Florida Courier - March 21, 2014

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MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

VOLUME 22 NO. 12

PUNISHED FOR LIFE Gov. Rick Scott’s restrictive rules regarding restoration of ex-offenders’ civil rights prevent 23 percent of voting-age Black Floridians from voting.

rate is the highest in the country – with more than 10 percent of voting-age TALLAHASSEE – Faith residents unable to cast balleaders and ex-felons lots, including 23 percent of marched to the Florida Black Floridians.

Capitol on Wednesday, calling for Gov. Rick Scott Prison easier? and the Cabinet to reverse Gathered on the Old Capa policy and restore the civitol steps, speakers said the il rights of people who have lives of ex-felons are hard completely served their sentences after committing and that some give up and go back behind bars. crimes.

LaShanna Tyson, who The protesters wore gags served 13 years, said she to symbolize the loss by TOM URBAN / NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA ex-offenders of the right to watched other women get The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition called on Gov. Rick Scott and Florida vote, sit on juries or hold out of prison before her Cabinet members to restore the civil rights of hundreds of thousands of ex-felpublic office, saying Flor- “and come right back, tellida’s disenfranchisement ing me ‘It’s easier for me in ons in Florida.

COMPILED FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

‘Stand your ground’ law change likely

prison than it is out there.’ I couldn’t understand it, but now I do.”

Tyson added, “To our governor: We’ve all made mistakes, including you.

But you know what? Right now I’m seeking that second chance, just like you.”

Tightened policies The clemency board, which consists of Scott and the Cabinet, voted in early 2011 to reverse a policy change four years earlier that allowed felons who had completed their senSee PUNISHED, Page A2

JAZZ IN THE GARDENS 2014

LL puts it down An estimated 80,000 people attended the annual twoday Jazz in the Gardens music festival in Miami Gardens last weekend featuring LL Cool J and a range of other artists.

State Senate panel OKs tweaks

BY MARGIE MENZEL THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

A bipartisan bill that would tweak the controversial “stand your ground” self-defense law sailed through the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Monday, passing unanimously with the backing of both the National Rifle Association and Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown.

The measure (SB 130) by Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, would make several changes recommended in 2012 by Gov. Rick Scott’s Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection, which Scott appointed amid a national uproar that followed the shooting death of teen Trayvon Martin.

Unintended consequences When six weeks went by without charges being filed against Sanford neighborhood-watch volunteer George Zimmerman, the acknowledged shooter, protests spread across the country.

Many of the “stand your ground” law’s original backers said it was never intended to protect the aggressor in a deadly confrontation, and on Monday, the Senate panel spelled that out.

The bill represents the first significant compromise since Zimmerman was acquitted last year of seconddegree murder charges in Martin’s death. Just a week ago, Brown helped the Rev. Al Sharpton lead 1,000 people to the Capitol to protest “stand your ground”’ and to declare Florida

See Page B1 for a story and more pictures.

A picture gallery is uploaded to www. flcourier. com.

KIM GIBSON / FLORIDA COURIER

See LAW, Page A2

President Obama awards former Army Sgt. First Class Melvin Morris, a resident of Cocoa, the Medal of Honor on Tuesday in Washington.

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT

ALSO INSIDE

Floridians finally receive highest military honor

Not seen as equals

BY MICHAEL DOYLE MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU / MCT

Records re-examined

WASHINGTON – Uncommonly brave men and their loved ones gathered in the White House for belated recognition Tuesday, as President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to 24 standout soldiers.

Three medals were presented to living recipients – a Floridian and two Texans – who fought in the Vietnam War. The other 21 honors, the nation’s highest for martial valor, were presented posthumously for deeds going back to World War II and the Korean War.

The Army usually imposes a three-year limit for the Medal of Honor. In 2002, though, Congress used a defense authorization bill to order re-examination of older decorations that may have been improperly withheld from Jewish or Latino soldiers. The review subsequently expanded to include others as well.

In each case, the Army examined records of those who had received the Distinguished Service Cross, the military’s second-highest medal.

There was a reason – though not a very good one – why some of the medals came so late.

“This is long overdue,” Obama said. “Some of these soldiers fought and died for a country that did not always see them as equal.”

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

State’s jobless rate drops to 6.1 percent Askew on ‘right side of history’ on civil rights NATION | A6

How Navy Yard tragedy could have been prevented

Black, Latino firefighters settle lawsuit

ENTERTAINMENT | B5

See HONOR, Page A2 See a related graphic on Page B3.

Is ‘Single Mom’s Club’ the end of Perry as we know him?

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: RON BUSBY: MY BROTHER’S KEEPER FROM PERSPECTIVE OF DAD, BUSINESS OWNER | A5

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FOCUS

MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

US prepares to ‘gas’ Russia into submission The massive – and desperate – American offensive against world order is entering a new phase, as the U.S. prepares to resume its historical status as global energy superpower.

Ukraine’s a setup The Obama administration’s brazen implantation of a rabidly anti-Russian, fascist-led regime in Ukraine places U.S. proxies astride pipelines that carry much of Siberia’s gas to Europe and beyond.

Seventy-six percent of Russia’s natural gas exports are bound for Europe – the bulk of it to Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom. Russia’s weight in the world is largely derived not from its economically burdensome nuclear arsenal, but as an energy giant.

The U.S.-engineered coup in Kiev sets the stage for a protracted assault on Russia’s energy trade, which accounts for more than half of Moscow’s federal expenditures.

Without its huge oil and gas exports, Russia deflates like a leaky dirigible.

Predictable response Even the Americans were not so stupid as to believe that their

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

neo-Nazi friends in Kiev could somehow pry Russia from its naval base in Crimea. Such was never the plan.

Rather, Moscow’s response to the overthrow of Ukraine’s elected government was predictable, as was that of the Russian-speaking Crimean majority. Washington’s strategy is to permanently ratchet up tensions to “new cold war” levels to justify sanctions against Russian energy exports, while exploiting America’s own natural gas “surplus” as an enhanced weapon of global hegemony.

Thanks to shale fracking, the United States recently surpassed Russia as the world’s number one exporter of natural gas, and will next year become the top oil producer. As the New York Times reported on March 5, “The administration’s strategy is to move aggressively to deploy the advantages of its new resources to undercut Russian natural gas sales to Ukraine and Europe.”

There’s more When Moscow stood up to U.S.-backed jihadists in Syria, the Obama administration understood that the U.S.-Russia button could not be “reset” to Washington’s satisfaction under current conditions. An assertive Russia, increasingly coordinated with China, must be taken out of international contention.

Washington will move to crush, or at least seriously disrupt, Russia under its “sanctions as war by other means” machine, by targeting its energy exports, while simultaneously boosting the foreign markets for U.S. natural gas.

Defending corporations The U.S. government tells its people that it spends more on weaponry than the rest of the world’s nations combined in order to, among other things, maintain the free flow of energy throughout the planet. But that didn’t stop Washington from attempting to cripple Venezuela’s oil production in 2003, or from preventing Iran, once the world’s fourth largest exporter, from marketing more than a fraction of her production under the current U.S. sanctions regime.

U.S. rulers have never been guardians of free oil flow. Rather, American policy is designed to ensure that U.S.-based corporations and financiers dominate the global energy trade, and

that the dollar remains central to energy transactions, regardless of where the oil and gas comes from.

Russia also plays a key role as the energy giant among the Brazil-Russia-India-China bloc, which is the most likely venue for hatching alternatives to dollar hegemony. Venezuela, which barters oil with some of its Latin American partners and uses the proceeds of its dollar-denominated exports to build structures of resistance to U.S. imperialism, must also be forced back into line – or taken out of the game.

Oil always subsidized Ever since the Arab oil embargo of 1973, U.S. presidents have trumpeted the quest for “energy self-sufficiency” as a national security imperative, requiring subsidies for domestic energy production. Richard Nixon proclaimed, “In the last third of this century, our independence will depend on maintaining and achieving self-sufficiency in energy.”

In truth, oil producers enjoyed bounteous subsidies when the U.S. was indisputably the oil production king of the world from 1925, when U.S. oil fields accounted for more than 70 percent of total global production, to the early ‘70s.

Citizens assumed self-sufficiency meant drilling for domestic development. “Self-sufficiency” – and jobs – is what makes

LAW “ground zero” in the fight to fix or repeal it.

“It’s incumbent upon this committee, it’s incumbent upon this Legislature, to say something about the law this year,” said Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat who also marched last week.

“People on this committee and those that were here to vote for (the original law) … are constantly saying, ‘It’s not what we intended, It’s not what we intended, It’s not what we intended.’

Well, we have about 50 days now to say what we intended,” Smith said.

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tences and all other requirements of the criminal-justice system to more easily gain the right to vote.

In 2007, then-Gov. Charlie Crist began the process by which non-violent offenders could regain their civil rights and others could have their cases reviewed.

Crist issued new rules that streamlined the clemency process for ex-offenders convicted of nonviolent crimes, so long as they have paid any victim restitution and have no criminal charges pending against them.

Crist’s efforts to streamline the process divided ex-felons into three levels, making “Level 1’’ offenders eligible for automatic restoration of rights without a hearing before the state’s clemency board.

Hundreds of thousands affected According to the Florida Department of Corrections, in August 2008 – just prior to the 2008 presidential election – nearly 300,000 people were Level 1 offenders who were convicted of crimes that permit them to regain their voting rights under Crist’s less restrictive rules.

But because of backlogs created by the still-cumbersome process, the majority of those potential voters were unable to cast a ballot in November 2008, despite an all-hands-on-deck effort by the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), a coalition of more than 55 organizations.

Restoration too easy?

Scott’s administration reversed

Now that the aquifers of much of the country have been fouled by shale-frackers intent on cornering gas markets around the globe, the script must be flipped so that the surplus can be exported. As George Washington University law professor Richard Pierce told Al Jazeera, last year, “The US is now 100 percent independent in natural gas and within the next half-a-dozen years, [North America] will be independent in oil. It will become a global supplier, rather than a demander, in a hurry.”

Room must be made for this global supplier in an energyglutted world. Russia’s gas sales to Europe need to be “undercut,” as the Times put it. Sanctions can reshape the global markets to the advantage of the new energy superpower – war by other means.

Corporate media mask the historical moment with juvenile jibes at Vladimir Putin, as Washington prepares to subdue the planet with gushing oil and burning water.

Glen Ford is executive editor of BlackAgendaReport.com. Email him at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

House bill not moving

Clarifies responsibilities

PUNISHED

More than we need

also clarify the roles of law enforcement officers and neighborhood-watch volunteers. She said it also would clarify the role of immunity hearings that are used to determine if someone can invoke “stand your ground” in selfdefense.

“Stand your ground is not to be used for vigilantism, for revenge or as an excuse to confront people,” she said.

Brown brought her congressional colleague, U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, who told lawmakers that homicide has gone up in states with “stand your ground” laws.

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Smith and Simmons, who helped pass the 2005 bill that became “stand your ground,” addressed the committee together. Simmons’ measure includes a bill by Smith (SB 122) that was folded into it last fall.

The bill would clarify that a law enforcement agency must fully investigate whether a person claiming self-defense has lawfully used force. It also would no longer preclude lawsuits from

fracking “worth it” in the eyes of many Americans.

DUANE C. FERNANDEZ, SR./HARDNOTTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Black legislators, including State Sen. Chris Smith, center, and State Sen. Audrey Gibson, right, stood with protesters during a Moral Monday protest in Tallahassee. third parties who are injured by negligent conduct used in selfdefense.

The measure also would require the Department of Law Enforcement to develop a training curriculum for participants in Crist’s changes and added a waiting period. The new rules require offenders to wait between five and seven years after completing their obligations, including restitution, to apply for their rights to be restored.

Supporters of changing the Crist-era policy said Florida had made it too easy for ex-felons to have their civil rights restored.

“Felons seeking the restoration of rights must show they desire and deserve clemency by applying only after they have shown they are willing to abide by the law,” Scott said in introducing the 2011 change.

Automatic restoration a myth In a 2008 story, the Florida Courier exploded the myth that Crist’s rules change meant that the rights restoration was either easy or short.

Attorney Randall Berg Jr., founder of the Florida Justice Institute, said in a 2008 interview that Crist’s new rules modified the process, but not the underlying law that stipulates who is eligible for rights restoration.

“They didn’t change the crimes that are listed in Rule 9A, which governs who is eligible for restoration without a hearing…it’s much ado about nothing,” Berg explained then.

Governors change rules “Rule 9A lists the crimes for which you are not eligible for restoration without a hearing. People are caught in the position of waiting years.

“In 1975, Gov. Reuben Askew, after attending clemency hearings, determined it was a complete waste of time and repealed Rule 9A, making rights restoration automatic.

“Gov. Lawton Chiles changed

neighborhood crime-watch programs and require local law-enforcement agencies to apply the curriculum when training program participants.

Several members of the Scott task force were on hand to supit and re-instituted Rule 9A. As a result, the list of crimes for which you are ineligible has grown to where it really is very difficult for anyone or very few to qualify for rights restoration without a hearing,” Berg explained.

In 2008, the FRRC advised exfelons that it was their responsibility to contact the Office of Executive Clemency if a certificate of restoration of civil rights was not received after one year from release.

Serious backlog American Civil Liberty Union’s Rights Restoration assistant Elton Edwards, who helped individuals navigate the maze to restore their voting privileges in 2008, agreed that automatic restoration was a misconception.

“They are leading people to believe they are actually working on the backlog of applications,” he told the Florida Courier.

“Some people have been out of custody for 10 to 30 years and haven’t received a certificate (of restoration of civil rights),” Edwards said. “For that to happen, it means contacting people, going into the database, informing them their rights are restored, and ‘here’s your certificate.’ That isn’t being done,” even after Crist streamlined the process, he said.

Even longer According to the FRCC, which helped organize this week’s rally, an additional application processing time takes about six years under Scott’s new restrictions, making the total wait as much as 13 years. Even then, based on the current pattern, the group said in a statement, individuals have less than a 1 percent chance of having their civil rights restored.

The coalition said 1.5 million Floridians are affected. One

port the bill, including NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer, the Rev. R.B. Holmes, who co-chaired the task force, and Stacy Scott, who represented the Florida Public Defender Association.

Stacy Scott said the bill would

The House companion to Simmons’ bill hasn’t moved forward, although it was filed in August.

Smith said he’d spoken with House Judiciary Chairman Dennis Baxley, who was the House sponsor of “stand your ground” in 2005, and that the House is waiting for the Senate to act before making its own move.

“You cannot fix everything the first time,” Hammer said. “When you try to do too much is when you create problems. We’re taking it one step at a time. … And if we didn’t get it right, we’ll fix it.

But we’re comfortable with what we have today.”

speaker, Michael Orlando, 26, said he was still paying for mistakes he’d made at 20.

“There are people who don’t know better, because they’ve never been shown better,” he said. “And for some people like myself, that light don’t click on until later on in life. But the state of Florida is saying, ‘It doesn’t matter when the light clicks on. If you made a mistake in your past, you must suffer for a lifetime.’ “

HONOR

Can’t take exam

Each of the three living recipients Tuesday donned uniforms they had long since put away.

They stood at attention, just as they remembered it, as their citations were read and Obama placed the medal around their necks.

The other 21 medals were presented posthumously; in many cases to men who never came back.

Jessica Chiappone, who was busted at age 20 on a drug charge and served her time, came to the podium with her 1-year-old.

Now 36, Chiappone said she applied for the restoration of her civil rights when she entered Nova Southeastern Law School, but didn’t get them until well after graduation. Now she’s struggling to support three boys on a legal assistant’s salary and can’t afford $3,000 to take the Bar exam.

“I know the common response is that I should have thought of these issues when I broke the law,” Chiappone said. “I was 20 years old. I obviously did not know what I was doing. I also did not know that when I took a plea, I’d be punished for the rest of my life.”

Silent protest After their rally, the protesters went to the Cabinet room, where Scott was presiding over the clemency board.

They sat quietly with their gags on, but applauded when petitioner Anna Lowe told the governor, “Please don’t judge me for my past. Judge me for my future.”

Margie Menzel of the News Service of Florida and Starla Vaughns Cherin of the Florida Courier contributed to this report.

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“This is the single largest group of service members to be awarded the Medal of Honor since the Second World War,” Obama said. “Their courage almost defies imagination.”

Three in uniform

Two Floridians A resident of Cocoa, former Sgt. First Class Melvin Morris was honored for what he did on Sept. 17, 1969. According to the Army, he was shot three times as he “led an advance across enemy lines to retrieve a fallen comrade and single-handedly destroyed an enemy force that had pinned his battalion from a series of bunkers.”

“When I called Melvin Morris, his first reaction was, ‘Oh my God, what have I done?’ ” Obama recounted Tuesday. “When I told him it was the Medal of Honor, I could hear through the phone he almost passed out.”

Ardie R. Copas, from Fort Pierce, joined the Army on June 18, 1969. He distinguished himself on May 12, 1970, when he repelled an enemy ambush while serving as a machine-gunner near Ph Romeas Hek, Cambodia. He died in the attack.

FLORIDA

MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

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Askew on ‘right side of history’ on civil rights Former governor appointed Black Cabinet member, opposed antibusing measure

legislation, still on the books, that created the state’s water management districts, required local comprehensive plans, regulated wetlands and set air-quality standards.

His “litany of legislative triumphs” are “still significant 40 years later,” Landers said. “To me, we don’t elect people like that anymore. And I don’t think we ever will. And it’s a real shame.”

BY DARA KAM NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – Former Gov. Reubin Askew, who died on March 13, left a broad imprint across the state, shaping policies that sought to improve schools, the environment and the courts, while also restoring faith in a Florida government tainted by scandal.

“He was a visionary. He saw issues whether they were in areas of racial fairness or educational opportunities or environmental protection in a generational perspective, not just what’s going to be the best position for the next election. He led by his personal example and by the wisdom of his ideas and the strength of his passions,” said former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, who also served as governor.

Askew, 85, died after being admitted to a Tallahassee hospital on March 8 with aspiration pneumonia. His condition worsened when he suffered a stroke, family spokesman Ron Sachs said.

Defeated Claude Kirk A Democrat who had represented the Pensacola area in the Legislature, Askew defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Claude Kirk in 1970 and was reelected in 1974, becoming the first governor in Florida history to be elected to successive four-year terms.

Askew is considered by historians to be one of the most influential politicians in Florida’s modern history, second only to the late Gov. LeRoy Collins, who oversaw the state during the turbulent civil-rights era.

A teetotaler who was prim and could even be prudish, Askew, a lawyer, was relatively unknown

No alcohol allowed in mansion

Former Gov. Reubin Askew died on March 13 at age 85. when he ran for governor.

Bucking the business community, Askew made a corporate income tax an integral part of his 1970 campaign.

Florida was in the midst of a population and development boom when Askew took over as chief executive. The state was still grappling with racial tensions prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court decision that put an end to school segregation.

The devoutly religious Askew, born in Muskogee, Okla., was on the opposite side of many other Southern politicians, as well as many of his Pensacola constituents, in his call for racial reconciliation.

ing measure passed overwhelmingly, Askew’s opposition to it endeared him to voters, said Sandy D’Alemberte, who was a close friend of Askew and served alongside him in the Legislature.

“He took the right position. He was on the right side of history. He was courageous. And the public, even though they disagreed with him on busing, recognized that he was a person of integrity, and his popularity increased,” D’Alemberte, a former president of the American Bar Association, said last week.

Took ‘right position’ on busing issue

Askew appointed the state’s first Black Cabinet member since Reconstruction, and pardoned, with the Cabinet, Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee, two Black men who spent 12 years on Death Row after being wrongly convicted by an all-White jury. Askew also integrated the Florida Highway Patrol.

Askew served as governor during a scandal-rid-

In response to an antischool busing “straw poll” proposed by conservative Democrats and Republicans, Askew countered with a proposal asking voters if they wanted to keep schools integrated. Voters approved both non-binding measures.

Although the anti-bus-

Pardoned Pitts and Lee

den era when Watergate rocked Washington and, in Florida, two state Supreme Court justices were forced out of office and three Cabinet members were indicted. Askew thwarted the Legislature by spearheading the first petition initiative, known as the “Sunshine Amendment,” approved by voters in 1978.

The constitutional amendment opened government records and required public officials to disclose information about their financial affairs. Florida’s “government in the sunshine” standards, considered by many to be Askew’s chief legacy, are still viewed as a model for the nation.

‘Litany of legislative triumphs’ Askew also “left a permanent and meaningful imprint” on Florida regarding environmental issues, said Jay Landers, who served as a cabinet aide to Askew before the governor appointed him to head up the state’s first environmental agency.

Askew pushed through

The straight-laced Askew never drank, did not swear and was a devout Presbyterian – a sharp contrast to many of his colleagues in the Capitol. Askew did not allow alcohol at governor’s mansion dinners or social events. Because of that, mansion events were often followed by after-parties sponsored by lobbyists.

Landers regularly played tennis with Askew at a court across the street from the mansion on Sunday afternoons when downtown Tallahassee was deserted and there was not a car on the road within miles.

“He would not cross the street to go to the tennis court until the light changed,” Landers recalled.

In a 1998 interview with Florida State University’s “Research in Review,” Askew said he wanted to restore “some sense of responsibility and competence” in the governor’s office.

“It sounds awfully corny for me to say this but my goal wasn’t (simply) to get elected governor,’’ Askew said during the interview.

“My goal was to get elected in such a way as I could govern. There’s a big difference. … So many people who run for office negotiate away all their options in the pursuit of the office and they literally tie their hands on dealing with the problems, by commitments.”

‘Put principles before politics’ Askew, an attorney, said the Sunshine Amendment, fiercely opposed by ma-

State’s jobless rate dips to 6.1 percent in January

BY JIM TURNER NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s jobless rate continues to be an ally for Gov. Rick Scott.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped to 6.1 percent in January from 6.3 percent in December.

The drop comes despite the state losing an estimated 2,600 non-agricultural jobs between December and January, with some of the biggest hits taken in the fields of retail sales, education and health services, along with leisure and hospitality.

Scott used the release of the monthly numbers Monday to argue his policies have helped the state record 500,000 new private-sector jobs since his potential Democratic gubernatorial challenger Charlie Crist left the governor’s mansion after the 2010 elections.

“We have come a long way in three years, but let’s keep working to make sure every person who wants a job can have one,” Scott said in a release that included his new “let’s keep working” campaign slogan.

192,800 new jobs Florida remains below the national jobless mark of 6.7 percent, which was announced March 7.

In terms of job creation, the U.S. Department of Labor noted Monday that Florida’s 192,800 job increase during the past year trailed only Texas and California, with each posting more than 300,000 new jobs.

ny legislators at the time, stopped “a lot of circuitous business transactions in state and local government.”

“Having to report your income is sort of an invasion of privacy and yet, I felt, while it was extraordinary, I felt that it was needed to give some sense of reassurance to the people (about their elected officials),’’ he said during the 1998 interview. “Who are they working for? Are they working for themselves or for the people?”

Askew “always put principles before politics,” said former Gov. Jeb Bush, one of many Republican officials who lavished praise on the late governor in statements released on March 13.

“Florida has lost one of the great leaders who played a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of our state during a time of substantial growth and change. He led on contentious issues, fought for equality and did what he believed was in the best interests of Florida families.

Governor Askew always put principle before politics, and I was fortunate to know him, seek counsel from him and learn from his years of service,” Bush said in a statement.

Ran for president After leaving office, Askew served as the U.S. trade representative from 1979 to 1981. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 1984. He later taught at the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1951.

The former governor is survived by his wife of 57 years, Donna Lou; a son, Kevin Askew; a daughter, Angela White; and several grandchildren.

He laid in state at the Historic Capitol Museum on Tuesday and funeral services were Wednesday at Faith Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee.

Workers comp case goes before court in June NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT

Unemployed men and women from Florida arrive et the Hart Senate building to barge in into Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 6, 2011. Florida remains below the national jobless mark of 6.7 percent, which was announced March 7, 2014.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, however, revised upward its December jobless rate, which had been announced in January at 6.2 percent. The revision also altered most county and regional rates.

Still, the January seasonally adjusted monthly jobless mark – a statistical technique that eliminates recurring events such as weather, holidays, and the school calendar – is the lowest for Florida since June 2008.

Without the seasonal adjustment, Florida’s

mark would be 6.3 percent.

Lowest rate in Keys Unlike employment numbers that are based on a surveyed sample of employers, the jobless rate is based upon the estimates of the number of people employed and actively seeking employment.

The jobs report comes a little more than a month after the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research concluded that 53.1 percent of the state’s drop in unemployment between De-

cember 2011 and December 2013 was due to people dropping out of the labor force or delaying entry.

Without people dropping out, the unemployment rate in December would have been 7.9 percent, said the Feb. 13 report titled “Florida: An Economic Overview.”

Across the state, Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, continues to have the lowest jobless numbers. The county recorded a 3.8 percent jobless rate in January, up from 3.5 percent in

December.

Walton County, the next lowest, grew from 4.0 percent in December to 4.2 percent, while both Alachua and Okaloosa counties increased from 4.6 percent to 5.0 percent.

Hendry County, impacted by long-term cuts in state government jobs, continues to hold the highest jobless mark, growing from 9.2 percent in December to 9.8 percent.

The state employment numbers for February are scheduled to be released March 28.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments June 5 in a potentially farreaching challenge to a state law that led to limits on workers-compensation benefits for an injured firefighter.

The court, which previously indicated it would take up the case, issued an order March 13 setting the date for oral arguments.

The case stems from onthe-job injuries suffered in 2009 by St. Petersburg firefighter Bradley Westphal.

The legal questions focus on a state law that placed a two-year limit on temporary disability benefits. That limit cut off disability payments in 2011 to Westphal, who was unable to work because of his injuries but also couldn’t meet a standard to qualify for permanent disability benefits.

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal last year struck down the limit on constitutional grounds. But the full appeals court later backed away from that constitutional ruling, though it ruled in Westphal’s favor on other grounds.

The case has drawn heavy attention from business groups, trial lawyers and unions for firefighters and law-enforcement officers.

EDITORIAL

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MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

Put the right to vote into the Constitution Monday morning I woke up — not with Georgia — but with Selma on my mind. Selma bears witness to the bloody and murderous struggle to end discrimination in voting on the basis of race. The demonstrations there led directly to President Lyndon Baines Johnson signing the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The 1965 Voting Rights Act was historic, designed to redress the unique history of discrimination against African Americans. But it was limited. It did not give each and every American citizen the explicit, constitutionally guaranteed federal right to vote.

cal voting jurisdictions.

REV. But if the legal principle JESSE L. of “separate and unequal” JACKSON, was unacceptable for education in 1954, it’s also unSR. TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

gether in an effort to fix the damage done by Shelby, and revive the heart of the Voting Rights Act. But we should also take a step back and see what we’re really facing. A text out of context is a pretext. What’s the context of America’s voting rights? The context is that we have a “states’ rights” voting system — 50 states (plus D.C.), 3,143 counties, 13,000 election jurisdictions that adminisVoting is foundation ter 186,000 precincts, all in Now we must all join to- “separate and unequal” lo-

acceptable for voting in 2014, since voting is the foundation of our democracy. Most Americans assume that they have a “right” to vote — and they’re partially correct. Except for ex-felon laws in certain states, most Americans do have a state right to vote, but they don’t have a citizenship right to vote.

No guarantee In Alabama, they have an Alabama right to vote, but not an American right to vote. It’s because of this “states’ rights” voting system that, since 2010, 34

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: VOTING RIGHTS

states have been able to pass new voting laws that are mostly designed to suppress or make it more difficult for certain Americans to vote — specifically minorities, young people, workers, poor people and the disabled.

We should not have to protect the “right to vote” piecemeal — state-by-state, county-by-county, voting district-by-voting district, year-after-year.

Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution is there an explicit guarantee of the right to vote. Prior to becoming president of the United States, Barack Obama, as a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago, began each of his constitutional law classes stunning his students with the surprising fact that a “citizenship or individual right to vote” is not in the Consti-

tution. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment does guarantee the individual right to a gun.

Guarantee the right to vote So we have the bizarre situation that in one of the world’s leading democracies, citizens have a guaranteed right to a gun, but not the right to vote. Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and Keith Ellison, D-Minn., have introduced in Congress a constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right to vote. Its language is sensible plain and clear: SECTION 1: Every citizen of the United States, who is of legal voting age, shall have the fundamental right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides.

SECTION 2: Congress shall have the power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation. Passing a constitutional amendment isn’t easy. It must be supported for ratification by twothirds of the members of both the House and the Senate, and then ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures.

No amendment can pass without a broad consensus.

But guaranteeing the right to vote isn’t partisan or ideological or a special interest agenda. It is fundamental to all Americans. It is the foundation of our democracy. And it is long past due.

Jesse Jackson Sr. is President/CEO of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

My brother’s keeper from a single father, business owner’s perspective

RANDALL ENOS, CAGLE CARTOONS

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 205 U.S. v. Russia – As we approach the NBA playoffs, basketball fans know that the name of the game is “matching up.” How do the five players on the court “match up” against each other offensively and defensively? For instance, if your team doesn’t have one or two big, quick, physical players who can at least slow down the Miami Heat’s LeBron James, and a defensive specialist who can hawk Dwyane Wade when his knees ain’t bad, you’re in trouble.

I see “match up” problems with the U.S. (Bro. Prez and Secretary of State John Kerry, both lawyers) vs. Russia’s Vladimir Putin (a professional spy who ran the KGB, the Soviet version of the CIA). I’ve criticized Obama before about being a weak negotiator, even when he has leverage, of wanting to be liked and being seen as the logical, non-threatening “adult in the room” too much.

Note that the match up between George W. Bush (who famously looked in Putin’s eyes and “saw his soul”) and Dick Cheney vs. Putin wasn’t any better. Also, remember that it was Dubya and the now trashtalking wingnut Cheney who ‘let’ Putin invade the neighboring nation of Georgia in 2007 without a peep from the same Re-

QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

publican hypocrites who accuse Obama of weak-kneed cowardice.

Obama and Kerry are taking the lawyerly approach – plenty of talking and “progressive discipline,” starting with freezing the U.S. assets, if any, of some of Putin’s political friends and staffers. (As if Putin gives a damn.) Obama has taken military action off the table, but has not extracted any agreement from Putin for doing so.

I get the feeling that Obama and Kerry just want to keep the lid on the whole situation. They’d be as happy as the proverbial “punks in prison” if Putin kept the Crimea region as a part of Russia and left the rest of the Ukraine alone without more Russian boots on the ground, allowing Obama to serve out his ‘prison term’ in the White House…

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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I must admit, being a single father of two Black boys isn’t easy, especially since my wife passed away 12 years ago. From breaking up fights, to discussing college and career choices, I’ve learned that being a good father means more than just “being there.”

Decisions are made, things happen, but despite the inevitable bumps in the road of parenthood, I am always proud to see how my two sons have grown into bright young men. Recently, you have heard lots about President Obama’s laudable effort to ensure bright futures for America’s young men “of color.”

We agree it makes sense to use his bully pulpit to highlight the challenges faced

by Black and Latino males and to galvanize solution providers around a common work plan.

What makes a lot less sense to us is how - in the face of dwindling contract awards to Black-owned businesses - we are to remain hopeful that equitable opportunity is within the grasp of Black businesses. For sure, there is lots of happy talk in the President’s proposed budget about commitments to SBA loan guarantees, certified development companies (CDCs) and small business investment companies (SBICs)... billions to infrastructure rehab and surface transportation projects... millions to the Minority Business Development Agency for technical assistance and money for expansion of Promise Zones designed to focus federal resources in targeted areas, both urban and rural.

RON BUSBY NNPA COLUMNIST

What’s next?

Against the backdrop of these huge outlays across education, healthcare/social services, infrastructure and transportation, let’s suppose that the targeted young Black and Latino males successfully scale all the hurdles facing them... that they graduate from high school, matriculate to a community college, fouryear institution or trade school and set out to pursue their career aspirations.

What awaits them?

Shrinking federal contract awards to Black and Hispanic-owned businesses seem to preclude any opportunity at supplying their goods/services to government agencies. Kauffman Foundation researcher Alicia Robb, said in her study of SBA lending that minority borrowers are “turning to mainstream lenders less because they have a fear of denial, which is warranted.” So, it appears that even commitments of loan guarantees won’t be enough to open access to capital. Tuition costs are skyrocketing while low-income students face cuts in the availability of tuition assistance. Therefore, repayment without improved employment/entrepreneurial prospects will exacerbate the challenge.

Brother’s Keeper is the announcement from The Opportunity Finance Network (OFN). OFN, which represents more than 225 community development financial institutions, will pledge $1 billion to expand financing for organizations and initiatives working to help young minority men. While Opportunity Finance Network CEO Mark Pinsky has yet to define how his organization will allocate dollars raised from network members, we will engage his organization to encourage more business lending, rather than program development.

There absolutely is room in the national marketplace for a program such as My Brother’s Keeper. The challenges faced by young, ethnic minority males are well documented. The futures of these young men - and the future well being of the nation - deserve the kind of focused solution-searching described in the blueprint for the effort.

In the meantime, though, Black business owners males AND females - face the daunting task of building and sustaining enterprises without the safety net implicit in My Brother’s Keeper. If we, as a nation, continue to fall short of fostering the healthy economic environment that we know is essential to longterm prosperity for ALL Americans, then the work of “My Brother’s Keeper” shall be in vain.

Ron Busby, Sr. is president of U.S. Black Cham$1 billion pledged bers, Inc. Write your own Among the more hope- response at www.flcouriful signs of support for My er.com.

Building personal core competencies for employability With fierce competition for limited jobs, many people wonder if they will be able to land a good job. Unfortunately, the economic situation feels like a bad dream. With a weak job growth, many U.S. jobs will continue to be outsourced globally or automated through technology. In fact, the government estimates that an additional 1.2 manufacturing jobs will disappear by 2018.

As a result, today’s unemployed workers are unsure about their future. Hope is not lost! Building a personal brand may be the cornerstone of sustaining success in the future. Many athletes and celebrities build successful brands over time.

Some of them include Julia Roberts, Michael Jordan, and Stephen King. Likewise, individuals can also build their own personal brand.

DR. DARYL D. GREEN GUEST COLUMIST

defined as ‘the process whereby people and their careers are marked as personal impression or brand.’

Al Pies and Jack Trout, authors of Positioning, maintain that making the best impressions is critical for business success. With this strategy, an individual should create a ‘position in the prospect’s mind.’ This impression should reflect a person’s own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of its competitors.

Branding includes personal appearance, oral and written communications, associations, or anything that identifies an individual.

Derrick Craver, Vice President - South Zone Strategic A good impression Accounts for UPS, notes that Personal branding show- even your work ethic serves cases your public image. as a brand: “It starts by comPersonal branding can be ing to work on time.” Fur-

thermore, branding defines, promotes, and protects an individual’s image online and off-line.

And finally, individuals should protect their personal brands. Never dress inappropriately in a business setting or showcase a less flattering image on social media platforms like Facebook. Your future employer could be watching. People should be careful how they are perceived during the employment stage. When a person submits an application to an employer or starts the interview process, potential employers are evaluating the candidate based on his or her brand. Therefore, a personal branding strategy can assist people with standing out from the competition.

Dr. Daryl Green is an author of several books including Breaking Organizational Ties: How to Have a More Fulfilled Life in Your Current Job. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

Black doctors see devastating impact of tobacco advertising More than 15-years ago, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the nation’s major cigarette manufacturers for their gross misrepresentation of the hazards of smoking to the public. Finally, after years of wrangling and continued resistance, the Justice Department and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund reached an agreement with the four major tobacco companies.

Part of this settlement requires these tobacco companies to spend up to $45 million placing “apology” or “corrective” ads in the media; primarily with television and radio networks and stations, newspapers and magazines. This is a gesture meant to make amends for the countless millions of lives that have been either lost or harmed beyond repair due to the consumption of tobacco products. Still, nearly a half million people will die from smoking-related diseases just in this year alone.

outlets were used to aggressively influence African-American smokers. As the “front line” for healthcare in the African-American community, members of the National Medical Association find this oversight to be an egregious error that needs to be corrected.

Without question, AfricanAmericans make up a significant number of those who are suffering from the pain and death caused by smoking. A recent report published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 25 percent of AfricanAmerican males over the age of 18 currently smoke cigarettes and 17 percent of African-American women over the age of 18 smokes.

I’m sorry, but not to you

Health concerns

Unfortunately, the “apology ad” gesture forced upon the tobacco companies does not appear to be designed to offer any sort of “apology” to the AfricanAmerican community. Not one African-American newspaper, radio station, television station or magazine has been included in the $45 million ad campaign, even though many of these same

According to the most recent report issued by the U.S. Surgeon General, these individuals who smoke expose themselves to more than 7,000 chemicals and compounds; hundreds are toxic and at least 69 are known to cause cancer. Nearly one-third of all cancer deaths each year are directly linked to smoking. Smoking causes about 85 percent of all

DR. MICHAEL A. LENOIR, M.D. GUEST COLUMNIST

EDITORIAL

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: TENSIONS BETWEEN US SENATE AND CIA

lung cancers in the U.S. In addition, exposure to tobacco smoke quickly damages blood vessels throughout the body and makes the blood more likely to clot; damage that can cause heart attacks, strokes, and even sudden death. The chemicals in tobacco smoke can also inflame the delicate lining of the lungs and can lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Finally, the recent Surgeon General’s report also adds more entries to the already-known list of smoking-caused diseases, inPATRICK CHAPPATTE, THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE cluding Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, erectile dysfunction, and two additional cancers – vertising practices of the tobacco witnessed and treated, first-hand, liver and colorectal. companies relentlessly targeting the victims of smoking’s devastatour communities; flooding them ing incursion into our communiExasperates other with radio, newspaper and magahealth issues zine ads depicting “cool” men and ties, the National Medical AssoBecause of the African-Amer- women, puffing on Kools, Win- ciation urges U.S. District Court ican community’s propensity to stons, Pall Malls or other danger- Judge Gladys Kessler to strongly smoke, all of these diseases and ous brands. Yes, the ad agencies consider altering the media plan, conditions have been common and media outlets made money, as proposed in United States v. and prevalent in Black house- but thousands of African-Ameri- Phillip Morris, et al, to include Afholds for decades. And the na- cans were, and are, suffering and rican-American media outlets so tion’s Black doctors are the in- dying.

We totally support the Black that, in Judge Keller’s own words, dividuals who are on the “front lines” of healthcare, treating these publishers (National Newspa- the apology message reaches “evmillions of suffering and dying per Publishers Association) and eryone it needs to reach.” the National Association of Black patients annually.

Also for decades, this propensi- Owned Broadcasters in their efMichael A. LeNoir, M.D. is ty to consume cigarette products forts to have their outlets added president of the National Mediby the African-American com- to the media list designated to run cal Association.

Write your own munity was strongly driven by the the tobacco industry’s “apology heavy-handed marketing and ad- ads.” As the individuals who have response at www.flcourier.com.

Using pen power for working people During his State of the Union address, President Obama promised to use the power of his pen to achieve the policy objectives that Congress continues to block. After advocating fairness and being rebuffed by Congress, the President chose to use the power of his pen to require federal contractors to pay workers at least $10.10 per hour, or $21.800 per year. That puts a single parent with two children below the poverty line.

Now the President is using the power of his pen to ensure that workers receive overtime pay.

Currently the only workers required to receive overtime pay are those who earn $445 a week, about $11 an hour or $23,000 per year.

Already the business lobby has said that both a higher minimum wage and mandatory overtime cuts into their profits. Already they have talked about cutting the number of workers they will employ,

DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

and the number of hours they will employ people. These greedy corporate giants fail to note that while wages and salaries for the top one percent soared by nearly a third in the past three tears, the wages of those in the remaining 99 percent rose by a fraction of one percent in three years.

Stone throw from poverty A worker earning $30,000 a year saw her wages rise to $30,300; someone earning $300,000 a year saw his wages rise to $396,000.

Clearly, those who earn $30,300, if not poor, are a stone’s throw

away from poverty. These are the folks who struggle from paycheck to paycheck, who make decisions about whether to buy their children new shoes or pay the cable bill. These folks aren’t trying to purchase luxuries, and they aren’t looking for handouts. They just want to live decently, with enough food on the table, with bills paid, and with a little breathing room.

These are folks who don’t take vacations. Luxury for them may mean a couple of days off to visit neighborhood parks. Summertime, when the living is easy for children, may be a burden to those parents who can’t afford childcare.

With his effort to reduce income inequality and improve the lives of those at least the President is moving in the right direction. Unfortunately he can’t get enough members of congress to follow, because they are committed to obstructionism. Aren’t there poor people

What do you expect?

Although I am selective about the movies I watch, I have always appreciated a good motion picture. Among my favorite movies are the biblical epics of my youth.

When combined with the, then, newly developed CinemaScope projection process, with the exception of all White casts, these biblical movies gave new meaning and brought stories of the Bible to life. Like the Bible, these movies told ancient stories, but also brought a practical understanding of events in everyday life.

“The Robe,” “Samson and Delilah,” “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” and “Ben Hur” were some of the movies that I really enjoyed. If I had to narrow my choice to one favorite of these biblical movies, I would probably choose “The Ten Commandments.”

This choice is not based on Charlton Heston being a favorite actor. Instead, the depiction of the emergence of a downtrodden race from slavery through the challenges of learning to be free had a deep and intrinsic personal appeal.

Obstruction instead of progress In the Ten Commandments movie, the late Edward G. Robinson, was cast as the villainous Dathan. Like Moses and the rest of the slaves, Dathan was a Hebrew who, along with his brother, Abiram belonged to a group in Egypt and in the wilderness who were purposed to impose obstacles to the goals of God and Moses. Wikipedia describes their activities thusly: “they did not cease their hos-

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

tility to Moses, and opposed his first endeavor to deliver Israel. It was Abiram and Dathan who were the immediate cause of the bitter reproaches made to Moses and Aaron…

Dathan and Abiram tried to induce the people at the Red Sea to return; and in the failure of this attempt, they made an effort, through disregard of Moses’ commands, to incite the people against their leader… they were impertinent and insulting in their speech to Moses, who, in his modesty and love of peace, went to them himself in order to dissuade them from their pernicious designs.”

Upon reflection, the wellacted movie depiction of Dathan and the well-written Wikipedia description of his activities led to the realization that the same seditious behaviors run rampant and viciously among the current crop of national Republican leaders.

Since the beginning of his first term in office, Republicans have been purposed to thwart any goal of President Obama, even if it mirrored Republican objectives.

Spewing insults “Our principle goal is to make him a one-term President!” “You lie!” “He was born in Kenya!” “His birth certificate is a forgery!” “He’s just a community organizer!” “He’s not a legitimate President!”

“He’s anti-American!” “He’s a communist!” “He’s a socialist!” “He hates White people!”

These are just a miniscule number of insults that President Obama has had to endure during his five years in office. And “they were impertinent and insulting in their speech.”

The latest tirade of insults comes on the heels of Russia’s invasion of the Crimean region of the Ukraine. In my entire life, I have not heard the words “weak and feckless” uttered as many times in the same breath as in the last week. Although Russia made a similar illegal incursion into the European country of Georgia during the Bush years, Republicans now declare that the policies of the Obama Administration have led to this style of adventurism. According to them, because of President Obama’s diminished persona, the US is no longer respected in the world community.

I am not the wisest person in the world, but I do know that if Republican opponents place political one-upmanship above national security and choose to degrade the twice-elected President in the public domain, it is impossible to expect his natural adversaries to respect him anymore than is demonstrated here at home. Unapologetically, I ask: “What do you expect?!?”

Dr. E. Faye Williams, is Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

in these republican districts? Researchers should look at the levels of poverty in each Congressional district and shame these miscreants into doing the right thing.

Raft boat or yacht?

rising tides argument only works for those at those at the top who have seen their wages grow dramatically. Those at the bottom are barely floating on a tottering raft that has dozens of holes, as evidenced by their small pay increases, low wages, and lack of overtime.

To the extent that President Obama has the power of the pen he can both improve the lives of those at the bottom, but also remind us of the meaning go fair labor standards. This is a conversation our nation has not had in awhile. We have been content to let the wages of those at the bottom continue to drift downward, while using tax policy and fiction (rising tide) to enrich those at the top. What does it take to sensitize those at the top to the plight of those at the bottom? The Occupy movement looks better by the day.

Republicans forget, and some Democrats fail to argue, that increasing the economic well being of those at the bottom improves the nation’s economic status.

Those at the bottom will use added wages to pay bills, to buy some of the things they’ve put off purchasing, to pump money into the economy. In contrast, those at the top are likely to save their money or invest it, failing to spend enough to trickle down their spending to benefit those at the bottom.

It is said that a rising tide lifts Julianne Malveaux is an econall boats. But some folks are rid- omist and author. Write your ing a luxury yacht, while others are own response at www.flcourier. struggling to survive on a raft. The com.

Social media: Let it work to your benefit The world of social media (e.g.

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn just to name a few) has enhanced how people communicate with one another. Not only has social media enhanced individual communication, but businesses, organizations, and institutions use social media to connect, inform, and promote what’s happening within their company.

Without a doubt, the impact of social media has defined and redefined what we do.

As great as social media is, too many people don’t quite understand what it’s able to do, positively or negatively.

The positive side of social media is that you’re able to connect with old friends, meet new friends, and gain business contacts. In addition to this, social media is able to help you brand your product and/or service to a vast group of (potential) customers nationally and internationally. Because most people use social media, you’re only a type, comment, and post away from making a difference.

On the other hand, the negative or should I say the down side of social media is that too many people put their personal business on the Internet for others to see. What I mean by this is that they tell people where they’re located throughout the day, who they’re dating, and how much money they make. This and much more is what far too many people put out on social media. Along with providing too much personal information for the public to see, people tend to forget what they put on the World Wide Web is easily available.

I’m concerned that people are not aware of the effects social media has on their career. Employers and potential employers want people to represent them in a professional manner and what you post on social media can come back to harm you. What

DR. SINCLAIR GREY III GUEST COLUMNIST

you may think is innocent, fun, or harmless could actually do you more harm than good. Why put yourself at risk? Your life is too important to be messed up and messed over because you posted something that was unbecoming.

I want you to think about this for a moment. What type of impression are you giving off by what you post on social media? Before you say you don’t care about your social media impression, you better. It could be the difference between success or failure.

Success and prosperity are available to those who are willing to do what it takes to get ahead. Foolishness is never allowed.

If you want to have a positive outcome in life, have a positive outlook.

Go back and delete anything that’s trifling and vengeful off your pages. Make a concerted effort to write positive things that shows the world you’re a person of promise and potential. And lastly, don’t let the immaturely of those who have no future aspirations suck you into a behavior that’s detrimental to your growth professionally and personally.

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is an inspirational speaker, motivator, author and committed advocate for communal change. Contact him at drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @drsinclairgrey. Write your own response at www.flcourier.com.

TOJ A6

NATION

MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

Black, Latino firefighters settle lawsuit for $98 million Minorities in New York sued over discriminatory passfail written exams

BY PARESH DAVE LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Black and Latino applicants to the New York City Fire Department who alleged that they lost out on jobs because of racially discriminatory written exams settled a long-running lawsuit for $98 million in back pay, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday.

The consent decree, which still requires court approval, calls for a court-appointed monitor to oversee the fire department’s recruiting and hiring process. The department will face specific recruiting goals and must create the positions of diversity advocate in the uniformed force and chief diversity and inclusion officer in the executive ranks.

“This resolution will help ensure that those who seek to serve as firefighters in New York City have an equal opportunity to do so, regardless of their race,” Associate Attorney General Tony West said in a statement.

Suit filed in 2007 The agreement stems from a 2007 lawsuit filed by the U.S. government and later joined by the Vulcan Society, a Black firefighters group. They argued that the 85-question, pass-fail written exams used since 1999 led to a disproportionate number of Black and Latino applicants being excluded from employment eligibility.

The lawsuit noted that only about 3 percent of the city’s 9,000 firefighters in 2007 were Black and 7 percent were Latino, while New York’s population stood closer to 25 percent black and 27 percent Latino.

With the lawsuit behind them, Vulcan Society President John Coombs said he expected New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration “to ensure that fair and equal hiring practices become the standard in the FDNY from this day forward.”

De Blasio said in a statement Tuesday that his office was “fully committed to promoting diversi-

ANTHONY BEHAR/SIPA USA/MCT

Doing their job: Firefighters arrive at the site of a possible explosion and building collapse on corner of 116th Street and Park Avenue, in the Harlem section of New York on March 12. ty and equal access in every sector” across the city.

Unfairly excluded In 2009, a federal judge ruled that the fire department failed to show how the pair of tests proved an applicant’s qualifications to be a firefighter.

Between 1999 and 2007, “hundreds of qualified people of color” were unfairly excluded because they were far more likely to fail the tests than their White counterparts, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis wrote. He later described the fire department as a “stubborn bastion of White male privilege.”

An appellate court rejected part of the ruling that had found the discrimination to be intentional. That segment of the case was scheduled to be retried later this month before a new federal judge. At trial, the plaintiffs could have secured about $129 million.

But instead the sides reached the

Attorney General calls for changes in federal low-level drug sentences

BY FREDERICK H. LOWE TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has endorsed proposed changes that would cut federal sentences for lowlevel drug offenders and dramatically reduce the Bureau of Prisons population over the next five years if adopted.

Holder, who recently testified before the U.S. Sentencing Commission, supports changes to federal sentencing guidelines that would reserve the harshest penalties for the most serious drug offenders.

In addition, Holder’s proposal would Eric lower by two levels the base offense asHolder sociated with various drug quantities involved in drug trafficking crimes.

Thousands impacted If adopted, the change would affect nearly 70 percent of all drug trafficking offenders and reduce the average sentence by 11 months, or nearly 18 percent, according to the Sentencing Commission.

Commission members also project that the Bureau of Prisons population would drop by 6,550 inmates at the end of five years.

“This is a straightforward adjustment to sentencing ranges – while measured in scope – would nonetheless send a strong message about the fairness of our criminal justice system,” Holder testified. “And it would help to rein in federal prison spending while focusing limited resources on the most serious threats to public safety.”

The move is Holder’s latest step to alter the federal government’s approach to dealing with non-violent drug offenders.

‘Human and moral costs’ Last August, Holder announced his “Smart on Crime” initiative, which included a major change to the department’s charging policy intended to reserve strict, mandatory minimum sentences for high-level or violentdrug traffickers.

Holder noted that state and federal governments spent a combined $80 billion on incarceration during 2010 alone. He added that of the more than 216,000 current federal inmates, nearly half are serving time for drug-related crimes.

“This focused reliance on incarceration is not just financially unsustainable – it comes with human and moral costs that are impossible to calculate,” Holder said.” The United States comprises five percent of the world’s population, but it incarcerates almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.”

Commission members are scheduled to vote on the proposals in April.

settlement announced Tuesday.

Attorneys said details were still being worked and it was not yet clear how many victims would be eligible for a portion of the $98 million settlement, which includes $6 million for lost medical benefits. Seven men are named as victims in the lawsuit. Some of the victims may also receive compensatory damages from the city.

Richard Levy, the lead attorney on the case, said the agreement would bring “historic changes to the department for years to come” and he credited the Vulcan Society’s persistence for bringing them to fruition.

The city also agreed to be more transparent about medical requirements for firefighter candidates and create more opportunities for minorities to get firefighter training at city colleges.

Candidates who are city residents would be given first priority for placement at stations near their home, the city said.

Exam overhauled As part of a 2011 court ruling, the written exam was overhauled with approval of U.S. authorities and the Vulcan Society. And nearly 300 previously denied applicants were eligible to be fasttracked into the fire department once they passed physical tests and other steps in the hiring process.

Two batches of people from that group have already been hired, the Department of Justice said. The Center for Constitutional Rights, which helped with the lawsuit, described the first class as the most racially diverse group of recruits in the department’s history. About 62 percent of the 240 recruits identified as a minority.

A third set of so-called priority hires is expected to join the ranks in July.

A similar lawsuit forced the New York Fire Department to overhaul its testing and hiring

practices in the 1970s, but budget cuts led to a pullback of those changes. During the next three decades, the fire department became overwhelmingly white as the city’s minorities formed a majority.

Black firefighters said they hoped this time around the pivot toward increased diversity would be permanent. The fire department said it doubled the number of minority firefighters from 2002 to 2013, ending up 9 percent Latino and 6 percent Black.

“We’re very pleased to come to an agreement with the city over an issue that should have been settled years ago,” Paul Washington, past president of the Vulcan Society, said in a statement.

“Hopefully, after almost 150 years of Blacks being excluded from the best uniformed job in the city, we are witnessing a turning point. All New Yorkers should take notice that without struggle there is no progress.”

Report tells how Washington Navy Yard shooting could have been prevented

BY DAVID S. CLOUD TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU/MCT

WASHINGTON — A mentally troubled gunman who killed a dozen people at the Washington Navy Yard last fall could have been stopped if his employer had reported his strange behavior to the government, a Navy investigation released Tuesday concluded.

In response, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the Pentagon to check names of people with security clearances and approved access to military facilities against law enforcement databases, and to create an “insider threat management and analysis center.”

The investigation identified “troubling gaps” in the Pentagon’s ability to respond when a government employee, a member of the military or a civilian contractor “decides to inflict harm on this institution and its people,” Hagel told a Pentagon news conference.

Aaron Alexis, 34, had a secret-level security clearance and was working under contract as a computer technician at the Navy Yard, in southeast Washington, when he went on a shooting spree on Sept. 16 with a sawed-off shotgun. The former sailor killed 12 people and wounded three others before he was shot and killed by police.

Failure of rules The massacre “would have been interrupted” if Alexis’ supervisors at the Experts, an information technology consulting firm, had informed authorities of their concerns about his mental state, the Navy investigation found.

A formal report may have triggered the cancellation of Alexis’ security clearance, rendering him unable to work on the contract. The military could have revoked Alexis’ access to Navy facilities and to classified information.

The investigation, led by Adm. John M. Richardson, also concluded that the Navy and the Defense Department repeatedly failed to follow their own rules for monitoring Alex-

OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT

A police officer stands guard at the front gate of the Washington Naval Yard on Sept. 17, 2013 in Washington, D.C. Aaron Alexis, who had been discharged by the Navy in 2011 after what an official described as a “pattern of misconduct” staged a two-hour rampage on Sept. 16 at the Washington Navy Yard, killing 12 people before being shot to death by law enforcement officials. is, both when he was in the Navy from 2007 to 2011, and when he worked as a contractor.

The Navy did not investigate gaps uncovered in a background investigation of Alexis Aaron before he received his Alexis security clearance, according to the report.

The Pentagon also did not “exercise effective oversight” of contractors working on Navy and Marine Corps computer systems, it said.

Reported hearing voices Several weeks before the Navy Yard shooting, executives at the Experts had convened a meeting to discuss Alexis, who was then working at a Navy facility in Rhode Island. Alexis had reported hearing voices, being followed by three people, and that he was being “pinned to his bed” by an “ultrasonic device.”

Police called to Alexis’ hotel in Rhode Island had “learned that Alexis had taken his bed apart, believing someone was hiding under it, and

observed that Alexis had taped a microphone to the ceiling to record the voices of the people who were following him,” the report said.

“The company leadership decided not to inform the government of adverse information concerning Alexis’ emotional, mental or personality condition, even when they had concerns he might cause harm to others,” the Navy investigation found.

The company decided the information was “based on innuendo and rumor, and therefore a report to the government should not be made, since doing so may infringe on Alexis’ privacy rights,” according to the Navy report.

The Navy report also faulted HP Enterprise Services, based in Plano, Texas, which was the primary contractor, for not reporting Alexis’ problems. The Experts was a subcontractor to them.

After the meeting, the Experts ordered Alexis to return home to Fort Worth to rest. A few weeks later he resumed work for the company at multiple locations, including the Navy Yard. He carried out the massacre two days after he bought a shotgun at a suburban Virginia gun shop.

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IFE/FAITH

Mellow out with melons See page B4

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA

MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

A new series for Wendell Pierce See page B5

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SECTION

B

S

Jazz in the Gardens

Some very ‘Happy People’ at

1

Maze with Frankie Beverly, Trey Songz, Kelly Rowland, LL Cool J and Jamie Foxx among celebs at ninth annual JIG in Miami Gardens

BY LISA ROGERS-CHERRY FLORIDA COURIER

Since 2000, I’ve been blessed to cover eight of the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage cruises for the Florida Courier. As a Spelman alumna with strong family ties to Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, I’ve also attended countless HBCU homecoming celebrations and Classics through the years.

Last weekend’s Jazz in the Gardens (JIG) was a combination of all of those – part Fantastic Voyage sans the huge cruiseship – because of the numerous celebs and guest appearances on deck at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens. It definitely was a reunion of sorts – a great weekend for running into sorors, colleagues, elected officials, Facebook friends, former classmates and more.

A diverse sea of folks filled up the grounds around the stadium. While the prime seating was closer to the main stage, the general admission section in the back was where the party people were hanging out in beach chairs and atop blankets.

2 3

Hughley a riot; Rowland a hit with the brothers Some of them said that they had been in the same general area for several years.

This was my fourth time attending Jazz in the Gardens, the music did not disappoint.

On Saturday, March 15, Florida Memorial University’s Chorale under the direction of Dr. Melvin White opened the festival by singing the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” Local artists Uniir Band and Jay Jones got the party off to a great start.

Comedian and radio broadcast host D.L. Hughley was a hilarious host, who kept the show and the audience rolling.

Mint Condition swayed the crowd with old favorites like “What Kind of Man Would I Be” and “Pretty Brown Eyes.’’ But when gorgeous Kelly Rowland sashayed out on the stage, the men all over the Gardens erupted into cheers.

After singing several of her songs, Row-

4 5 PHOTOS BY LISA ROGERS-CHERRY/FLORIDA COURIER

See JIG, Page B2

6

1. The general admission section was the place to be at Jazz in the Gardens.

2. Kelly Rowland kept the men “Motivated.”

3. D.L. Hughley’s sharp wit had the attendees in stitches.

4. Jamie Foxx was full of “Unpredictable” surprises.

5. LL Cool J’s lip-licking drives ’em wild.

6. Tom Joyner stopped by JIG on his way to the Fantastic Voyage.

EVENTS

B2

MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

S

ROBERT CRAY BAND

A concert featuring Robert Cray is April 4 at 8 p.m. at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall in Vedra Beach.

LEDISI

BRANFORD MARSALIS

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

CORNELIUS WILLIAMS/SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

The eight-seed Tuskegee Golden Tigers are headed to the Elite 8 after winning the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball South Regional.

Tuskegee University crushes Delta State in NCAA game

BY NICHOLAS AUSTIN-HOLLIDAY SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

It was the first time that a team from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) conference made it to the Elite 8 since Alabama A&M accomplished the feat in 1996, and the Tuskegee University Golden Tigers didn’t disappoint. The crowd wasn’t big at Lakeland’s Florida Southern College, but the Tigers put on a show for the ones who came out.

The Delta State Statesmen gave it their all and battled with the Tigers through the first half and were only down by nine at halftime. The Statesmen wouldn’t be so lucky in the second half as the Tigers’ superior play and athleticism wore them down and eventually handed them a crushing 80-59 loss.

The game started out with both teams pushing the ball at a decent pace but neither team really outpaced the other in the beginning, and with 10:47 left in the first half the Tigers led 18-15. Back-to-back three pointers by the Statesmen gave them a 21-18 lead but that wouldn’t last very long. The refs allowed a lot of physical play in the paint between the teams, which benefitted the Tigers because they were the more physical team.

Big lead at half With 5:36 left in the first half, the physical play was on full display as the Tigers’ Kevin May, Javier McKinney and Keith Winn Jr. forced four turnovers on the next five possessions, which gave them an eight-point lead.

The Tigers’ Elliot Dean followed that with a three to give them a 36-26 lead, which was their largest of the game. With only seconds left in the first half, the Tigers’ Javier McKinney stole the ball from Devin Schmidt and hit a three pointer at the buzzer to give

JIG

from B1 land shocked the audience when she called Nelly out on stage to accompany her while singing “Dilemma.”

Surprises: Kevin Hart, twerking grandma The slim yet sexy Trey Songz was definitely a crowd pleaser. He drove the ladies absolutely bonkers as he slowly removed his shirt and then smoothly slipped off his undershirt baring his muscular frame and showing off his tattoos.

Another of the JIG’s many surprises came when Jamie Foxx was introduced by comedian and actor Kevin Hart. One of the highlights during Foxx’s performance was a dance contest. The winner, a gray-haired, butt-twerking grandmother from Jacksonville won the contest as well as a $5,000 cash prize.

On Sunday, after attending church services, the JIG crowd quickly gathered to enjoy the smooth jazz sounds of local artist Melton Mustafa Jr., son of international jazz trumpeter and composer Melton S. Mustafa.

Hamilton takes JIG crowd to church Rachelle Ferrell, who missed the festival last year, made up for her absence in a major way with

them a 41-32 halftime lead.

The second half started the way the first half ended with the Tigers pushing the pace and the Statesmen scoring but enough to keep up with the Tigers. With 15:17 left in the half, May scored on back-to-back layups to give his team a 54-36 lead. The Tigers didn’t let up the rest of the game. Although the rebounding was fairly even, the Tigers forced 17 turnovers to the 11 that the Statesmen forced.

The Tigers’ Javier McKinney pushed his team’s lead to 62-40 with 10:27 left in the game off of a three-point play the hard way, and the Statesmen’s Willie Readus followed with a power lay-up of his own. But the score was still getting out of reach. With 7:48 left in the game, the Tigers were up 7046 and easily running away with the game.

This caused expected frustration to mount on the Statesmen’s side and Willie Readus ended up drawing a technical foul for dismissing what the referee was saying toward him and the bench.

Tough to beat With about two minutes left Coach Leon Douglas, head coach of the Tigers, started pulling his starters out of the game and they were met with standing ovations from the fans.

The intensity that the Tigers were going to play with was apparent from the tipoff.

The Statesmen were able to match that intensity for only a short while before Tigers completely took over the game. For the game, the Tigers shot 50 percent from the field, 46 percent from three-point range, and made 42 percent of their free throws.

When the Tigers are shooting that well and forcing multiple turnovers, they are tough to beat, which the Statesmen found out the hard way. The Tigers’ next match up is against the Metropolitan State Roadrunners on March 26 in Evansville, Ind.

her breathtaking performance. Her song, “Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This,” was very well received.

Stanley Clarke was a favorite of the jazz enthusiasts.

One of the most well received performers of the weekend was Anthony Hamilton. His down-toearth personality and boynext-door charm immediately connected with the audience. Hamilton’s slow songs mesmerized everyone, but when he sang “Praying for You/Superman” the Sun Life Stadium parking lot immediately transformed into a sanctified church.

Sisters were shouting and doing the holy dance.

Brothers slid their drinks on the ground, clapped their hands and patted their feet to the beat.

LL Cool J and those luscious lips One of Sunday’s treats came when Dwyane Wade and his fiancée, Gabrielle Union introduced LL Cool J. LL Cool J’s lip-licking antics drove the women (and perhaps some of the men) absolutely wild. The event culminated with Maze featuring Frankie Beverly giving the “Happy People’’ just what they wanted.

Again, there was plenty to satisfy the palate. Seafood, fried chicken wings, turkey legs, barbecue, garlic crabs, fish-n-chips, oxtails, hot and cold gourmet coffee, tea, smoothies, Italian ice, and all kinds of adult beverages were plentiful.

Some repeat attendees came early to beat the crowd in the conch salad line while other newcomers shared that they waited up to three hours in line to sample the local favorite with no complaints.

For those who wanted to take home souvenirs, vendors showcased plenty of jewelry, hats, art, handbags, T-shirts, and African attire.

MSNBC in the ‘house’ For the first time, the City of Miami Gardens welcomed MSNBC, the fastest-growing cable news network in the country to JIG. Attendees were excited to meet Joy Reid of “The Reid Report” and Touré, co-host of “The Cycle.”

Sonya Knighton Dickens, city attorney for Miami Gardens, stated: “We had another successful event this year. I think that this may have been one of our best. It’s a very positive way to brand the city. This was the largest crowd ever and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.

I am looking forward to the 10-year anniversary of Jazz in the Gardens next year.”

By the time Sunday evening ended with Frankie Beverly and Maze, it wasn’t just a “Golden Time of Day,’’ it was a golden weekend for those who traveled to Miami Gardens from near and far for the ninth annual JIG.

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Miami Gardens: The Haitian Compas Festival is May 17 at Sun Life Stadium.

Performers include Tabou Combo, Carimi, T-Vice & Harmonik. It starts at 3:30 p.m.

Fort Lauderdale: A Pastors and Leaders Conference hosted by Dr. W. L. Mitchell, senior pastor of Judah Worship Word Ministries International, is March 2628 at the church, 4441 West Sunrise Blvd. More information: 954-791-2999.

Sebastian: The Original Wailers will be at Captain Hiram’s at 7 p.m. on April 3.

Miami Beach: W. Kamau Bell will be at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater at 8 p.m. on April 3.

Miami Beach: Mike Epps’ After Dark Tour starts at 10 p.m. on April 5 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at

Ledisi is scheduled at Florida Theatre Jacksonville on April. 16 at 9 p.m.

Jackie Gleason Theater.

Boca Raton: The Freaker’s Ball featuring B.o.B., Redman and Method Man is scheduled at 8 p.m. on April 1 at Florida Atlantic University’s Student Union Outdoor Stage.

St. Lucie: Christian Cultural Cathedral will host its third annual You’ve Been a Blessing Luncheon” on March 22 at 1 p.m. at the Council on Aging, 2501 SW Bayshore Blvd. Commissioner Kim Johnson will speak. More information: 772-6077771 or via email at williams241@juno.com.

Stuart: Catch The Original Wailers at Terra Fermata on April 9 for a 6 p.m. show.

Tampa: The Ivory Club of Tampa will host its 10th annual “Evening in Africa” charity event on April 12 at the Holiday Inn Tampa, 700 N. Westshore Blvd. The speaker is Marcia Wiss, an expert in international business. Donation is $60 per person. Cocktail reception,

6 p.m.; 7 p.m. dinner/dance.

Information: www.theivorycluboftampa.org.

Orlando: The BethuneCookman University Concert Chorale will lead all three traditional worship services at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church (4851 S. ApopkaVineland Road, Orlando) on Sunday, April 27. The offering taking will benefit the chorale. More information: 407-876-4991 ext. 302 or visit www.st.lukes.org.

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

Orlando: Kendrick Lamar is scheduled at the CFE Arena on April 20 for an 8 p.m. show.

Jacksonville: 2 Chainz with Loyal T is scheduled at Aqua Nightclub & Lounge on March 29.

Orlando: Boz Scaggs is scheduled at Hard Rock Live Orlando on May 4 for an 8 p.m. show.

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

STOJ

MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

B3

MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS

Faces of honor

The Medal of Honor awarded to 24 veterans who were passed over, many due to discrimination On Tuesday, President Barack Obama awarded the nation’s highest award for valor in combat — the Medal of Honor — to 24 Army veterans who were identified by a Pentagon review of discrimination in the awarding of military medals.

The honor comes too late for 21 of the recipients — only three, all from the Vietnam War, are still alive.

Eight of the recipients served in Vietnam, nine in the Korean War and seven in World War II.

Total medals awarded

Medals by service branch

3,504

Percent awarded posthumously

Navy 29.9* (1,046 medals) *Includes Marines and Coast Guard

Medals of Honor by conflict Major conflicts since 1900

Awarded posthumously

Army

18.4%

69.6%

A different medal is awarded for each branch of the military (shown is the Army’s Medal of Honor)

All of them had received the Distinguished Service Cross. The Pentagon review, ordered by Congress in 2002, determined whether deserving Hispanic and Jewish veterans had been discriminated against in receiving the lesser award when their courage under fire justified the nation’s highest honor.

Of Tuesday’s honorees, 17 are Latino, and another is Jewish. The review found that the remaining six — including an African-American — also deserved the medal.

(645 medals)

(2,440) Air Force

Awarded while living

81.6

0.5

(2,859)

(18)

124

World War I

471

World War II

145

Korean War

256

Vietnam War Somalia, 2

Afghanistan, 9

Iraq, 4

FOR SERVICE IN WORLD WAR II — 7

No photo

Pvt. Pedro Cano

Pvt. Joe Gandara

Dec. 2-3, 1944 Near the German-Belgian border

June 9, 1944 Northern coast of France

While on patrol, Cano lay motionless as enemy approached, then threw a grenade, wounding or killing them all; Cano was injured in this engagement or shortly thereafter

Gandara advanced while his unit was pinned down by Germans, taking out three machine guns before he was killed

Staff Sgt. Salvador Lara

Staff Sgt. William Leonard

Master Sgt. Manuel Mendoza

Sgt. Alfred Nietzel*

May 27-28, 1944 West coast of Italy, near Rome

Nov. 7, 1944 Eastern France, near Germany

Oct. 9, 1944 Northern Italy, near Bologna

With a severely wounded leg, Lara did not stop for medical help but continued to advance, single-handedly taking out a German machine gun

Leonard’s group was reduced to eight men in a brutal battle; he led them in an assault to capture a roadblock despite heavy resistance and having been shot

Mendoza, while wounded, broke up a German counterattack; he fended off 200 troops, resulting in 30 enemy casualties

Nietzel held off enemy advances while ordering remaining squad to retreat; he stalled the enemy long enough for reinforcements to arrive before being killed

Sgt. 1st Class Eduardo Gomez

Pfc. Leonard Kravitz

Master Sgt. Juan Negron

Nov. 18, 1944 Near Germany’s borders with Belgium and the Netherlands

FOR SERVICE IN KOREAN WAR — 9

1st Lt. Donald Schwab

Cpl. Joe Baldonado

Sgt. Victor Espinoza

Sept. 17, 1944 Eastern France, near Switzerland

Nov. 25, 1950 Outside Pyongyang, North Korea

Aug. 1, 1952 South Korea, near border with North

Schwab approached an enemy machine gun alone, hit an enemy soldier with the butt of his rifle, then dragged him to friendly territory, causing the enemy to withdraw

Baldonado, a machine gunner, manned his weapon from an exposed position and repelled repeated enemy advances, losing his life in the effort

While attacking with his platoon, Espinoza overtook a machine-gun crew, an enemy tunnel and two bunkers

Sept. 3, 1950 Central South Korea Gomez’s company was attacked and outmanned by the enemy; Gomez was injured while assaulting a manned tank, then provided protective fire as his company retreated

March 6-7, 1951 East of Seoul, South Korea While Kravitz’s unit withdrew, he remained at a machine-gun position; he was killed, but he saved his entire platoon

April 28, 1951 Near Pyongyang, North Korea Negron refused to leave his vulnerable flank position when other members of his company withdrew, fighting off an enemy assault with grenades

FOR SERVICE IN VIETNAM WAR — 8

No photo

Master Sgt. Mike Pena Sept. 4, 1950 Southern South Korea Pena manned a machine gun to cover his unit’s retreat when it ran low on ammunition during a counterattack; he held off the enemy overnight, then was killed

Pfc. Demensio Rivera*

Pvt. Miguel Vera

Sgt. Jack Weinstein

Spc. Leonard Alvarado

May 22-23, 1951 Southern tip of South Korea

Sept. 21, 1952 North Korea, close to border with South

Oct. 19, 1951 Southern South Korea

Aug. 12, 1969 Southeast Vietnam

Although wounded, Vera volunteered to rejoin his platoon to resume an attack; while single-handedly covering his unit’s retreat, he was killed

Weinstein stayed back to cover his unit’s withdrawal; after running out of rifle ammo, he used his grenades to hold off the enemy until his unit was able to come back for him

On a mission to help a trapped platoon, Alvarado advanced through enemy fire and pulled back several soldiers before he was killed

Sgt. Santiago Erevia

Sgt. Candelario Garcia

Sgt. 1st Class Melvin Morris

Rivera’s rifle broke, forcing him to use his pistol and grenades; he was severely wounded by his own grenade, which he used to kill four of the enemy

Sgt. Ardie Copas

Sgt. Jesus Duran

May 12, 1970 Cambodia, near the Vietnamese border

April 10, 1969 Near what is now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

After his armored vehicle was hit, a wounded Copas returned to it and held back the enemy while others were evacuated; he was killed in the battle

Duran, a machine-gunner, fired at the enemy and forced them to retreat during a mission to clear a bunker complex, saving several wounded Americans

Living recipient May 21, 1969 Northern side of South Vietnam, on the coast While helping wounded soldiers, Erevia came under enemy attack; he counterattacked, taking over enemy bunkers more than 150 feet away.

Dec. 8, 1968 Outside what is now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam After his platoon discovered an enemy camp, Garcia charged two enemy bunkers, rescued two casualties and helped the platoon advance

Living recipient

Staff Sgt. Felix Conde-Falcon April 4, 1969 Near what is now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Conde-Falcon was killed while his platoon attacked enemy bunkers; he charged the bunkers with grenades, destroying them as he advanced

Master Sgt. Jose Rodela Living recipient

Sept. 17, 1969 Northern tip of Vietnam

Sept. 1, 1969 Eastern coast of Vietnam

Morris led a mission to recover the body of a fallen soldier, clearing out numerous bunkers with grenades and suffering three injuries

In the confusion of a heavy barrage of mortars and rockets, Rodela physically pushed his company members into a defensive position, saving lives by preventing chaos

*No image for Alfred Nietzel and Demensio Rivera available Source: U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, U.S. Army Graphic: Tyler Davis and Rick Tuma, Chicago Tribune

© 2014 MCT

B4

F0OD

MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

TOJ

mellow out with

MELONS

FROM FAMILY FEATURES

Free cookbook

F

resh, juicy melons make a tasty addition to meals or can be enjoyed as a refreshing small snack. Bite into watermelons and cantaloupes from Florida for a sweet taste that can be enjoyed in all kinds of dishes. Add to salads, make an iced drink, or enjoy them fresh off the grill. Florida melons are also a great source of vitamin A and vitamin C. “Watermelons are one of the most refreshing fruits available. Chef Justin Timineri Serve a slice of this delicious fruit for guaranteed smiles at any age,” says Justin Timineri, Executive Chef and Culinary Ambassador, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “Since cantaloupes are both sweet and savory, try thinking outside the box while enjoying them.”

For more fun and flavorful melon recipes, visit http://bit.ly/flmelons.

How to pick the perfect melon The exterior of a ripe watermelon should be smooth and waxy green, with or without stripes. Watermelons will not ripen after picked, so it is important to pick a ripe one at the market. A good cantaloupe is symmetrical with the blossom end soft enough to be depressed with slight pressure. Avoid overripe melons with lumps or soft spots.

How to clean watermelons

Before cutting your watermelon, wipe it down with a clean cloth and slightly soapy water. Every part of the watermelon is ready to eat, including the rind and seeds.

Cooking tips for watermelons

Did you know the fiber-rich rind of water­ melon can be pickled, candied or turned into jam or jelly? The seeds are highly nutritious, packed with protein, vitamin E and potassium. Try them roasted in the oven on low and salted for a healthy, tasty snack.

FRUIT KEBOBS WITH LIME CREAM Yield: 16 servings Lime cream: 1 cup low-fat sour cream 1/2 cup Florida honey 1 lime, juiced 1 teaspoon lime zest Kebobs: 1/2 Florida honeydew melon, peeled, seeded and cubed 1/2 Florida cantaloupe melon, peeled, seeded and cubed 1 Florida papaya, peeled, seeded and cubed 1 Florida mango, peeled, seeded and cubed 2 kiwis, peeled and cubed 16 (6-inch) bamboo skewers 1/4 cup fresh Florida mint leaves, chopped, for garnish To make lime cream, combine sour cream, honey, lime juice and zest in mixing bowl.

For kebobs, arrange cut fruit on skewers in alternating fashion. Repeat until all cut fruit is on skewers. Serve chilled with lime cream. Garnish with fresh mint.

Kids can: Arrange the fruit onto skewers with adult supervision.

Grown up alert: Adults should cut all fruit.

MELON MUFFINS Yield: 20 Servings 1 Florida watermelon 8 ounces low-fat cream cheese, softened 3 ounces low-fat lime yogurt 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 tablespoon lime zest Slice watermelon into 1-inchthick cross sections. Using 1 1/2-inch-wide biscuit cutter, cut watermelon sections into circles.

In medium-sized bowl, combine cream cheese, yogurt and lime juice; mix well.

Arrange melon circles on plate and top each with teaspoon of yogurt sauce and pinch of lime zest. Serve immediately.

Kids Can: Use biscuit cutters to cut watermelon sections.

Fun Tip: Use different shaped cutters to make your muffins in cool, fun shapes.

Sign-up to receive a FREE copy of the “Kids in the Kitchen” cookbook at: http://bit.ly/flfffkids.

OPEN FACE WATERMELON SANDWICHES Yield 4 Servings 8 ounces goat cheese 1 handful fresh Florida mint leaves, chopped Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste 1/2 loaf of your favorite bread, sliced thin Olive oil 1/4 medium-sized Florida watermelon, seeds and rind removed Crumble chilled goat cheese into small bowl. Lightly mix cheese and chopped mint. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper.

Cut bread into 8 small slices and drizzle with olive oil. Toast bread slices until golden brown and crispy on top. Let bread cool slightly.

Spread cheese mixture on top of each bread slice. Cut watermelon slices into fun shapes and layer watermelon on top of cheese. Lightly season the top of sand­wiches with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Kids can: Spread cheese onto each slice of bread.

GRILLED AND CHILLED FLORIDA WATERMELON WITH FETA AND MINT Yield: 6 servings 1 small Florida watermelon, about 6 pounds 1/2 cup small fresh Florida mint leaves, hand-torn 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled into large chunks 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Slice watermelon into 1-inch slices. Heat grill or grill pan over high heat until very hot.

Two at a time, grill watermelon rounds about 2 to 3 min­utes each side until charred. Transfer watermelon to cutting board and cut into wedges, discard­ing rind. Place watermelon wedges in refrigerator until chilled.

Arrange wedges on plate.

Sprinkle with mint and feta.

Drizzle with oil and vinegar, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Chef’s Tip: To cut watermelon into rounds, lay melon on side and cut through rind and flesh with sharp knife.

Kids can: Sprinkle watermelon with feta and mint.

Grown up alert: Adults should cut watermelon and handle all grilling.

STOJ

MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

B5

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Tanari Brown was born and raised in Detroit. The 22-year-old urban model says she loves working hard and partying harder, going shopping and going to the beach.

She describes herself as “sweet, down to earth and laid back.”

Contact Tanari on Twitter @naturalhazel and email tanarimoore@yahoo.com.

Born and raised in the Bronx in New York, 21-year-old model Malcolm Melvin aspires to one day become a chef and own his own restaurant featuring Jamaican food as well as other fare as well as own an R&B nightclub. He said his friends would describe him as a “wise person who gives good advice, especially on relationships.” Contact Malcolm at facebook.com/MalcolmMelvin or MalcolmLamarMelvin@facebook.com.

tanari

malcolm

Is ‘Single Mom’s Club’ the end of Perry as we know him?

COMMENTARY

Tyler Perry’s “Single Mom’s Club’ grossed just $8.3 million during its opening weekend, missing expectations of around $18 million.

BY ROGER MOORE MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE/ MCT

It was a good run. Well, maybe “good” isn’t the right word for Tyler Perry’s decade of making movies for Lionsgate. The

studio decided to drop its option to distribute his films earlier this month, nine years and many “Mad Black” women later.

His steadily eroding box-office appeal would be the reason for that. You’ve seen the desperation in his recent films, casting a Kar-

dashian here, a Cable Guy there.

Then again, maybe the studio folks had just left a screening of “The Single Moms Club,” Perry’s latest and maybe last picture for them. It’s excruciating.

He rounded up a modest cast — Nia Long, Amy Smart, Wendi McLendon-Covey (“Bridesmaids”), Cocoa Brown and Zulay Henao as the moms, supported

by Perry himself and the unconquerable Terry Crews. He found another way of depicting women as put-upon victims of selfish, greedy, cruel and no-count men, and reason for empowering them — single motherhood.

But he is flat out of laughs, and his heartfelt Oprah-approved sermonettes about every woman deserving a “good man” and the like feel exhausted and played.

Perry has made better movies, and perhaps worse ones. But never one as dull as this.

Unlikely crew The women all have their kids in an exclusive Atlanta prep school. One (Smart) is a shel-

tered housewife going through a divorce. Another (Long, recently of “The Best Man Holiday”) is a working reporter and would-be writer whose little boy’s daddy is a never-ending disappointment.

A third (McClendon-Covey) is a publishing exec whose career is hampered by the child she had as if adding an accessory to her wardrobe. The sassy Waffle House waitress (Cocoa Brown of “For Better or Worse”) has a brood of kids, a couple in prison. And the Latina in this stew (Henao) has a new man in her life but is still controlled by her rich jerk of an ex.

Their kids are going off the rails, so the school hurls them together to plan a dance. They meet, clash cultures, drink wine and get all girl-bonding friendly.

The shared parenting wisdom is deep — “You can’t think about it. Just do it ...You take it one snotty nose and one dirty diaper at a time.”

And “I raised boys, honey. If you don’t break’em early ...” Indeed.

Madea missing Perry’s wish fulfillment fan-

Adult shop ‘allowed’ to use EBT cards for edible underwear

Pierce joins CBS’ reboot of the classic ‘Odd Couple’

EURWEB.COM

Kiss My Lingerie, a specialty adult shop in Gonzales, La., has posted a sign on its door indicating that it accepts most credit cards and EBT cards, which is a federal-issued card for welfare and food stamps. The owner of the store says she began accepting EBT cards, better known as Louisiana Purchase cards, eight months ago because she didn’t want to “discriminate against customers.”

An anonymous woman who works nearby the shop found this development very upsetting. “We were told anything could be purchased there, with the food stamp card. No child I know eats edible underwear,” she said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Family Services says that Kiss My Lingerie is not violating any state laws since welfare benefits are part of a federal program and Louisiana doesn’t dictate how families spend that money. The only purchases that EBT cards are legally not allowed to cover are are alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets, casinos and adult entertainment. But edible underwear…yes.

tasies are aimed squarely at women, with a little somethingsomething for gay men (shirtless hunks). Here, aside from Crews as a blast of tooth-flashing fun as a suitor to the waitress, the menfolk have even less to do than usual.

The women are dressed up and coiffed and made-up to the hilt, with the exception of Smart, whose makeup looks as if a child plastered it on. And none of the ladies ever look as primped as Perry himself — teeth bleached, nary a whisker on his perfectly trimmed beard out of place.

There’s little tragedy, no drama, no emotions at all to “Single Moms Club.” The culture clash of White professional woman and waitress, pampered “kept” women and working mothers, sets off no sparks.

And without Madea, without any reasonable facsimile of a joke, Lionsgate finally caught up to what audiences have been noticing for a while, and critics have complained about for years. You can’t be a “Mad Black Woman” when you’ve grown too rich and happy to wear the dress.

BLACKAMERICAWEB.COM

Kiss My Lingerie has posted a sign outside stating that it accepts EBT cards.

Wendell Pierce has signed on to CBS‘ multicamera comedy pilot “The Odd Couple,” an update of the Neil Simon classic.

Co-written and executive produced by “Friends” star Matthew Perry, “Odd Couple” revolves around two mismatched roommates — the messy Oscar Madison (Perry) and neat freak Felix Unger (Thomas Lennon).

Pierce will play Teddy, a neurotic cop and a good friend of Oscar’s who goes to his apartment every week for Game Night.

Pierce recently wrapped the fourth and final season of HBO’s “Treme” and is set to appear in a multiepisode arc on Showtime’s “Ray Donovan” next sea-

Wendell Pierce will play a neurotic cop in “The Odd Couple.’’ son. He’s also known for his role as Michael Davenport in “Waiting to Exhale.’’

Tony Randall and Jack Klugman originated the roles on television from 1970-75 on CBS.

B6

MARCH 21 – MARCH 27, 2014

STOJ