various groups united at the Capitol in Tallahassee on Monday for the launch of Moral Monday.

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‘I grew up in Connecticut in the 1960s and I remember listening to stories about the South and how terrible the abuse of young African-American men and women was before my time and during my childhood. With these injustices continuing to go on, how far have we really come in the America in 2014?’

– Duane Fernandez, Sr. Photographer

EVENTS & OBITS

B2

MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

Jazz in the Gardens’ ninth festival takes place March 15, 16 FROM STAFF REPORTS

The City of Miami Gardens’ ninth annual Jazz in the Gardens music festival at Sun Life Stadium has announced its final lineup of national artists for the event scheduled for March 15 and 16.

Grammy Award winners LL Cool J, Jamie Foxx and Anthony Hamilton will join bass guitar legend Stanley Clarke as well as Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly to round out the 2014 lineup. These five superstars join R&B artist Trey Songz, original Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland, R&B funk group Mint Condition, six octave vocal songstress Rachelle Farrell and 2014 Grammy nominee jazz artist Boney James.

Friday luncheon, party Tickets are on sale at www.jazzinthegardens.com, the Sun Life Stadium Box Office, and www. ticketmaster.com Two-day tickets start at $80, single-day tickets start at $50 and advance tickets for the Friday night opening party are $45.

Jazz in the Gardens will kick off on Friday, March 14 with the Women’s Impact Conference & Luncheon at Shula’s Hotel & Golf Club. Later that evening, the City of Miami Gardens presents Offi-

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LL Cool J

Rachelle Farrell

cial Jazz in the Gardens Pre-Party featuring the Dazz Band with SOS Band at 9 p.m. The event will take place at Calder Casino & Race Course located at 21001 NW 27th Ave., Miami.

Thousands of attendees Presented by the City of Miami Gardens, Jazz in the Gardens has grown to become one of the most highly regarded and anticipated music festival events in the country. Last year, more than 63,000 fans attended, attracting both locals and thousands of out-of-towners to the city of Miami Gardens.

Previous years have included celebrated artists such as Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, John Legend, Robin Thicke, the late Teena Marie, Wyclef, Fantasia, Kenny “Babyface’’ Edmonds, Chaka Khan, Lauryn Hill, Al Jarreau, Gladys Knight, The Isley Brothers, New Edition, Earth Wind & Fire, Charlie Wilson, Monica, Najee and Mary Mary.

In addition to the music lineups, fans revel in a wide variety of ethnically diverse foods and top-notch merchandise from all around the world.

For more information about Jazz in the Gardens, visit www. jazzinthegardens.com.

Mint Condition

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

T.D. JAKES

Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Pastors & Leadership Conference continues in Orlando through March 8 at the Orange County Convention Center.

More information: www. pastorsandleaders.org.

Orlando: The monthly meeting of the Central Florida Chapter Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society takes place at 10 a.m.

March 8 at the Orlando Public Library (third floor), 101 E Central Blvd. More information: aharrell595@aol.com or 386-295-0676.

Palatka: An event titled Understanding the Affordable Care Act is scheduled March 8 at Jenkins Middle School, 1100 N. 19th St. Free and open to the public, the event is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sponsored by the Palm Coast/Flagler County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. More information: michaelyn_pitts@yahoo.com

Clearwater: Singer and musician Gino Vannelli is scheduled at the Capitol Theatre

March 8 and 9.

Orlando: Washington Shores Presbyterian Church, 3600 Rogers Drive, is hosting a Women’s Emphasis weekend March 15 with mobile mammography screening starting at 9 a.m. A luncheon also is scheduled. The Rev. Dr. Jerry Lytle Cannon of Charlotte, N.C., will be the March 16 speaker. More information: 407-295-4741.

Jacksonville: Mocha Moms, Inc. has partnered with High Profile Barber & Stylist Shop to present the Boys/Girls Booked on Barber/Beauty Shops literacy initiative. A free kickoff celebration is March 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the shop, 6330 103rd St. More information: www. mochamomsjax.com or 904534-2427.

Tampa: U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross (FL-15) will host a town hall meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. on March 19 at the University of South Florida, Sam and

Martha Gibbons Alumni Center, 4202 E. Fowler, Ave. Ross will spend the time giving a brief Congressional update and answering questions asked during the meeting.

Tampa: Moffitt Cancer Center and partners will host the 14th annual Men’s Health Forum on March 8, 8 a.m. 2:30 p.m., at the University of South Florida, Marshall Student Center, USF Cedar Circle.

Register at www.MHFTampa. com or call 888-663-3488 and press 4.

Tampa: Katt Williams’ Growth Spurt tour stops at the USF Sun Dome on March 15.

St. Petersburg: Branford Marsalis will perform at the Palladium Theater on April 3 and on April 4 at the Curtis M Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Gainesville.

Jacksonville: John Legend is scheduled at the Florida Theatre Jacksonville on April 30.

New ‘Dancing’ cast includes Billy Dee Williams, NeNe Leakes

Autopsy sought in the death of Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba

BY YVONNE VILLARREAL LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

FROM WIRE REPORTS

LOS ANGELES — The new crop of celebrity hoofers competing in Season 18 of “Dancing With the Stars” has been revealed.

As has become tradition, the unveiling occurred Tuesday morning during “Good Morning America,” with the celebrity cast on hand live.

There are TV stars of yesteryear, including “The Wonder Years’” Danica McKellar (aka Winnie Cooper), and “Full House” big sis Candace Cameron Bure (DJ Tanner).

Some sports stars: recent gold medal winners from the Sochi Olympics, ice skating duo Meryl Davis and Charlie White; and swimming legend Diana Nyad. And some firsts: snowboarding champ Amy Purdy, who lost her legs as a teenager, will be the first Paralympian to compete; and Sean Avery will be the first former hockey player to hit the shiny wood floors.

Also getting in the dancing fun are comedianturned-game show host Drew Carey, “Real Housewives” personality NeNe Leakes, and acting veteran Billy Dee Williams.

Sure to bring in some young viewers are Aus-

WIKIPEDIA

Veteran actor Billy Dee Williams is 76. tralian pop singer Cody Simpson and “Big Time Rush” actor-singer James Maslow.

18th season The long-running ABC show, whose ratings have been slipping in recent seasons, comes into its 18th season with more than a fresh crop of celebrity contestants. The show recently axed co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet and replaced her with former contestant / sports host Erin Andrews. The show is also experimenting with a new format that allows viewers to switch celebrities and their pro-partners mid-season.

Of course, the professional dancers have earned their own fan base.

So here’s the rundown of who the celebrities will be paired up with.

NeNe Leakes stars on “Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Pro dancing bad boy Maksim Chmerkovskiy will return after sitting out last season, paired with Davis.

Karina Smirnoff partners with Avery.

Mark Ballas partners with Bure.

Cheryl Burke partners with Carey.

Derek Hough partners with Purdy.

Witney Carson partners with Simpson.

Sharna Burgess partners with White.

Emma Slater partners with Williams.

Valentin Chmerkovskiy partners with McKellar.

Peta Murgatroyd partners with Maslow.

Tony Dovolani partners with Leakes.

First timer Henry Byalikov partners with Nyad.

The new season of “Dancing with the Stars” begins March 17.

Kenny Stokes, Supervisor for Hinds County, Miss. believes Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba was assassinated and he wants an autopsy performed to rule out foul play, reports the Clarion-Ledger.

Lumumba, a legendary human rights activist and attorney who was elected mayor of Jackson last June, died of alleged natural causes on Feb. 25.

Speculation has been rampant that he was killed because of his platform of self-determinaChokwe tion for the Black comLumumba munity and his refusal to tap-dance around issues of White supremacy and systemic racism in the Deep South.

Funeral on March 8 According to Willis and Sons Funeral Home, funeral services for Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba will be held Saturday, March 8, at 11 a.m.

Hinds County coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart insists that Lumumba, who previously battled cancer, died of natural causes, but valid suspicions can’t be soothed with words. Lumumba’s supporters want proof.

“We gonna ask a question: Who killed the mayor? We’d feel a lot better if there was an autopsy,” Stokes said. “First they say it’s not a heart attack and not a stroke, then what was it? You don’t just die like that and you’re healthy.”

“So many of us feel, throughout the city of Jackson, that the mayor was murdered,” Stokes told a WAPT reporter after a speech. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I’m not going to try to say it in a way

where the people feel, you know, that we should have said it in another way.”

86 percent of vote Lumumba served four years on the Jackson City Council before running for mayor. He was elected on June 4, 2013, winning the general election with 86 percent of the vote.

Lumumba spent part of the ’70s and ’80s as vice-president of the Republic of New Afrika, an organization that advocated for “an independent predominantly Black government” in the southeastern United States and reparations for slavery.

Represented Tupac Shakur As an attorney, Lumumba represented legendary activist, poet, actor and hiphop artist Tupac Shakur in several cases, and his godmother, Assata Shakur, whom Lumumba called a “Black Panther heroine.”

Lumumba was also founder of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and his platform called for a move towards Black self-determination in the Deep South.

Lumumba referred to himself as a “Fannie Lou Hamer Democrat,” a nod to the fearless civil rights leader who organized the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the White supremacist Dixiecrats that ruled the Land of Jim Crow at the time.

The National Conference of Black Lawyers is coordinating fundraising for the costs of an independent autopsy.

A special election to replace Mayor Lumumba has been scheduled for April 8.

Articles from NewsOne and the Jackson Clarion-Ledger were used in compiling this report.

STOJ

MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

B3

SPORTS

‘Phenomenal. Amazing. Stupendous. Immaculate’ Bosh’s reaction to James’ 61 points in one game seemed to sum it up for many

NBA, and allowing the fewest fast-break points per game, leading to only 44.1 percent shooting from the field on defense.

Didn’t matter. James and Charlotte’s Al Jefferson staged a scoring duel in the first half with Jefferson muscling through and over double teams for 26 points to James’ 24.

James said as he came out for the third quarter, Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who sat out the game, yelled at him, “ ‘You better get 40!’ And I had 40 when he came back out and sat down for the third quarter.”

That’s when it was clear James’ performance could go from memorable to historic. Charlotte kept playing off James, trying to prevent his layups and dunks. So, James popped from the perimeter. Among the five three-pointers James shot in the third — he hit them all — was one from 30 feet, or not far from where Heat owner Micky Arison’s seat.

“We just said, ‘Oh, no, he didn’t! Oh, yes he did!’ We were just laughing,” Battier said. “No one else can do that. One of those special nights.”

BY DAVID J. NEAL THE MIAMI HERALD/MCT

Miami Heat star LeBron James, recently discussing the defensive matchup with an opponent, said: “Good offense beats good defense.”

On Monday night, in a 124-107 win at AmericanAirlines Arena against Charlotte, James proved transcendent individual offense can trash good team defense.

Read ‘em and gasp: a Heat record and career-high 61 points, beating Glen Rice’s 56 points on April 15, 1995, at Miami Arena against Orlando; a Heat-record 25-point third quarter; and a Heat-record 37 points in the second half. James’ career high also had been 56 points, on March 20, 2005, for Cleveland against Toronto.

“First of all, I was able to do it in a win,” James said. “I probably had three or four just Heat check shots out of rhythm, just taking them. Third thing, to do it with a group of guys I would do anything for. It means so much.

These guys are really true brothers of mine.

“After three quarters, I wanted to hit 50 on the home floor,” James continued. “This is the first time I’ve scored 50 on the home floor. I’ve done it so many times on the road and to be able to do it on front of these fans. (Coach Erik Spoelstra) said he was going to give me a couple of minutes in the fourth. He gave me more than a few minutes.”

Blazing in third quarter

CHARLES TRAINOR JR./MIAMI HERALD/MCT

Watching like fans Forward Chris Bosh, who admitted the rest of the Heat started watching James almost like fans, called the game, “Phenomenal.

Amazing. Stupendous. Immaculate.”

Said Spoelstra: “At a certain point in the fourth quarter, that’s what we were all doing. It was really uncharacteristic for LJ to play that aggressive, looking at the rim, and I think obviously that speaks to the type of player he is.”

Miami Heat’s LeBron James celebrates after scoring 61 points against the Charlotte Bobcats at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on March 3.

That’s what dropped the jaws of teammates, coaches and knowledgeable fans. His record night was extremely efficient: 22 of 33 (66.0 percent) from the floor, including 8 of 10 from 3-point range and 9 of 12 from the free-throw line. And, as much as James handled the ball — especially with teammates feeding

him furiously throughout the last quarter as they wanted him to get 60 — he had only two turnovers.

“That’s Wilt Chamberlainesque,” Heat forward Shane Battier said, referring to legendary center Wilt Chamberlain.

Added Bosh: “Not many of his shots were forced. We were finding him. He got some easy shots,

some transition buckets. Got to the free-throw line. All his shots were in rhythm; they were open.”

From memorable to historic Charlotte came into the game holding opponents to 97.0 points per game, fourth-best in the

Said James, “When that one went in, I knew I was really in a good groove. It felt like I had a golf ball and was throwing it into the ocean.”

James finished the quarter with 49 points.

Spoelstra opened his postgame media session with “Well, I’m the guy that almost took him out at the end of the third quarter … ” Charlotte cut the Heat lead to 13, prompting Spoelstra to keep James in until 1:20 remained.

“We knew when he had a quick 18 in the first half, we said, ‘All right, all right. There’s probably a 40-ball in the works,’ ” Battier said.

“He hit 24 in the half and came out blazing in the third quarter.

We said, ‘All right, 50-ball is in play.’ Once it got to 45 and there was still time on the clock and our defense wasn’t great, every basket they scored when he hit 45, ‘That’s good for ’Bron. How about 60 ball?’ Once he sniffed 60, we knew he was going for it.” stars of the game, scored 10 of Oviedo’s first 15 points with long and mid-range jumpers.

Oviedo started the last quarter by pushing its lead to 46-40 and Bartow’s Bradley followed with a baseline jumper to cut the lead back to four. Unfortunately for Bartow it wouldn’t be long before June scored again giving him 19 points for the game.

With 2:16 left in the game, the tension in the air was very apparent and the teams traded lay-ups to put the score at 50-49. Oviedo got a huge steal and score to push their lead to three but Bartow came right back with a two and the score stood at 52-51 with 17.4 seconds left. With 2.1 seconds left, Oviedo was leading 54-52.

Matt Milon of Oviedo was fouled and hit one free throw but missed the second. Oviedo won the game 55-52.

Norland wins third straight 6A championship

Evans High School loses to Winter Park in overtime. Courtney Williamson (5) is in position to score another two points for the Trojans of Orlando’s Evans.

In OT thriller, Winter Park defeats Evans for 8A title

BY NICHOLAS AUSTIN-HOLLIDAY SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHOW AND SCOTT KEEPSAKES

Members of Miami Norland Senior High School’s basketball team celebrate after winning their third-straight FHSAA final.

The stage for the state championship in the biggest classification in Florida was set. The Class 8A boys Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) teams didn’t disappoint and they battled back and forth for the entirety of the March 1 game at the Lakeland Center.

Orlando’s Evans High School seemed to have the game wrapped up at the end of the fourth quarter, but the fans were in for a huge treat when the game ended up going into overtime.

With only five seconds left and Winter Park up by two, Evans pressed hard but inbounded the ball to a wide-open Spencer Rivers on the other end of the court.

Everybody braced themselves for a highlight play to end the game but Rivers, son of Doc Riv-

FHSAA STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS ers, smartly dribbled the ball around to run the clock out and then passed it to a teammate who threw the ball up in the air as time expired. The Winter Park players, coaches and fans went wild as they won the game 66-64.

Oviedo wins 7A title against Bartow Oviedo started the game off on a 7-0 run before Bartow knew what hit them in the game in Lakeland last weekend.

Bartow’s head wisely called a timeout to settle his players down and Bartow responded by cutting the lead to 9-6 with 3:55 left in the first quarter. R.J. June, one of the

In front of a rowdy crowd, Miami Norland pulled away from Lake Minneola in the fourth quarter to win its third straight 6A state championship. Lake Minneola played them tight through three and a half quarters but with great big man play Norland was able to pull away at the end to win 60-44.

The game started off with a lot of energy and Lake Minneola showed the ability to hustle hard and score first but Norland was able to take a 10-6 lead. Norland’s big men Dewan Huell and Tyrell Williams gave Minneola fits down low with their height and length. The first quarter ended with Norland on top 13-8.

The referees got whistle happy in the fourth quarter, which upset both fans and coaches and interrupted the flow of the game.

Norland was able to push its lead to 10 and the score stood at 54-44 with one minute left in the game and the writing was on the wall for the Minneola team and their fans. Chants of three-peat from the Norland fans started to fill the arena with 25 seconds left in the game.

With seven seconds left, Darron Johnson of Norland hit two free throws to put his team up 60-44, which was the score that flashed as the clock hit 0:00.

HEALTH

B4

MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

STOJ

“The FDA can’t police this stuff,” said Lee Balefsky, a Philadelphia attorney who has filed lawsuits against supplement makers. Supplement companies “don’t need FDA approval to put this stuff on the market, so it’s very difficult to get it off.

(The FDA) gets these anecdotal reports, and that’s the only way they can really figure out what’s going on.”

The FDA has been trying to stop companies from selling DMAA for more than a year. The effort has been based in part on dozens of adverse event reports indicating that the stimulant has led to heart attacks, strokes and other serious medical conditions.

But The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that the toxic effect of the substance may be even more serious than what has been reported to the FDA.

Unreported deaths

BOB ANDRES/ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/MCT

These are some of the dietary supplements found in the apartment of Andrew Mabry in Atlanta after he died. The medical examiner attributed his death directly to DMAA, a powerful stimulant in supplements aimed at weight loss and improving workouts.

Death shows cracks in safety oversight of diet supplement

BY DANNY ROBBINS ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/ MCT

ATLANTA — When 23-yearold Andrew Mabry was found dead in his midtown Atlanta apartment last February, answers were hard to come by.

There were no signs of foul play or suicide, and family members feared that Mabry, living alone and spending most of his Andrew time training for Mabry a tryout with a local minor league football team, had died from the effects of alcohol or drugs.

Then the Fulton County medical examiner reached a surprising conclusion.

Mabry died “as a result of using a supplement similar to amphetamines,” wrote Dr. Michele Stauffenberg, the county’s deputy chief medical examiner.

The ruling was significant, attributing a death directly to Dimethylamylamine, or DMAA, a powerful stimulant in supplements aimed at weight loss and improving workouts.

And, to this day, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration knows nothing about it.

‘Silent killers’ Mabry’s death slipped through the cracks of a system that’s supposed to warn the federal government — and the public — about serious health issues related to supplements. Yet all too often that system fails.

“With supplements, what you often have are silent killers,” said Dr. Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical

School who has studied DMAA and its effects.

For more than 20 years, the FDA has learned about serious health issues related to drugs and supplements through its MedWatch system. It’s a largely voluntary process in which anyone can report an adverse event but only product manufacturers and distributors are required to do so.

Adverse event reports are particularly important for supplements because, unlike drugs, supplements can legally be sold without companies providing proof that they are safe and effective.

Difficult to police But reporting has been spotty, even among the medical community, creating an environment that many believe doesn’t properly monitor products that are used by nearly 70 percent of Americans.

Court records and other documents reviewed by the AJC show that at least 10 deaths in the last three years have been linked to DMAA. However, only five were reported to the FDA, according to agency records obtained by the newspaper.

Cohen said the number of unreported deaths is further evidence of a system he calls “abysmal … in fact, practically nonexistent.” That Mabry’s death was never reported is particularly troubling, he said, because it’s the first he’s seen in which DMAA was listed as the cause and not merely an underlying factor.

“This is incredibly important information that the FDA would have wanted to have,” Cohen said.

Dan Fabricant, the FDA’s top supplement official, said any system that relies largely on volunteer participation presents “challenges.” For that reason, the FDA is always trying to educate consumers and health care providers that reporting is essential, he said.

“It’s a marketplace of 85,000 (products), and if we’re not getting reporting from all walks of life, we can’t do our job,” Fabricant said. “Manufacturers may not always do what they’re supposed to do. That’s why the public and the medical community are so crucial (to the process).”

System called ineffective Almost from its inception, the MedWatch system has been characterized as ineffective in flagging the dangers lurking in the $32 billion supplement industry.

During the uproar over ephedra a decade ago, lawmakers and watchdog groups charged that deaths and other health issues linked to the stimulant should have been known to the FDA

long before the agency banned it in 2004.

A 1999 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office described the system as incomplete and inadequate. Subsequent GAO reports have also found it lacking.

In its latest report, released last March, the GAO detailed how between 2008 and 2010 the FDA received roughly 1,000 fewer adverse event reports for supplements than the nation’s 57 poison control centers. It recommended that the poison control cases, normally confidential, be made available to the FDA, but, to date, that hasn’t happened.

Ongoing negotiation Dr. Marsha Ford, president of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, said the material has yet to be turned over to the FDA because the agency hasn’t signed off on documents requested by the association relating to patient privacy.

“Poison control centers have been around for 60 years, and we do get calls that the FDA is just not going to get,” she said. “So I think it would probably strengthen things all around if we could work together as we have proposed.”

Fabricant declined comment, saying he can’t discuss an ongoing negotiation.

The GAO also noted that the FDA provides less information online about safety concerns stemming from supplement adverse event reports than it does for drugs.

Making that information readily available to the public would “improve consumer awareness and understanding of potential health problems associated with supplements,” the report said.

Legislation currently pending in Congress would provide another means of monitoring.

Right direction?

Under the Dietary Supplement Labeling Act of 2013, introduced

by Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, supplement companies would be required to register new products with the FDA within 30 days of putting them on the market.

Cohen calls the Durbin-Blumenthal measure, which faces opposition from industry groups, and the FDA’s potential agreement with the poison control centers “small steps in the right direction.”

“If we’re going to live in a world where basically anything goes and anything can be introduced in a supplement, we’re going to need to track these things better,” he said.

New colon cancer tests helpful, but colonoscopy still consided best

BY MACKENZIE CARPENTER PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/ MCT

PITTSBURGH — Of all of life’s necessary indignities, perhaps none is more dreaded — and avoided — than a colonoscopy to screen for early signs of colorectal cancer, the second most common cancerrelated cause of death in the U.S. It doesn’t have to be because colon cancers can be caught early — but many people are reluctant to undergo a time-consuming colonoscopy, which requires a day of cleansing the bowels and, then under partial anesthesia, submitting to a tube, called a colonoscope, that is moved up through the large intestine.

Researchers have been working to come up with alternatives, but even two new screening procedures won’t serve as a viable substitute for the time-tested colonoscopy, which has a 98 percent success rate at detecting cancer, according to two Pittsburgh experts.

‘Capsule colonoscopy’ First, the Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new method of “capsule colonoscopy,” using a camera inside a capsule that a patient swallows. It then moves through the entire colon, taking pictures that are uploaded to a computer for medical staff to examine for abnormalities.

Second, there’s a new

study that touts the benefits of a recently developed at-home, mail-in test that uses a stool sample to detect up to 79 percent of colon cancers.

So-called capsule cameras are already used for endoscopies — in the upper end of the digestive tract — and in the small bowel, but their batteries never lasted long enough to go through the entire length of the colon.

The new colonoscopy capsule changes that, but Paul Lebovitz, a gastroenterologist at Allegheny General West Penn Health System, remains skeptical.

The disposable camera capsule, for example, “is not directive. When you use a regular camera probe, you can stop, take a picture, or go back and look closely. The camera capsule is a lot less invasive, and that’s a benefit, but it’s unlikely to be as sensitive.”

And if the camera does pick up on something, the patient must then come back anyway for a colonoscopy and biopsy to have the growth — called a polyp — removed. Almost all colorectal cancers begin as a small polyp, and if found and removed early, the cancer is eliminated.

It’s unlikely the procedure will be covered by insurers immediately, he said, until more research is done.

Used for years The capsule’s manufacturers say they are working on technology that would enable removal of a polyp

FRED BLOCHER/KANSAS CITY STAR/MCT

Colon cancer survivor Danielle Ripley-Burgess of Lee’s Summit, Mo., supports an organization that takes an educational traveling exhibit about the disease. It features a 40-foot-long model of a colon that young and old can crawl through, as seen Dec. 14, 2013, at New Summit Church in Lee’s Summit. or a cancerous tumor in sequence with the procedure, but for now, capsule colonoscopies “will only help visualize what’s going on,” added Edward Chu, a deputy director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute who has done extensive research into colon cancer. “You still have to go in to confirm whether a growth is abnormal or not and do a biopsy.”

Capsule endoscopies, and virtual colonoscopies have been in use for several years, and they might be useful in getting an individual comfortable with the idea of screening, “but I would say the colonos-

copy still remains the gold standard for early detection. And for colon cancer, if you can detect it early in the form of a polyp, there’s a 95 percent cure rate.”

People at normal risk for colorectal cancer, usually those over age 50, are urged to be screened regularly until age 75, although nearly a third of American adults over age 50 have not had the tests done, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chu noted that the reluctance to undergo colonoscopies is more pronounced among women, who might be focused more on breast

cancer, even though they are at equal risk with men for cancer of the colon.

FIT tests What of the new stool sample test, known as a fecal immunochemical test or “FIT”? It detects DNA mutations by employing specific antibodies that bind the human blood in a patient’s stool. A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that those tests detected colorectal cancer 79 percent of the time. A previous test, the fecal occult blood test, was far less sensitive and required three con-

secutive samples instead of one.

The FIT tests are beginning to be covered by the insurance industry as part of a regular screening for patients over age 50 at their annual physical.

“The attractive piece for this is a noninvasive approach to look at DNA genes that get mutated when cancer develops,” Chu said. “One still has to go in and do a colonoscopy to look at where the tumor is located. It’s not definitive and it can’t identify the specific location, but it’s a good test for initial screening.”

STOJ

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

B5

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

E-mail your high-resolution (200 dpi) digital photo in casual wear or bathing suit taken in front of a plain background with few distractions, to news@flcourier. com with a short biography of yourself and your contact information. (No nude/ glamour/ fashion photography, please!) In order to be considered, you must be at least 18 years of age. Acceptance of the photographs submitted is in the sole and absolute discretion of Florida Courier editors. We reserve the right to retain your photograph even if it is not published. If you are selected, you will be contacted by e-mail and further instructions will be given.

jay

Jay Johnson was born in Allentown, Pa., raised in Los Angeles, and has resided in Miami for the past decade. He is a part-time web administrator and social media assistant. His hobbies include drawing and painting abstract art and photography as well as reading and spending time at the beach. Contact Jay at i.am.10thletter@ hotmail.com. CREDIT: TIM WALKER STUDIO Whitley Denise is a new model who enjoys doing print and catalog work; walking in fashion and runway shows has always been a dream of hers. She is currently a sophomore in college studying biology. Contact Whitley at www.modelmayhem.com/ wdhopkins751, Wdhopkins@valdosta.edu or on Instagram @HeyyBella_.

whitley

Kenyan actress called ‘the pride of Africa’ Country rejoices over Oscar win

by Nyong’o EURWEB.COM

After Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o got her Oscar statue on March 2, the country’s president took to Twitter in honor of the nation’s first major Academy Awards win.

“You are the pride of Africa,” President Uhuru Kenyatta tweeted. He also issued a statement just before her Best Supporting Actress win, saying the “12 Years a Slave” actress’ accomplishments testify to her talent and the determination to go the extra mile that success demands.

Nyong’o was the topic of the day on Kenya’s radio and TV stations Monday, and was celebrated during a conference at the United Nations headquarters in Nairobi. More than 300 people broke out into applause after Wanjira Maathai — the daughter of the late Kenyan Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai — mentioned her mother and Nyong’o in the same sentence.

“We all had hoped of course that she would win.

Everybody feels a sudden attachment to her, she’s a Kenyan woman,” Maathai said in an interview later. “A lot of her work, a lot of her experience in film started in Kenya.”

Yale graduate Nyong’o, 31, was born in Mexico to Kenyan parents but was mostly raised in Kenya. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Nyong’o had starred in several productions in Kenya before landing her breakout role in the Brad Pitt co-produced film.

Nyong’o had been considered a front-runner in a category that included Jen-

nifer Lawrence and Julia Roberts. When her name was called Sunday, she bent over in her seat as the audience erupted.

At the end of her Oscar speech, Nyong’o asked that her win remind “every little child that no matter where you’re from your dreams are valid.”

Cited as role model Maathai spoke Monday, which is Wangari Maathai Day in Africa, to honor the Nobel prize winner’s dedication to the environment. She said that like her mother, Nyong’o is another Kenyan who has reached great heights.

“She (Nyong’o) attributes to her success to a lot of other Black actresses who made her believe she could be something and that she could make it in film,” Maathai said. “And I think it’s so important to have role models, so important to have people who you can say, ‘Ah, if she made it, maybe I can too.’”

While celebrating the win, Kenyan film critic Ogova Ondego criticized Kenya for not supporting the arts.

Nyong’o, whose father is a Kenyan senator, did not get any support from the government while developing her talent, Ondego said.

More Kenyan talent Kenyatta in Sunday’s statement said the government has made the promotion of arts a key pledge that must be delivered. He said many young Kenyans will have access to funding for artistic projects.

“It is our intention that Lupita becomes the first of an endless line of Oscar nominees and winners from Africa and Kenya,” he said.

David Opondoe, the managing director of Phoenix Players, a Kenya-based theater company where Nyong’o performed earlier in her career, said Nyongo’s

ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Lupita Nyong’o on stage during the 86th annual Academy Awards on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles. success will encourage many in Kenya to embrace the arts.

“It shows that there is so much talent, only that the opportunities are not there,” he said. “It’s time for parents and government to see that this is not a pastime. It’s something you can do professionally and bring glory.”

More than 1,000 people have auditioned at the Phoenix Players this year, he said, whereas before they had to actively hunt actors for parts. Opondoe said he first saw Nyongo on stage in the play “There Goes The Bride” in 2002, which he also starred in.

“At that time she was viewed as an amateur and she gave us, some of the professionals, a run for our money. She had her lines and was on point and I knew this person is passionate about acting,” he said.

“We are going to celebrate this for a very long time,” Opondoe said.

ROBERT GAUTHIER/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Steve McQueen and the “12 Years a Slave” principles celebrate on stage during the 86th annual Academy Awards on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles. The movie won best picture.

F0OD

B6

MARCH 7 – MARCH 13, 2014

Chicken Pozole

NUTRITIOUS HOMEMADE MEALS FOR EVERY OCCASION FROM FAMILY FEATURES

Whether you’re preparing a quick break­fast for the family, feeding a crowd at dinner or looking for a light lunch for yourself, the key to a delicious, nutritious homemade meal is just minutes away thanks to the canned foods in your pantry.

“Canned fruits and vegetables are a must in my pantry. They are picked and canned at the peak of ripeness, hours after they’re harvested, locking in their flavor, freshness and nutrition,” says Kelsey Nixon, host of “Kelsey’s Essentials” on Cooking Channel and Food Network.

“Having canned fruits and vegetables on hand means a healthy snack, meal or side dish is achievable anytime.”

In addition to nutrient-rich staples like tomatoes, corn and beans, Nixon recommends stocking up on ingredients such as

canned olives, tuna, artichokes, pumpkin and chiles. These canned foods can elevate the flavors of a dish and breathe new life into some of your favorite recipes.

Here are some more great tips: • Keeping a well-stocked pantry, or “Cantry,” will help you avoid unnecessary trips to the grocery store after a long day.

• Tomato-based canned ingredients, like diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, are the most versatile when it comes to making a wide variety of recipes like chili, salsa, marinara sauce, soups or casseroles.

• Canned fruits add an unexpected twist to savory dishes, and can transform recipes in exciting ways. Just add canned peaches to homemade barbecue sauce or canned pine­apple to curries and stirfry recipes for a healthy and flavorful upgrade.

For more information and to learn how you can get cooking with canned foods, visit: www.CansGetYouCooking.com.

TOJ

CHICKEN POZOLE Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Serves: 4 1 1/2 cups of chicken, shredded from a store bought (3- to 4-pound) rotisserie chicken 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups) 4 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 teaspoon oregano 3 teaspoons ground coriander 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 can (4.5 ounces) chopped green chiles 1/2 (14.5-ounce) can chopped tomatoes 1 can (7 ounces) salsa verde 2 cans (15 ounces each) hominy, drained 2 cans (14 ounces each) lowsodium chicken broth Kosher salt and cracked black pepper Garnishes (optional) 1 red onion, finely chopped 1 lime, cut into wedges 1/2 cup crema or sour cream Crushed tortilla chips 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped Thinly sliced radishes 1 avocado, diced Remove meat from chicken and shred into 1-inch pieces; discard skin and bones. Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of meat for soup; reserve remaining chicken for another use. In large Dutch oven or saucepot set over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook until translucent and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 3 to 4 more minutes.

Add oregano, coriander and cumin, and cook until slightly darkened and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add green chiles, chopped tomatoes, salsa verde and cook until it just comes to a boil, about 2 minutes. Add hominy and chicken broth and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for at least 10 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Season with salt and pepper. Add shredded chicken and cook until heated through, 3 minutes. To serve, divide among 4 bowls and garnish as desired.

CRUST-LESS QUICHE Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes Serves: 8 4 large eggs 1 1/3 cups milk 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon dried mustard 1/2 cup chopped scallions 1 can (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms, thoroughly drained 1/2 (14.5-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, thoroughly drained 1/2 cup diced honey-baked/ deli ham Kosher salt and cracked black pepper 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 1/2 cups plain croutons Preheat the oven to 375°F. In large mixing bowl, whisk eggs together with milk, cornstarch and mustard. Stir in scallions, drained mushrooms, tomatoes and ham. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to 9-inch pie plate or quiche dish. Top with shredded cheese and croutons. Bake until center is set 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

ARTICHOKE & BEAN SALAD WITH TUNA Prep Time: 10 minutes Refrigerate for 45 minutes Serves: 4 2 cups (one 15-ounce can) white northern or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 can (15 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained and quartered 1 rib celery, finely diced 2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced 1 can (6 ounces) tuna, drained and flaked 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Juice and zest of 1 lemon 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley Kosher salt and cracked black pepper Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss gently and refrigerate 45 minutes before serving. Serve salad on

bed of mixed greens with crusty bread. Or alternatively, serve salad scooped onto hero roll with arugula.

PEACHES AND CREAM CHEESECAKE BARS Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Serves: 36 bars 1 cup almonds, finely chopped 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk 2 large eggs 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 can (8.75 ounces) peaches, drained Pinch of salt Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 9-by-13-inch pan with non-stick spray. In mixing bowl combine almonds, graham cracker crumbs and butter with fork until combined. Press into bottom of pan. Using handheld or stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and no lumps remain.

While mix­ing, add sweetened condensed milk, eggs, lemon juice, almond extract and flour.

Mix until fully combined. Pour over crust. In food processor or blender, puree peaches. Stir in a pinch of salt. Using tablespoon, drop spoonfuls of peach puree over top of cream cheese mixture. Using knife, gently swirl peaches through filling to create marbled look. Bake for 30 min­utes or until center is set. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature before transferring to refrigerator to chill throughout. Cut bars and serve chilled.

Peaches and Cream Cheesecake Bars

FREE Help for Struggling Homeowners Help for Homeowners Event Thursday, March 13, 2014 | 1:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center 1000 Water Street | Jacksonville, FL 32204

Having problems paying your mortgage? 

Meet face to face with your mortgage company or a HUD approved housing expert



Bring your monthly mortgage statement, your two most recent pay stubs and two bank statements



Work with the experts to identify solutions that best suit your situation and get guidance on how to proceed

To learn more about preparing the necessary forms and documents for review at the event, please visit:

MakingHomeAffordable.gov/JacksonvilleFL Call 888-995-HOPE (4673) for free help

Parking - Complimentary in the Prime Osborn Main Parking Lot

The Federal Making Home Affordable® Program is an equal opportunity provider in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act.