Florida Courier - April 24, 2015

U.S. POSTAGE PAID DAYTONA BEACH, FL PERMIT #189

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Courier review of Toni Morrison’s ‘God Bless the Child’ See Page B3

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APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

VOLUME 23 NO. 17

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PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL

A FLORIDA COURIER EXCLUSIVE

BICYCLING WHILE BLACK

B-CU student drowns in Daytona Beach School investigating hazing rumors

BY ASHLEY D. THOMAS FLORIDA COURIER

OCTAVIO JONES/TAMPA BAY TIMES

Tampa police stopped Alphonso Lee King and ordered him to remove a bag of food and a lock from his bicycle so an officer could confiscate it “due to the fact the bicycle is worth over $500,” the officer wrote.

The overwhelming majority of traffic tickets from the Tampa Police Department for ‘illegal bicycling’ are issued to African-Americans.

Editor’s note: The editors of the Tampa Bay Times are sharing this exclusive report with the Florida Courier. Below is a condensed version of a special report that was published in the printed version of the Times on April 19.

BY KAMEEL STANLEY AND ALEXANDRA ZAYAS TAMPA BAY TIMES

TAMPA – If the tickets are any indication, Tampa residents must be the lousiest bicyclists in Florida.

They don’t use lights at night.

Don’t ride close enough to the curb. Can’t manage to keep their hands on the handlebars.

In the past three years, Tampa police have written 2,504 bike tickets – more than Jacksonville, Miami, St. Petersburg and Orlando combined.

Police say they are gung-ho about bicycle safety and focused on stopping a plague of bike thefts.

But here’s something they don’t mention about the people they ticket: Eight out of 10 are Black.

A Tampa Bay Times (TBT) investigation has found that Tampa police are targeting poor, Black neighborhoods with obscure subsections of a Florida statute that outlaws things most people have tried on a bike, like riding with no light and carrying a friend on the handlebars.

Tampa Police Department officers use these minor violations as an excuse to stop, question and search almost anyone on wheels. The department doesn’t just condone these stops – it encourages them, pushing officers who patrol high-crime neighborhoods to do as many as possible.

More than 10,000 tickets analyzed There was the 56-year-old man who rode his bike through a stop sign while pulling a lawn mower. Police handcuffed him while verifying he had, indeed, borrowed the mower from a friend.

There was the 54-year-old man whose bike was confiscated because he couldn’t produce a receipt to prove it was his.

See BICYCLISTS, Page A2

“We have laws and we should all follow the law, but it occurred to me the stops were all occurring in certain neighborhoods and with certain children, and not in my neighborhood, and not with the White kids,” said Hillsborough Circuit Judge Tracy Sheehan.

HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE? Readers can contact the Tampa Bay Times or the Florida Courier if they have had encounters with the police while riding bicycles, or know of instances where others experienced circumstances similar to those mentioned in this special report. Contact reporter Alexandra Zayas at azayas@tampabay.com or 727-893-8413. Contact reporter Kameel Stanley at kstanley@tampabay.com or 727-893-8643. Contact the Florida Courier via email at news@flcourier.com.

“He was my best friend.”

Those were the first words Bethune-Cookman University student Devonte “Squirrel” Lampkin said to the Florida Courier on Wednesday, just days after the drowning death of 22-year-old Damian “Dame” Parks, who was a fellow student at the Daytona Beach-based historically Black university.

Parks, from Miami, was swimming in the ocean Damian with friends when ‘Dame’ Parks the tragedy happened early Sunday, April 19, near Sun Splash Park in Daytona.

Lampkin was there when his friend slipped away. Parks’ body was found ashore on Monday morning.

“We met about three years ago and since then I’ve been with him virtually every day for the last three years. I was with him during the time that he passed, and I made the call,” he told the Florida Courier through tears.

Lampkin said he made the 9-1-1 call about 3 a.m., citing that Parks was hit by a big wave.

He admitted that they had been drinking alcohol, but said the death was not hazing-related as rumored.

According to Lampkin, the students were members of a dance group and a step team, but not in a fraternity as earlier reported.

However, despite Lampkin’s denials, Daytona’s beach safety officials told another media outlet that the university’s campus police department is investigating whether hazing was somehow related to Parks’ death.

A university statement didn’t confirm or deny that the possibility of hazing is being investigated.

Coast Guard responds A United States Coast Guard report states that its Jacksonville Command Center was notified of the accident at 3 a.m. Sunday.

A 45-foot boat was launched from Ponce de Leon Inlet at 3:27 a.m. to search for Parks, followed by a crew aboard a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Clearwater at 4:32 a.m.

Jet skis also were used during morning hours to search for Parks See STUDENT, Page A2

SNAPSHOTS

Obama talks climate change in the Everglades

BY JENNY STALETOVICH AND PATRICIA MAZZEI MIAMI HERALD / TNS

MIAMI – With a sawgrass prairie at his back and spring rain clouds darkening the sky, President Obama on Wednesday cast the beleaguered Everglades as the poster child for climate change.

Obama called for quick and aggressive action in a speech that

ALSO INSIDE

pivoted between touting the administration’s efforts so far and calling out Republicans for not doing enough.

“If we don’t act, there may not be an Everglades as we know it,” Obama said on his first trip to the vast marshlands that provide habitat to a rich array of wildlife and supply much of the freshwater used by about 8 million South Florida residents.

Obama’s visit came at a critical time for both the Everglades – scientists holding a separate meeting this week warned that impacts from rising sea levels threaten to collapse coastal MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/SUN SENTINEL/TNS marshes faster than the ecosys- On Wednesday, President Obama spoke at Everglades NationSee OBAMA, Page A2

FLORIDA | A4

Teen from Canada indicted in Miami murder NATION | A5

How new poll ranks Clinton and Bush

al Park near Homestead to call attention to climate change.

TRAVEL | B1

See Rome like a Roman

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A6 COMMENTARY: TENISHIA LAFAYE: QUIT BEING SUCKERED INTO SPENDING HARD-EARNED CASH | A6

FOCUS

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APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

Time to turn out, ‘turn up’ for a better Florida It was barely two years ago and at the end of an issues-dominated legislative session when a memorable conversation took place. That year, my caucus members and I had used every tactic available to us, including forcing bills to be read in their entirety, to draw attention to the issue of health coverage for all Floridians.

After the session winded down, I had an earnest exchange with a few enlightened friends. I told them I thought it was regrettable that they had not engaged and joined those of us who fought to secure desperately needed health care for hard-working Floridians.

They responded, to my surprise, that I had not engaged

PERRY E. THURSTON, JR. GUEST COMMENTARY

them! I won’t make that mistake again.

Get engaged now We cannot afford to allow another opportunity to gain health coverage for so many people to pass us by. If you agree with so many others and me that there’s a crisis in people lacking health coverage in Florida, then now is the time to get engaged and to demand that state officials act on

a solution available to them.

More than 850,000 Floridians are being unnecessarily denied basic health care so that a few officeholders – the Republican leaders in the Florida House of Representatives and the state’s governor – can score political points with some of their supporters.

But their reasoning is illogical and their excuses are lame.

It’s time that the governor and the House do what’s long been asked of them and to accept for Florida the billions of dollars that are available to expand health care.

Stand together We, along with the business community, are subsidizing

IN-CUSTODY DEATH / BALTIMORE, MD.

‘Eye contact’ with cop gets Black man killed About 600 protestors, including the families of Freddie Gray, protested Gray’s death while in the custody of Baltimore police by marching from the site of the arrest on Tuesday.

Read the full story on Page B2.

STUDENT from A1

and shoreline searches were conducted throughout the night.

Parks’ body was found on the beach shore Monday morning, nearly 24 hours after he was reported missing.

The Coast Guard report states that Parks and another friend entered the water to swim. Soon after, Parks struggled and yelled for help. His friend reported clutching Parks by the hand, then losing his grip.

‘Night of fun’ Lampkin and Parks participated in the dance group Reconstruktion and a step team, the Melodik Stepping Experience. According to Lampkin, the friends at the beach were all members of the step team.

“Me and Dame, we had planned to go to the beach since Thursday,” Lampkin continued.

“It was just a time to let go and have some fun. We had shows and modeling that we had being doing. That night was just supposed to be a night of fun and enjoy a night of company.

“We were there at about 10 o’clock that night. We were at the dock for a while and then about 3 o’clock in the morning, we decided to go out to the beach….Dame and about four of my friends de-

BICYCLISTS from A1

One woman was walking her bike home after cooking for an elderly neighbor. She said she was balancing a plate of fish and grits in one hand when an officer flagged her down and issued her a $51 ticket for not having a light. With late fees, it has since ballooned to $90. She doesn’t have the money to pay.

TBT analyzed more than 10,000 bicycle tickets Tampa police issued in the past dozen years. The newspaper found that even though Blacks make up about a quarter of the city’s population, they received 79 percent of the bike tickets.

Some riders have been stopped more than a dozen times through the years and issued as many as 17 tickets. Some have been ticketed three times in one day.

Targeted by TPD It’s possible that Blacks in some areas use bicycles more than Whites. But that’s not

our fellow citizens forced to use emergency rooms for basic medical care.

It’s a time for our Baptist, Methodist, Protestant and Jewish congregations and other statewide leaders to stand together to call on the Florida House and Gov. Rick Scott to act in the best interest of all Floridians.

It’s time for the NAACP, the Urban League, ACLU, unions and trade groups to join hands and demand that stubborn state officials do the right thing for the people who each day find themselves having to make the decision of whether to eat or to medicate.

Now is the time for all organizations – the Greek organizations from Alphas to Zetas – the Masonic family, Charmettes, and

OBAMA from A1

tem can adapt – and for Florida politics.

State lawmakers and water managers have resisted appeals to buy a huge tract of sugar fields that environmentalists say is needed to store water to revive the wilting southern Everglades and stop polluted water from fouling estuaries near Lake Okeechobee.

Partisan crowd

KENNETH K. LAM/BALTIMORE SUN/TNS

cided to actually get in the water. The waves were high, the tide was high.

“We were drinking so there was alcohol involved unfortunately, which was one of the reasons why I decided not to get in the water but to watch them just to make sure everything was OK. But being that it was so late at night, it made it really hard to see… and it was just a tragedy,” he said as he choked back tears.

“We just watched over him when he went out to sea. And then after the first wave hit him, he went under.”

No hazing involved Lampkin says the tragedy was not a result of hazing.

“It just so happened that we decided to have some time with our friends that we stepped with…

We are a step team and they like to insinuate that was hazing. It was truly just a tragic accident to be completely honest with you,” he explained.

Parks joined the step team in February and participated in the group’s first show in March.

“He was a light to us all,” Lampkin continued. “He was extremely talented. Not only that, but he had such a great spirit.”

Praying, grieving Students, faculty and family tearfully gathered on B-CU’s campus Tuesday to mourn Parks’ death. what’s driving the disparity.

Police are targeting certain high-crime neighborhoods and nitpicking cyclists as a way to curb crime. They hope they will catch someone with a stolen bike or with drugs or that they will scare thieves away.

“This is not a coincidence,” said Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor. “Many individuals receiving bike citations are involved in criminal activity.”

Many of the tickets did go to people with criminal records.

And there are cases where police stopped someone under suspicious circumstances and found a gun or caught a burglar.

But most bike stops that led to a ticket turned up no illegal activity; only 20 percent of adults ticketed last year were arrested.

When police did arrest someone, it was almost always for a small amount of drugs or a misdemeanor like trespassing.

One man went to jail for refusing to sign a ticket.

Affluent areas overlooked On Davis Islands, where Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn lives

“This is a sad moment for our university. We never want to hear of students losing their lives. I grieve not only as the president of B-CU, but more importantly as a parent. My condolences go out to Damian’s mother and his family,” President Edison O. Jackson said in a statement.

The university has offered grief counseling on campus. A prayer circle led by Jackson was held on the school’s campus Monday morning. Hundreds of students gathered at an area called “the Quad” – some with posters, others with balloons.

Teddy bears and other stuffed animals were laid near a tree planted in his honor.

Another son lost Parks’ mother, Carolyn Parks, told WESH-TV 2 this week that her son wasn’t a great swimmer and she’s not sure why he decided to swim in the ocean.

Mrs. Parks also said this is the second time she has lost a son, stating that another son, 16, died six months ago in Miami.

Services set Homegoing services for Parks will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2, at Jordan Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 5946 NW 12th Ave, Miami. Royal Funeral Services of Miami Gardens is handling funeral arrangements. near baseball star Derek Jeter, police could issue multiple tickets. But they don’t. One recent night, TBT observed a couple leaving an ice cream shop on unlit beach cruisers and a cyclist riding along the dark coastline, visible only because of the reflectors on his pedals.

Only one ticket was written last year on Davis Islands. It went to a Black man.

The same goes for affluent Bayshore Boulevard, one of the city’s main biking destinations.

Only one person got a ticket there last year. He, too, is Black.

“Each neighborhood has a unique set of issues,” Castor said. “What is a problem in one area of the city may not be in another. We have an obligation to address the individual issues that plague each neighborhood.”

For weeks, TBT asked Castor for an interview. But the police chief declined, instead providing written statements.

Mayor Buckhorn also declined comment.

ACLU, judge question validity of stops TBT’s findings concern oth-

Underlining that partisan divide, the audience at Wednesday’s speech held outside the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center at Everglades National Park consisted largely of Democrats and environmentalists.

Obama also took a jab at Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who prohibited state staff from using the term “climate change,” according to several former employees and academics.

Scott has said no such ban exists.

“Climate change can no longer be denied. It can’t be edited out. It can’t be omitted from the conversation,” Obama said, without naming the governor.

Scott, who has greeted Obama on past trips to Florida, turned down the White House’s invitation to do so Wednesday. The governor’s office said Scott had to stay in Tallahassee for the legislative session – though he traveled to Orlando on Monday and West Palm Beach on Tuesday, and plans to visit Fort Myers on Thursday.

In a statement Tuesday, Scott noted the state has spent more on Everglades restoration so far than the federal government.

“President Obama needs to live up to his commitment on the Everglades,” he said, noting the federal government has yet to pay for a $58 million maintenance backlog at the largest national park east of the Mississippi. “This has caused critical maintenance delays in the Everglades to linger for over a year.”

Slow progress Environmentalists say that had more progress been made on restoration work, the wetlands would be better posi-

ers – Hillsborough Circuit judges and the public defender, social rights advocates and some of the leading researchers in race and policing.

“You almost roll your eyes when you read the reports,” said Circuit Judge Tracy Sheehan.

“Oh no, another bike stop, another kid riding on the handlebars, here we go. And certainly, we have laws and we should all follow the law, but it occurred to me the stops were all occurring in certain neighborhoods and with certain children, and not in my neighborhood, and not with the White kids.”

Joyce Hamilton Henry, director of advocacy for ACLU of Florida, wants to know: “If it’s not racial profiling, what is it?”

TBT found that the department has ticketed hundreds of Black bicyclists each year for more than a decade.

The racial breakdown of the tickets suggests police are using their discretion differently when it comes to bikes. For more serious traffic offenses, like failing to stop at a red light, Blacks in 2014 got only 11 percent of tickets.

Bike tickets – 81 percent.

the 100 Black Men to take to the streets and, if necessary, to storm Florida’s capital in peaceful protest as another legislative session comes to a close without adequate help for the working poor.

Finally, to our young people and their organizations, we need you to turn out and ‘ turn up ‘for your neighbors and friends.

Come and get involved with the enthusiasm that’s only afforded the young.

It’s time that we all recognize that this is the time to turn out and turn up for a better Florida!

Perry E. Thurston, Jr. is the past Florida Democratic House Leader and is a current candidate for Florida Senate District 31.

tioned to survive seas expected to rise by about 3 feet in the next century.

“This is not just about birds and alligators and panthers,” said Everglades Foundation CEO Eric Eikenberg, who attended Wednesday’s speech.

“It’s about the future of Florida.”

Staging the president’s remarks at Everglades National Park appeared a calculated political move. Voters will elect a new president in 18 months – and the Republican field is teeming with wouldbe candidates who question whether climate change is man-made, despite scientific scholarship concluding that it is. That includes U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and, to a lesser extent, former Gov. Jeb Bush, both Miamians.

No airboat ride Before his speech, the president and park rangers walked the Anhinga Trail, the park’s most popular tourist stop, passing baby alligators, sleek cormorants and a pair of black vultures, infamous for periodically eating the rubber off of visitor vehicles. There was no chance to take an iconic photo of the president on an airboat; a possible ride didn’t happen due to a storm threat.

In his speech, Obama also highlighted the National Park Service, which celebrates its 100th anniversary next year.

A new report found national park land stores more than 14 million tons of carbon every year. The Everglades stores enough to absorb half the emissions from South Florida vehicles, said National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, who visited with Dante B. Fascell Elementary fourth-graders before the speech.

National parks also drew 300 million visitors last year, who spent about $16 billion on nearby communities that supported 277,000 jobs, Obama said.

Hoping to draw more visitors, Obama said $25 million would be spent to spruce up parks. Starting in the fall, fourth-graders and their families nationwide will also get free admission for a year.

Performance review and ticket stops Internal police department records show a sustained effort to encourage more bike stops as a means to reduce more serious crimes.

Officers get yearly “productivity reports,” calculating, in part, how many tickets they give. One personnel file detailed a “red grid patrol” in which officers are encouraged to “engage and identify offenders through street checks, bike stops and traffic stops.”

In another file, a supervisor told a new officer he should learn rarely-used traffic statutes. The fact that he wasn’t familiar with them was noted as a “significant weakness” in his 2012 performance review. The next year, the new officer impressed his bosses with his “dramatic increase” in “self-initiated activity.”

He wrote 111 bike tickets, the most in the department. All but four of the cyclists were Black.

To read the Tampa Bay Times investigative report in its entirety and Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor’s full statements, go to http:// tbtim.es/biketickets.

APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

FLORIDA

A3 a while. But the shooting death of 14-year-old Richard Newton last month provided both the spark and the gravitas for this event.

The teenager was shot to death at a birthday party in Sulphur Springs on March 21.

Lt. Randy Peters, public information officer with the Tampa Police Department, says the increased crime rate keeps the residents from enjoying the Florida lifestyle. He said the police want “people to feel safe in their community...to be able to come back home and sit on their porch and enjoy themselves like you and I do.”

Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor was straightforward in her assessment of why community engagement is so important. She wants to convey to all citizens in Tampa that the police department exists to serve the citizens.

Furthermore, having police partnering up with local communities is the “only way we’re going to keep our communities safe,” she stated.

Community outreach

PHOTOS BY SAMUEL JOHNSON/SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

A series of anti-violence events with officers and residents, like this one on April 18, are being scheduled in Tampa.

Tampa officers, residents unite for anti-violence march Hundreds protest spike in crime at city’s Sulphur Springs neighborhood

BY SAMUEL JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn addresses the crowd gathered for the march.

The Tampa Police Department is combining forces with residents and community organizations to combat a recent spike in violent crime.

On April 18, roughly 200 plus residents, community leaders and Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor marched in solidarity to stop the violence in Sulphur Springs, a neighborhood in Tampa.

Those who participated in the six-block trek from Abundant Life Church to Idlewild Sulphur Springs Church marched side by side with local luminaries like Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

The Sulphur Springs march was the first in a series of anti-violence rallies scheduled in Tampa.

Mayor, chief speak Buckhorn recalled the tough times the Sulphur Springs area experienced during the mid to late 1980s. He sees the paring of residents and police as the makings of a “great team.’’

The idea for the police to reach out to the Sulphur Springs community has been in the works for

Governor and state workers end fight over drug tests

BY DARA KAM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – Ending a four-year legal battle that cost taxpayers at least $675,000, Gov. Rick Scott and lawyers representing a state workers’ union have agreed on the types of Florida government employees who can be forced to undergo suspicionless drug tests.

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which represents the workers, and Scott haggled for more than a year over which employees can be subjected to random drug testing after an appellate court found that Gov. Rick Scott’s blanket Scott drug-screening policy violated constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

Under a settlement agreement filed Monday in federal court, the state agreed to pay the ACLU $375,000 in legal costs for the drawn-out litigation and to limit the drug tests to about 7,000 workers in 157

different job classes, a fraction of the 34,000 employees Scott’s blanket policy was intended to cover. The agreement applies to the union’s collective bargaining units, which include employees who are not duespaying members, and job applicants.

No appeal Scott, whose drug-testing push also included an attempt to require applicants for welfare benefits to submit to urinalyses, issued an executive order requiring all state workers to undergo random drug screens shortly after he took office in 2011.

A federal judge put the policy on hold after the ACLU filed suit that summer, and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Scott could not constitutionally justify drug testing for all types of state employees without a reason, though it said testing could occur for some workers such as those in “safety-sensitive” positions.

The appeals court ordered Scott and lawyers for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, to come up with a list of jobs that could be subject to testing.

Scott appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court,

which refused to consider the case.

‘Waste of money’ Monday’s agreement, which still requires court approval, identified more than 100 job classes that Scott can test for drug or alcohol use. Workers in most of the positions deal with vulnerable children or adults, handle heavy equipment or are already required to undergo medical tests for other reasons.

“We are pleased that the settlement will allow Florida to protect families by ensuring state employees working in the most critical areas of safety and security remain drugfree,” Scott spokesman John Tupps said.

In addition to the $375,000 Scott agreed to give the ACLU, the state has paid private lawyer Thomas Bishop at least $180,000 for legal fees associated with the case. The state has also spent nearly $120,000 on a special master to oversee the negotiations with the ACLU. “It doesn’t seem to have panned out. That’s an understatement. It seems like an enormous waste of money spent on something that was obviously not constitutional to begin with. I’m not sure why (Scott) made that choice and

why he decided to pursue it for so long, but we are happy that the courts have recognized the unconstitutionality of this policy and that we can finally bring this very expensive – to the taxpayers and the parties – litigation to a close,” said ACLU lawyer Shalini Goel Agarwal.

More money The minimum $675,000 tab for the state worker drug-testing lawsuit does not include at least $300,000 Scott also spent on a losing battle to force applicants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to undergo drug screens.

Scott dropped his appeal of the case earlier this year after the same federal appeals court ruled that the state law, pushed by Scott in his first bid for governor, also violated Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

The taxpayers’ bill for the welfare drug-testing lawsuit does not include potentially hefty legal fees for the ACLU, which also represented the plaintiff – a veteran who is a single parent – in that case.

April Goode is a member of Unified Community Outreach, a grassroots organization that helps residents with various resources like understanding their health insurance, help with paying their bills, and then learning to budget to pay those bills. The organization also takes on a social worker/case management role dealing with family issues.

Goode half jokingly reminded those assembled that “we are the community so we are also the crime.”

This was in reference to the uptick in violent crime and black-on-black crime in Sulphur Springs. In Goode’s assessment, the community needs to recognize that there are other outlets to resolving differences than resorting to violence.

Grabbing attention is often the first step in starting a dialogue about change, according to Corby Norphlet.

He is the president of CowBros, a faith-based organization whose mission is spread on horseback.

Norphlet said showing up at events like this can kick-start the conversation. He understands that the CowBros might not be the deciding difference but they “...can be part of the difference.”

The CowBros are a well-known group of African-American ranchers.

The 20 or so CowBros (and a few CowGals) taking part in the march hoped that seeing a 2,000-pound animal meander down the street will have an domino effect from the kids to their parents.

Norphlet hopes that they will change their outlook and say: “Let’s go do something other than kill ourselves, other than fighting, other than doing all this crazy stuff.”

At the Idlewild Sulphur Springs Church, there were refreshments, entertainment and an opportunity to connect with positive resources in the neighborhood.

Florida Virtual School opens enrollments for 2015-2016 SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

Florida Virtual School Full Time (FLVS FT), a statewide virtual public school, is opening enrollment for grades kindergarten through 12th grade for the 201516 school year. Information sessions – both in person and online – are being held for parents and students across the state to learn more about the school.

Combining Florida-certified teachers, a proven curriculum, technology tools, and community experiences, Florida Virtual School Full Time delivers a high quality education online to children who benefit from an individualized approach to learning.

“Online learning is one of the fastest growing forms of education, and students attending school in 2015 will learn and apply their education in a much more technologically advanced and dependent world than their parents. We prepare children to succeed in that world,” said Lead Kindergarten-8 Principal Marcie Trombino.

For information about enrollment and information sessions, visit the school’s website at www. flvs.net or call 877-500-3587.

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APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015 Obront and Michael James Corey wrote in an 18-page filing asking a judge to allow March out on bond before trial.

After the shots erupt, according to the defense, the video shows Marc exiting the car in confusion, go inside the apartment and then emerge. Marc is seen following one of the drug dealers, Anthony Rodriguez, but the video “does not show Marc shoot” at Rodriguez, threaten or even touch him.”

Police believe that after the shooting, Marc rushed in, grabbed one of his brother’s two pistols and began firing at Rodriguez as the man ran away.

Others indicted

WALTER MICHOT/MIAMI HERALD/TNS

Canadian teen Marc Wabafiyebazu, 15, is shown in adult criminal court during his arraignment in a Miami murder case on April 20.

Defense: Video ‘completely exonerates’ 15-year-old Canadian in Miami murder case

BY DAVID OVALLE MIAMI HERALD/TNS

Video surveillance “completely exonerates” a Canadian teen charged in connection with a violent marijuana robbery that led to the fatal shooting of his older brother, defense attorneys claimed Monday.

The defense theory was outlined in a court filing for 15-yearold Marc Wabafiyebazu, whose attorneys formally entered a plea of not guilty during a hearing Monday.

Marc is the son of Roxanne Dube, Canada’s consul general

in Miami. The violent killing of his brother, and his arrest on attempted armed robbery and felony murder charges, has garnered intense media coverage in their native Canada.

A grand jury last week indicted Marc, a Palmetto High School student. In Florida, suspects can be charged with felony murder if they participate in a crime — in Marc’s case, attempted armed robbery — that leads to someone’s death.

Drug deal gone bad?

Miami police say Marc and his

older brother, 17-year-old Jean, arranged a deal last month to buy 2 pounds of marijuana for $4,800.

But all along, they planned to rob the drug dealers at an apartment in the Coral Way neighborhood, investigators believe.

Inside the apartment, a shootout erupted. Jean was killed, as was drug dealer Joshua Wright, 17, a former Coral Gables High School student. Two others were wounded.

On Monday, Marc’s defense team laid out its strategy in detail, saying the teen “did nothing more than sit in a car while his brother made a series of bad de-

cisions which cost him his life.”

In their court filing, lawyers described video surveillance obtained by Miami police detectives showing all the players arriving by car to the Coral Way-area apartment where the drug deal was to unfolded.

‘Poor lookout’ The video shows Marc sitting in his mother’s black BMW, unarmed.

“He would be a very poor lookout or backup for his brother in the event the alleged armed robbery went poorly,” lawyers Curt

Sources with knowledge of the investigation say Marc told a police officer he fired at Rodriguez — and .40-caliber bullet casings found outside the apartment, out of the camera’s view, support the belief he did indeed fire at the fleeing man.

Rodriguez and Johann Ruiz have also been indicted for lesser felony murder charges for allegedly participating in the drug deal that led to Wright and Jean’s deaths.

According to police reports, Marc confessed to his role in planning the armed robbery as a transport officer was taking him to the juvenile detention center.

He also said he and his brother had committed robberies before and “had done the same type thing in Canada,” according to an arrest report.

Marc’s lawyers, in their court filing, blasted the Miami police’s arrest report, saying the supposed “spontaneous” admissions were not admissible in court and “highly suspect.” The teen was never read his Miranda rights informing of him he had the right to remain to silent, the lawyers said.

The defense strategy is clear: Slain brother Jean was to blame.

“Lost in all of the media attention surrounding this incident is the fact that Marc is a 15-year-old child. He is not a hardened gang member,” lawyers wrote. “He is a just a shy kid who did not know anyone in Miami other than his troubled brother.”

NATION

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Poll: Most Americans say Obamacare should get time to work

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks at the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 27 in National Harbor, Md. Conservative activists attended the annual political conference to discuss their agenda. NIU

BLOOMBERG NEWS

It may come as news to Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, but a majority of Americans is not, in his words, dreaming of “repealing every word of Obamacare.”

Fifty-one percent of U.S. adults say that while the Affordable Care Act may still require small changes, “we should see how it works,” according to a new Bloomberg Politics poll.

Twelve percent said President Barack Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment should be left alone, 35 percent said it should be repealed, and 2 percent said they weren’t sure.

Abdul-Jabbar recovering from bypass surgery FROM WIRE REPORTS

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery on April 16 and is expected to make a full recovery. Abdul-Jabbar was admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center with cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Richard Shemin, UCLA’s chief of cardiac surgery, said the surgery scorer was successful and he expects Abdul-Jabbar to make a full recovery.

During his 20-year NBA career, Abdul-Jabbar was a six-time MVP, six-time NBA champion and 19-time AllStar. He is the NBA’s alltime leading scorer with 38,387 points.

XIAOLEI/XINHUA/ SIPA USA/TNS

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses the press after attending the annual Women’s Empowerment Principles event at UN headquarters in New York on March 10.

Bush leads Republicans by an inch while Clinton leads Democrats by a mile

BY ALI ELKIN BLOOMBERG NEWS/TNS

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has a slight lead over Republican presidential hopefuls, and Hillary Clinton has a significant one over fellow Democrats, according to a CNN/ORC International poll published Monday.

Seventeen percent of self-identified Republicans and GOP-leaning independents said they favored Bush, who has not formally declared himself a candidate yet. He was followed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, another undeclared contender, at 12 percent, and Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida at 11 percent each.

It’s a completely different story on the Democratic side, where 69 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents selected Clinton, the former secretary of state who joined the race April 12, as their top choice.

NIU XIAOLEI/XINHUA/ SIPA USA/TNS

Biden at 11 percent Possible challengers trailed far behind: Vice President Joe Biden took 11 percent, independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders took 5 percent, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb took 3 percent, and former Govs. Martin O’Malley of Maryland and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island took 1 percent each.

Clinton’s primary support grew by 7 percentage points since the last poll in March.

In general-election match-ups, Rubio performed best against Clinton, 41 percent to 55 percent.

The poll reached 435 U.S. adults by phone for the Republican sample and 458 for the Democratic sample from April 16-19, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. For the general-election poll, 1,018 adults were surveyed, with a margin of

error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

It also was announced Monday that Bush will visit three NATO countries — Germany, Poland and Estonia — in June.

Given a tumultuous Middle East and the likely Democratic nomination of Clinton, foreign policy is sure to stay in the spotlight during the GOP nomination battle.

While the cost of everyday items continues to go up...

It’s good to know the price you pay for electricity has come down.

For the second time this year, your FPL bill is getting even lower, by $3 a month starting in May.

FPL.com/LowerBills Based on typical 1,000 kWh residential customer bill. This advertising is paid for by FPL shareholders, not our customers.

EDITORIAL

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APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

Channeling anger for change Whenever people don’t know how to channel their anger, destruction is likely to happen. Let’s face it — unless one learns how to be proactive and not allow their emotions to get the best of them, trouble is around the corner. Does that mean that one’s emotions should be shut off? Of course not. What it does mean is that self-control is paramount to getting things done effectively and efficiently.

The recent killings of unarmed Black men at the hands of White police officers deserves outrage, but outrage that leads to change, not violence. As AfricanAmerican citizens rally for justice through protests and townhall meetings, we must understand why we must get involved within the political structure in our cities. The importance of local politics cannot and should not take a backseat to the politics of the country. Think about it

DR. SINCLAIR GREY III GUEST COLUMNIST

for a moment: People can spread the news about what happened on their favorite shows (e.g. Empire and Scandal), but for some reason remain mute about important issues happening within their community. By the time people find out certain laws and ordinances have been passed, anger swells. Well, it’s time to be proactive and become committed to social change.

Take action We don’t have to stop there.

The delay in the confirmation of Loretta Lynch as Attorney General has taken too long. Repub-

licans have used excuse after excuse for not doing what’s right.

Again, people can become angry, which they should be, but the question is, what are they going to do about it? Simply pointing out what’s wrong isn’t going to go far. Action needs to be taken. Call Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) and voice your opinion. His number is 202.224.2541.

The more we call his office and voice our opinion, the more we show how serious we are.

What happened in Atlanta with those teachers involved in the ‘Standardized Cheating Scandal’ has created an interesting dialogue between the issue of teaching our children to think critically or teaching them to pass the standardized tests.

Whatever your opinion may be of standardized testing, our children are robbed of a quality education when curriculums are geared towards taking a test and

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: RUBIO RIDE

STEVE SACK, THE MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 254 Is Tampa the new Ferguson? Black Floridians have long memories when it comes to municipal prejudice and racism, especially when local police departments enforce it.

We clearly remember when the annual Florida Classic football game between Bethune-Cookman and FAMU was played in Tampa for almost 20 years – until adjacent malls started to shut down when Black football fans showed up, the Tampa Police Department started issuing tickets for jaywalking, and city leadership stood silent. (In 1997, Orlando got the Classic and its estimated $20 million weekend economic impact and never looked back.)

Decades later, Police Chief Jane Castor is criminalizing poor Black people on bicycles and turning them revenue sources for Hillsborough County, while driving them into financial ruin and eventually to jail. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn stands silent. Tampa’s racist municipal legacy continues. It should officially adopt Ferguson, Mo. as its sister city…

“The Great Divider” – Want to see a microcosm of the divide between Barack Obama’s Black diehard supporters and his vocal critics? Read (if you can) Dr. Michael Eric Dyson’s 9,300-word online article in New Republic magazine called “The Ghost of Cornell West.” In it, Dyson

QUICK TAKES FROM #2: STRAIGHT, NO CHASER

CHARLES W. CHERRY II, ESQ. PUBLISHER

attempts to assassinate the character and career of West, his former friend and mentor. West’s unforgiveable sins? Criticizing Obama, and calling out Dyson, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Al Sharpton for muting criticism of Obama’s policies to get on MSNBC. Here’s a revealing quote from Dyson’s article: “It is a sad truth that most politicians are serial rhetorical lovers and promiscuous ideological mates, leaving behind scores of briefly valued surrogates and supporters. West should have understood that Obama had had similar trysts with many others.”

In other words, Dyson admits that Obama is a political ‘ho’ – a fact West should have known. Therefore, West shouldn’t be so upset that Obama treated him like a political ‘trick’ after Obama got what he wanted: the presidency. OK…Got it…

Contact me at ccherry@gmail.com.

THE CREDO OF THE BLACK PRESS The Black Press believes that Americans can best lead the world away from racism and national antagonism when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person. The Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief...that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

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Starts with us Channeling our anger to do positive work within our community must begin with all of us.

No longer can we wait on government funding to create programs that will enhance and improve our community. One person can make a difference. When we learn to channel our anger for change, we are in essence setting the stage for policies to ben-

Charles W. Cherry, Sr. (1928-2004), Founder Julia T. Cherry, Senior Managing Member, Central Florida Communicators Group, LLC Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Cassandra CherryKittles, Charles W. Cherry II, Managing Members Charles W. Cherry II, Esq., Publisher Dr. Glenn W. Cherry, Sales Manager Dr. Valerie Rawls-Cherry, Human Resources Jenise Morgan, Senior Editor Angela VanEmmerik, Creative Director Chicago Jones, Eugene Leach, Louis Muhammad, Lisa Rogers-Cherry, Circulation Ashley Thomas, Staff Writer Delroy Cole, Kim Gibson, Photojournalists MEMBER National Newspaper Publishers Association Society of Professional Journalists Florida Press Association Associated Press National Newspaper Association

efit those who need it. On the other hand, when anger is improperly channeled towards violence, nothing gets done. As a matter fact, uncontrollable anger will cause the destruction of our businesses and neighborhoods.

No one wants that, except those who don’t care about the plight of African-Americans.

Here’s the question— how will you control your anger and what are you going to do to make a difference in this world?

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is an activist, speaker, writer, author, life coach, and host of The Sinclair Grey Show heard on Mondays at 2 p.m. on WAEC Love 860am (iHeart Radio and Tune In). Contact him at drgrey@ sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @drsinclairgrey. Click on this article at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Manhood of my father My father embodied the reality that loss of life was a real possibility making powerful stances and working for the people.

My father is a man’s man. The concept of manhood daddy embodies is what I initially understood as a man in the deepest sense of the word. The nuances and the contradictions of manhood, I learned over time, are to be studied and passed on father to sons, uncle to nephews, grandfather to grandsons. It is the way of balancing the words that compose the songs of masculinity, and balancing the world-at-large. The ancestors spoke of these things in action.

But, in practice today alpha males are under siege. Like never before, and in a lesser way reminiscent of Europe’s centuries of killing their women who owned an inkling of self-awareness and power; boys with pure masculine energy are bewildered by the zero tolerance policies aimed at them with nefarious techniques. It is a thinly veiled assault and the impact on boys is staggering. What keeps it going is a combination of things that begins with language denying this trend.

Generation of the millennial

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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not towards the development of a child’s intellect. Because of the actions by those teachers involved in the cheating scandal, students have been cheated at the hands of those teachers who deemed it more important to alter and fabricate test scores. Who gets hurt? Our children. Because of what transpired, it’s incumbent upon all of us to educate our children outside of the classroom.

I could point to causes and reasons and sight how this is done, but it is well publicized across the country. What is under reported is one of the consequences of this social experiment: killers. Popular culture has named this generation the millennials. The name doesn’t give a face to what lurks within basic dysfunctions and disparities within these children. It is a name given to an entity we are trying to distance ourselves from. So, the gaps in their self-awareness, and their inability to ground into the truths of existence haven’t a chance of balancing the elements.

We have moved away from developing men to shaping men is a trite statement pretending a standard was set in American culture when it wasn’t deep as what I am shedding some light upon. Initiation is essential to the continuation of a life of

GREGORY WOODS GUEST COLUMNIST

Without developed men to guide millennials they will hover in cyberspace oblivious of self, and the lack of initiated and developed men to balance the elements. purpose, and what we haven’t in place is this practice. Without developed men to guide millennials they will hover in cyberspace oblivious of self, and the lack of initiated and developed men to balance the elements. Families and women will be unable to stand against the monsters our way of life creates for each generation.

The numerous questions boys ask of men capable of developing them into men cannot be easily summarized. But unanswered society pays a hefty price. What we cannot afford is to be unable to train our youth to be healers.

Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories, is Native American and African. He works as a community activist and as a ceremonial leader in the Washington, D.C. area facilitating in the reconciliation processes between races. He can be reached at crowcreekndn@yahoo.com.

Click on this article at www.flcourier. com.

Quit being suckered into spending your hard-earned money The offers can be tempting. Get $1,000 cash now to go on a vacation or catch up on bills. Apply for a line of credit to get a discount and avoid using your hardearned cash now.

Companies have creative ways of masking debt to make it more appealing for you to fall deeper into a hole. Taking on more debt is only going to hurt you more if you are doing so bad financially that you need $1,000 to catch up on your bills or to afford a vacation.

People make the mistake of treating credit as if it’s free money, so they get suckered by the continual offers of fast cash and promotions to apply for credit to pay for simple transactions. I know because I used to fall for it too before I decided enough is enough and if I want to achieve my financial goals, easy credit will delay me.

Credit over cash?

You have to resist the temptation to accept new credit offers. Recognize that they are tricks to sink you further into debt and farther away from your financial goals.

How will you ever achieve financial security if you are constantly choosing credit over cash? That credit comes at a cost, daily interest accruing on your balance to make creditors richer and you poorer.

So not only do you have to pay back the amount of what you charged, but you have to pay back the interest, which could be an additional 13% interest on a credit card and more than 100% interest on a payday loan, and if you carryover the balance because you can’t afford to pay it all off, you continue to pay even more interest.

Meanwhile, what do you think this is doing to your savings goals? Money you could be stashing into savings and investment accounts for an emergency fund and retirement is fattening the coffers of multi-

TENESHIA LAFAYE MISS MONEY SENSE

million dollar creditors.

So delay your instant gratification to avoid long-term debt stress. Exhibit willpower and just say, “no” to credit offers unless you are financially stable, meaning caught up on your bills, and you have ample savings, at least six months of living expenses. When you are financially stable with plenty of cash stashed, you are in position to sometimes take advantage of the various points, discounts and rewards associated with applying for new credit as long as you can easily pay off your balance without any stress.

‘Recognize the games’ However, most people use credit as a way to get out of a hole or to avoid spending their actual cash so they can stretch it to pay for something else, only to suffer the consequences of mounting debt.

So recognize the games creditors play to get your money and decide today to stop playing and start paying cash (or debit) unless you can afford to play in the credit game.

Teneshia LaFaye is a former awardwinning newspaper journalist and a nationally certified financial education instructor. She owns a health insurance agency and has written two books, What My Mom Taught Me About Money and Mom’s Money Lessons. Click on this article at www.flcourirer.com to write your own response.

APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

A new era for Cuba

Faced with a hostile do-nothing Congress committed only to obstruction, President Obama announced that if necessary, he would act on his own, using his pen, his phone and his platform.

Last weekend, we witnessed the power of that commitment, as he shook hands with Cuba President Raul Castro at the Summit of Americas in Panama, moving to normalize relations with Cuba after more than fifty years of hostility. With that act – soon to be followed by striking Cuba from the list of terrorist nations – the president opened up a new era with our neighbors to the South.

No longer will the U.S. isolate itself in its fixation on isolating Cuba.

The effort to overthrow and then isolate Cuba began over fifty-five years ago. In 1960, the U.S. still resorted regularly to “gunboat diplomacy” across the hemisphere, intervening in countries largely on behalf of U.S. multinationals and the local landed gentry. Fifty-five years ago, South Africa was still under apartheid, and Africa was still largely colonized. In this country, segregation was still enforced in the South. Blacks rode on the back of the bus, and were routinely deprived of their right to vote. The U.S. was just beginning to escalate its intervention

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

into Vietnam. China, ruled by Mao, was supposedly allied with the Soviet Union, and inalterably committed to communism.

We built the wall around Cuba even as the wall still divided Berlin and the Cold War divided Europe.

New partnerships Over the years, the world was transformed, yet somehow we sustained the wall around Cuba.

Our neighbors to the South grew more independent – and more democratic. We came to celebrate much of the world that Castro supported – Mandala free and South Africa democratic, Angola free, the covert wars in Central America over, civil rights transforming America. Instead of warring on Vietnam, we now include it in trade negotiations for a new partnership.

Yet amid all this change, the wall stayed up around Cuba.

Presidents came and went. The Cubans turned out to be helpful in the war on drugs and the war on terror. We made Castro

EDITORIAL

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VISUAL VIEWPOINT: $70,000 MINIMUM WAGE

into a symbol of independence for developing nations in the hemisphere and beyond. Cuban doctors and teachers were dispatched across this hemisphere and Africa, dispensing aid not revolution. But walls create shadows, foster ignorance and fear.

The embargo continues – only the Congress can lift that – but at the Summit of the America’s this weekend in Panama, President Obama brought down the wall, meeting with his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro. This was the first time the two nation’s leaders met for substantive talks since then Vice President Richard Nixon met with Fidel Castro in 1959.

Admiration for Obama “The cold war has been over for a long time,” the president said in his opening remarks at the Summit. “I am not interested in having battles, frankly, that began before I was born.” Castro praised the president, calling him an “honest man” from a “humble background,” saying, “I admire him.”

This historic meeting can open a new era in U.S. relations with the hemisphere. It doesn’t solve all the problems between Cuba and the U.S., but, as the president said, it puts us on a “path toward the future.”

MILT PRIGGEE, WWW.MILTPRIGGEE.COM

Here is President Obama at his best. He has always argued that we should talk unconditionally with our adversaries, even while agreeing only conditionally. Now he has done the nation an inestimable service of ending the failed policy toward Cuba and opening the possibility of new relations with our neighbors to the South.

The U.S. will gain in influence in the hemisphere. Cuba will change far faster with the wall down than it did behind the wall.

These days, the Washington press corps seems fixated on the

2016 presidential election that is more than a year and one-half away. But before we turn our attention to the contenders vying to be the next president, we might pay attention to the president we have. This weekend, President Obama made America stronger by discarding a failed policy long past its due date. For that we should all be grateful.

Jesse Jackson Sr. is the founder/president of the Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition. Click on this article at www.flcourier.com.

Scott suing Federal government on low-income pool for hospitals Gov. Rick Scott is a complex politician because sometimes he wants money from the Federal government and other times he refuses money from them. This is very confusing to Floridians, and many times he refuses to explain his position to residents in the state.

For over a year, our governor knew that the federal government warned states that the low-income pool program was going to end in June 2015. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was intended to provide hospitals with more paying customers because there were less uninsured folks to cover. As a result, the president expected there would be no need for a low-income pool program.

ROGER CALDWELL GUEST COLUMNIST

cision allowing states to decide whether or not to expand Medicaid has made a mess of the president’s plan. The 2012 ruling by the Supreme Court bars the federal government from forcing states into expanding Medicaid. Governor Scott claims that the federal government is putting pressure on Florida to expand Medicaid in order to get funding for the lowincome pool.

Some political experts think A big mess Scott’s position is ridiculous, but But the Supreme Court’s de- our governor is always ready to

ending the low-income pool, but on the other hand, he states that the federal government can’t be trusted to foot the bill for the ACA. Here again, Scott is selectively deciding when it is OK to accept funding from the federal government, and when it is not.

“It is difficult to understand how suing CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) on day 45 of a 60-day session regarding an issue the state has been aware of for the last 12 months will yield a timely resolution to the critical health care challenges facing our state. The federal government has no obligation to provide the hospitals funds,” says Republican Senate President Andy Gardiner.

As time runs out in the 2015 Selective decisions legislative session, suing the fedOn one hand, Scott wants to eral government makes very little sue the federal government for sense, and will probably be unfight President Obama and the federal government, even when he is wrong. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa said Scott was “not playing it straight. The state of Florida has known for a year that LIP funding is expiring, and this hypercritical stunt by Governor Scott will do nothing to serve our neighbors, Florida hospitals, or Florida businesses.”

There is now confusion in this Florida legislative session because the House is refusing to expand Medicaid and the Senate is proposing a compromise which expands Medicaid. Since there are just days left in the session, the two are gridlocked.

Trying times Strange things are going on these days! There’s so much evil in the world that it’s hard to wake up and remain hopeful for better days. Many days I wonder, “When will the ‘strangeness’ end?”

In the context of ending strangeness, many powerful, conscious, well-dressed Black women gathered to conduct a prayer vigil and speak out at the US Capitol. After several unsuccessful attempts to make an appointment with Senate Leader McConnell, other women leaders and I went to his office to have a word about setting a date for a confirmation vote on Loretta Lynch as U.S. Attorney General. After waiting for a very long time outside the office, a staff member agreed to a meeting, but only with Kentucky constituents in our group and not in his office. Instead, the meeting was to be held in the hallway with security guards watching over us.

We were a large group of women - mostly Black women, but not all Black women. We were orderly and civil, but, it seems, some members of Congress view all women as a threat.

Their actions indicate that some of them have us on their agenda everyday—trying to block rights we have already won and voting against any we try to gain.

Blatantly ignored Senator McConnell was in his office. We were told he was meeting with another group. While we waited, approximately 20 White men came out of his office. Unlike us, no security guards accompanied them to a predetermined, “holding-area” in the hall in front of the Senator’s office. When it was clear the Senator planned to ignore us, Barbara Williams-Skinner led us in prayer and we left, promising to return. We left with the agreement to fast and pray until the Senator calls for a confirmation vote.

We were given the unreasonable excuse that a vote will not be scheduled until a pending Human Trafficking bill passes. It should be noted that, more than human trafficking, Republicans are interested in including anti-abortion language in the bill. Seemingly, they can only do one thing at a time, and they aren’t doing that very well. We’re really in trouble with this Senate!

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

Another challenge we support is the effort to “Bring Back Our Girls”.

On the way to Senator McConnell’s office, our group joined a supporting press conference. Two of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram -- who later escaped -- were present. As hundreds of girls languish in captivity, Mr. McConnell, the new leader, is mute in the articulation of a role for our nation in finding them and stopping the brutality of this type of kidnapping directed at innocent women and girls.

Income inequity While dealing with those two problems, we have Republicans pushing a budget that savages the already poor and marginalized. Republicans now speak publicly to the issue of income inequity, yet they’re not concerned enough to make the rich pay their fair share of tax or raise the minimum wage.

Lest you think I only criticize Republicans, I have a portion for Democrats. Several well-placed Democratic leaders have joined Republicans in their greater concern for the opinions and interests of the Israeli Prime Minister than in supporting our President and Secretary of State’s attempt to negotiate peace and avoid another senseless war!

What’s this nation coming to with its worldwide display of disrespect for women and Black people on issues of justice? How can those on the right justify their efforts to destroy the families of millions of Brown people with their draconian deportation proposals?

In the natural, Hope runs thin. The only alternative to these human failings is to turn to our faith that God will work it out! Until then, join us in fasting and praying that all will be well — soon.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is president of the National Congress of Black Women. Click on this article at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

productive. Florida is looking at a $1.3 billion budget gap, and that is where the two Houses should start in terms of their negotiation.

Governor Scott can blast the federal government, but the two Houses must come together and present the governor with a balanced budget. The residents must come first, and our representatives were voted in to do a job.

The governor needs to help resolve the problems with the budget in the two Houses, and worry about suing the federal government when the legislative session has completed its work.

Roger Caldwell is the CEO and founder of On-Point Media Group. Click on this article at www.flcourier.com.

Are Black companies being excluded at Tampa airport?

It was recently reported in the Tampa Bay Business Journal that Concessions International (CI), considered the oldest, most successful African-American-owned airport food concessions business in the nation and the TinsleyBridgeman Group were not rated favorably by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA) selection committee, which influences the awarding of contracts to operate restaurants at the airport.

This is highly mysterious for a number of reasons, but the main reason is the Black companies’ greater experience in airport restaurants.

All things supposedly being equal, these Black companies can stand toe-to-toe or headto-head with any competition in the respective packages for which they are bidding on.

On the surface, it appears that recently formed companies with partners that have little or no actual airport food concessions experience scored higher than CI, a Black-owned family company that has been in the airport concessions business for more than 40 years.

JAMES RANSOM TAMPA ORGANIZATION OF BLACK AFFAIRS

about their commitment to diversity and economic inclusion of African-Americans as prime concession operators.

Another African-Americanowned company, TinsleyBridgeman, an Airport Disadvantaged Commercial Business Enterprise, also scored lower than a company that was reported in the local news as having contributed funds to the campaign of one of one local elected officials currently serving on the HCAA Board.

How can this be explained?

The Tinsley-Bridgeman Group has operated the most profitable restaurant concept brand in that chain for over nine consecutive years. The group currently has 150 employees – 70 percent minority – working at its TIA restaurants. The employees live and work in Tampa Bay. If the Tinsley–Bridgeman Group had received higher marks and had a better chance of being awardExtensive experience ed a package in this competiCI’s experience is impec- tion, the result could be 500 cable and they are current- new jobs for Tampa and proly operating nearly 50 food gressive for minorities. concepts in nine major airports, including Dallas, Mi- We’re watching The process is not final unami, Denver, Washington, D.C., and the nation’s busiest til Joe Lopano, executive diairport, Atlanta’s Hartsfield- rector at HCAA, makes a deJackson. According to local re- cision based on the selection recommendaports, the selection commit- committee tee ranked CI at the bottom of tions. But the Black commuthe list, which is very odd con- nity must ask the question: sidering the company’s histo- Where is the real diversity in ry of performance and nation- the process? Is there real economic inclusion of Africanal reputation.

The community needs to American-owned companies know that for several years the in this multimillion-dollar exexecutive leadership at TIA pansion of TIA concessions? has made public comments We are forced to ask our-

selves how much did local politics and power play a role in influencing the selection committee process. We will be watching as the executive director of HCAA reviews the selection Committee’s recommendations and finalizes the choices that he will recommend to the HCAA board. HCAA board members include Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist and three Gov. Rick Scott appointees.

More than four years ago, the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs (TOBA) and the Saturday Morning Breakfast Group (SMBG) raised the issue of economic inclusion as TIA made plans for its $4.1 billion renovation and transformation of concessions at the airport.

This year, TOBA recognized Mr. Lopano at its annual TOBA Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Breakfast and TOBA expects Mr. Lopano to live up to his promises regarding diversity.

TOBA and the SMBG will be reviewing the selection committee recommendations and whether any serious consideration was given to Black economic inclusion. It is time for a change and time for greater business opportunities for African-Americans.

We must keep hope alive and this issue alive.

James Ransom is chairman of the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs’ economic development committee and a founding member of the Saturday Morning Breakfast Group, a non-partisan organization composed of AfricanAmerican business and professional men in the Tampa area.Click on this article at www.flourier.com to write you own response.

TOJ A8

NATION

APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015 dence obviously supports manslaughter. “In that scenario, a prosecutor is practically giving the accused person a free ticket [out of jail],” Muhammad explained.

Help from NAACP and others

A video by Feidin Santana shows the shooting of Walter Scott by North Charleston police officer Michael Slager.

‘Activist lawyers’ seek special prosecutor in Slager case Group wants to make sure nothing goes wrong in case of former officer who shot, killed Scott

BY NIGEL ROBERTS THE ROOT

A video viewed by millions shows a White policeman fatally shooting

Group seeks injunction to force Wal-Mart to rehire 2,200 workers

a fleeing, unarmed Black man. But it’s not a slamdunk, warns a Black lawyers group. There are legal scenarios in which full justice could elude the victim, Walter Scott, and his family.

That’s why Black Lawyers for Justice, the group that brought a $40 million lawsuit against the Ferguson and St. Louis, Mo., police departments, is calling for a special prosecutor to oversee the North Charleston, S.C., case involving Scott.

Hassane Muhammad, the chief operating officer for the Washington, D.C.based organization, told The Root that the group often investigates cases and finds that the prosecutor and police chief are allies.

“We feel that an outside prosecutor would be fairer and more just than a local prosecutor,” she said.

What could happen What could possibly go wrong in the North

Charleston case? Muhammad points to prosecutorial discretion.

She explained that the justice system grants prosecutors the right to evaluate all evidence — a process that often lacks transparency — and decide the charges. After weighing facts, the prosecutor then has the option of upgrading or downgrading the initial charges. That means it’s possible that the current murder charge against now-former Police Officer

Walter Scott was a Coast Guard veteran.

Michael Slager could be reduced to manslaughter.

In another scenario, the prosecutor could charge Slager with a more serious crime than could be proved in court — for example, a first-degree-murder charge when the evi-

Remembering the girls On the one-year anniversary of the Boko Haram kidnappings of nearly 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, center, greets Saa, second from left, and Patience, right, survivors who escaped and want to ensure that their classmates are not forgotten on April 15 in Washington, D.C. Wilson said she’s working on a bill that would urge the Nigerian government to collaborate with the international community to defeat the terrorist group.

BY ANDREW KHOURI LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

A union is seeking an injunction to force WalMart to rehire 2,200 workers laid off when the retailer suddenly closed five stores last week for what it said were needed plumbing repairs.

Among the shuttered stores is one in Pico Rivera, Calif., where workers have aggressively advocated for higher wages and took part in the first Wal-Mart strike in 2012.

In a filing with the National Labor Relations Board, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union alleged that the closing was retaliatory and sought to punish workers “who stand up and speak out for better working conditions.”

It alleged that four other stores were closed — also for what it said were dubious plumbing reasons — to “mask” WalMart’s retaliatory decision against Pico Rivera workers.

The union filed the request Monday on behalf of Our Wal-Mart, a group of employees that is fighting for higher wages and is supported by the union.

Representatives from Wal-Mart could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokesman told the Associated Press that the five stores would be closed for up to six months and that they had the most plumbing issues of its 4,500 locations.

Along with the California store, two in Texas and one in Oklahoma closed. The Florida store is located in the Brandon/ Valrico area near Tampa.

The organization, which Muhammad said consists of “activist lawyers,” is conducting its own investigation.

The group is working with the Charleston, S.C., chapter of the NAACP, Black Lives Matter and other local civil rights groups. The scope of its investigation will include interviewing Scott’s family and Feiden Santana, the lone witness, as well as reviewing police records and statements. The group is also exploring the possibility of there being a pattern of use of excessive force by Slager.

“A lot of people are coming to our website and telling us about their police interactions,” she said, “and what we’re seeing is a pattern and practice of police brutality going on in Charleston.”

The group applauds North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey and Police Chief Eddie Driggers for taking quick action against Slager. But they had no choice, Muhammad quickly pointed out. “Would this have happened without the video?” she asked. “Absolutely not.”

The organization is reserving its final judgment about local authorities until the conclusion of the case. “We’ve been faked out before,” she said.

DIAN ZHANG/ MCCLARTCHY DC/TNS

Congress starts work on slashing trillions from budget Republicans envision repealing Obamacare

BY KEVIN G. HALL AND WILLIAM DOUGLAS MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU/TNS

WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators began narrowing differences Monday on competing budget resolutions, and although Republicans now control both chambers, experts see little likelihood of starting the next fiscal year with a funded federal government.

The budget resolution being negotiated by members of the Senate and the House of Representatives authorizes appropriations committees to spend an allotted amount in fiscal 2016. This will be a victory for the GOP, which now controls both chambers of Congress, marking the first time in years that a spending blueprint will be agreed upon.

It’s likely to be a victory short lived.

Budget resolutions are blueprints. As such they aren’t subject to presidential vetoes. Spending

bills are, and they must pass Congress and be signed by the president. Since both Republican budget plans are wildly different from President Barack Obama’s own proposed spending priorities, gridlock is all but certain in the months ahead.

There’s another wrinkle. Republicans have deep divisions. Deficit hawks want to slash spending, while defense hawks want more military spending. And there’s a bevy of Republicans lining up to run for president next year, adding political calculations into the mix.

Deep divisions

‘A pious hope’

Here’s the starting point for budget talks: The two GOP budget resolutions envision deep spending cuts above $5 trillion over 10 years to get to a balanced budget.

The president’s budget proposal doesn’t balance, boosts spending on education and infrastructure, and is paid for with a $320 billion tax hike on the rich that will never get past a Republican Congress.

Similarly, GOP plans envision repealing the Affordable Care Act, something the president is sure to veto.

“How disappointing it is to see the budget resolution and process itself has become almost like a presidential budget — it’s just a messaging document?” lamented Steve Bell, a former Republican staff director of the Senate Budget Committee.

Republicans also must negotiate with Democrats, who are eager to give them a taste of their own medicine doled out when the GOP was in the minority and stifled the budget process.

It’s why some budget veterans such as Bell, now director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, are downbeat about the prospects for actual government funding being in place when the next fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

“Sure they have a balanced budget on a piece of paper … everyone who understands how budgets work knows that this is nothing but a pious hope,” said Bell, stressing that proposed deep spending cuts can’t hold. “There is no way the Republican Congress will implement a budget that … balances in 10 years.”

Some optimism Between now and Sept. 30, expect a lot of politics over funding of the government, warned Robert Bixby, head of the bipartisan watchdog group Concord Coalition.

“They’ll pass a budget resolution — which would be an accomplishment in and of itself — but with an acknowledgment that it might not be feasible to pass the appropriations bills at those levels, that they might be too low,” he said. “You might find the president vetoing appropriations bills and we wind up with another continuing resolution” to fund the federal government after Oct. 1.

Others are more optimistic.

“The budget process seems more on track than we’ve seen in quite some time,” said Maya MacGuineas, who heads the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, which advocates balanced budgets. “Outside the budget process, there will be some things that will have to be addressed.”

HEALTH FOOD || HEALTH TRAVEL | |MONEY SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS LIFE | FAITH | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD COURIER

IFE/FAITH

African-American volunteers needed for Alzheimer’s study See page B2

SOUTH FLORIDA / TREASURE COAST AREA

APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

New website honors Billie Holiday See page B5

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A peek inside the Roman’s Rome Touring Italian city with natives an ideal way to sightsee, save

BY ELEANOR HENDRICKS MCDANIEL SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

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or many people, the best part of travel is getting to know the natives and how they live. Just look at all the insider travel guides and articles out there. So it was with this thought in mind that my sister, Valerie, and I couldn’t wait to see our friends who live in Rome.

Ann Moon Malusardi has resided in the Eternal City for most of her life with her husband, Frederico, whom she met when she, a talented dancer, was touring Italy with an AfricanAmerican dance troupe. They live in the trendy Ponte Milvio section of Rome. Ponte (Italian for bridge), Milvio has crossed the Tiber River since 109 B.C. Valerie and I wanted to experience a typical Roman’s life so we met Ann one morning to accompany her to the Mercato Ponte, an extensive outdoor market across from the historic bridge.

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‘Time out’ at Italian bar Overloaded stands displayed vegetables, fruit, flowers, meat, fish, antiques, clothing, shoes, small appliances and more. After making our purchases, it was “time out” before heading home.

We went into a bar to buy cappuccinos (in Italy, only a morning drink), and then took them out to a sidewalk table. An Italian “bar” is a cross between a pub, a sidewalk café and Starbucks that’s suitable for the whole family.

Inside, you may order and drink while standing at the bar. But if you prefer to sit outdoors, most establishments have waiter service at a higher cost.

Sister-to-sister network On the way back to Ann’s home, we encountered a couple of her neighbors. After chatting briefly, the women kissed both cheeks goodbye – a common Italian custom. Ann proceeded to tell me about her African-American girlfriends who also live in Rome. She has met them over the years through a sorella- (Italian for “sister”) to-sister network – one woman introducing her to another.

After stowing our purchases in the condo, we decided to go out for lunch.

The midday meal in Europe is more than a sandwich and a soda. Usually it’s the main meal of the day, complete with several courses.

We walked to one of the Malusardis’ favorite restaurants, Il Buchetto (The Little Cave). Ann said they have the best fish in town. It may be the freshest, because as we entered, we passed a large fish tank. I chose a pasta course with seafood. The bill for three people, including a liter of house white wine, came to $50 (at the rate of exchange at that time), which was much less than at a tourist restaurant.

After eating, Ann took us to a nearby shopping area. I asked her, “How do the Italians manage the high price of things?” Her answer: “They know where to shop.”

‘Location, location, location’ We squeezed into a funky little shop, Il Merchantino. The tight interior was packed with women’s sportswear, shoes, belts and handbags. Valerie, having resisted buying shoes selling elsewhere for more than $300 a pair, scooped up three pairs for less than $90 total.

“Location, location, location” also applies in Rome. Valerie and I chose to stay at the Hotel Mediterrano, a fourand-a-half-star hotel located just a few blocks from Termini Stazione, the main railroad station.

We actually walked to the Mediterrano when we arrived in town by train from the airport. At that hotel, we could either go by foot or catch a bus to some of the major sites such as the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the Vatican.

We had booked an exclusive suite on the top floor and down the hall from the rooftop restaurant where, every morning, we enjoyed a full complimentary breakfast buffet. From our balcony, we had a wonderful view of

3 the city since the hotel is located on the highest of the legendary Seven Hills of Rome.

Designed and built in 1936 during the Art Deco period, the Mediterrano Hotel has been refitted with all the modern conveniences and what today’s guest expects: a spa, a gym (in fact, two), gourmet restaurants, room service and Wi-Fi.

1. Trajan’s Forum is the largest imperial forum in Rome.

2. Visitors tour the Pantheon, the magnificent ancient temple.

Where locals dine For a couple of evenings, we wanted to get together with another friend, Mary Ellen Brown, an “ex-pat” artist from Chicago. Not wanting to fumble around the huge city at night, we took a cab from the hotel (which came to about $15 dollars,) to meet Mary Ellen and her husband, Francesco Chioccini, at their favorite restaurant, Il Chiodo Fisso (The Fixed Nail).

It’s a small family-run restaurant in the Balduina section of Rome, which has good food with reasonable prices that mostly locals frequent. Try their scrumptious thin-crust pizza and fresh seafood dishes. I always ordered my favorite: gnocchi with meat sauce.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have Roman friends, but if you chat up any friendly Italian, he’ll be pleased to tell you about his favorite places.

Eleanor Hendricks McDaniel is a seasoned travel journalist who enjoys writing about history, culture, food, wine, and some of the people she meets along the way. Her travels have taken her throughout the United States, Europe and other countries. She lives in Ormond Beach.

Follow her on Twitter: @ellethewriter and read her blog, flybynighttraveler.com.

3. The author’s sister, Valerie, throws a coin into the Trevi Fountain.

4. Ann Malusardi and her daughter, Alessandra PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELEANOR HENDRICKS MCDANIEL

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NATION

APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

What happened in that van?

Justice Department opens probe into death of Baltimore man in police custody

BY DOUG DONOVAN AND MARK PUENTE BALTIMORE SUN/TNS

Amid the public outcry over the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, the U.S. Department of Justice is opening an investigation into the incident.

“The Department of Justice has been monitoring the developments in Baltimore, MD, regarding the death of Freddie Gray,” spokeswoman Dena Iverson said in a statement. “Based on preliminary information, the Department of Justice has offi-

cially opened this matter and is gathering information to determine whether any prosecutable civil rights violation occurred.”

The announcement came minutes after several members of Maryland’s congressional delegation asked the Justice Department to open a criminal and civil rights investigation into the death.

Their request Tuesday comes amid growing public protests in Baltimore over Gray’s death, apparently from injuries he suffered while in police custody.

‘We need answers’ His April 19 death and local demonstrations have brought international attention to Baltimore at a time of increasing outrage about how police in the United States treat African-

American men.

“Freddie Gray’s family and the residents of the city of Baltimore deserve to know what happened to him while he was in police cusFreddie tody. We need anGray swers,” Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Ben Cardin and Reps. Elijah Cummings, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

“While we support the efforts of the ongoing review into the policies and procedures of the Baltimore Police Department by the Community Oriented Policing Services Office, we request that the Department of Justice open a federal criminal and civil rights investigation into the death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray.”

Transported in van Gray, 25, suffered a broken vertebra after he was arrested April 12 near Gilmor Homes in the

Renowned heart surgeon Dr. Levin Watkins dies at 70

BY D.L. CHANDLER BLACKAMERICAWEB.COM

Pioneering heart surgeon, educator and civil rights activist Dr. Levi Watkins Jr. died on April 11 at age 70.

Watkins leaves behind a series of barrier-shattering achievements and a legacy of promoting change for future Black doctors and activists.

Born June 13, 1944 in Parson, Kansas, his father, Levi Sr., was the sixth president of Alabama State University.

As a young student, Watkins made the first of his historic achievements by becoming the first Black to study at Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine, graduating in 1970. Watkins’ next achievement was becoming the first Black intern at Johns Hopkins School Of Medicine, eventually returning to the school to become its first Black chief resident of heart surgery.

In February 1980, Watkins was the first surgeon to apply an automatic defibrillator in a human heart, revolutionizing heart surgery by way of the risky procedure. At the same time, Watkins was dissatisfied with the lack of diversity at Hopkins and worked to broaden the racial makeup at the prestigious medical school as a member of its admissions committee.

Activist, professor Beyond medicine, Watkins was a vocal proponent of equal rights for Black prisoners, recalls former Rep. Kwesi Mfume.

Mfume says he met Watkins

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Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of Baltimore.

Police said Monday that Gray was injured while he was being transported by van to a district station. They said the injuries were not consistent with the use of force.

“While the vast majority of police officers act within the law to serve and protect their communities, incidents like this degrade the trust necessary to maintain the relationship between law enforcement and communities,” the lawmakers wrote. “We urge the Department of Justice to swiftly conduct all necessary investigations. We need the facts to restore the public confidence in the Baltimore Police Department.”

As details of Gray’s death emerged, community leaders and lawmakers called on the Department of Justice this week to open a civil rights investigation in addition to the ongoing review the department is conducting of the police department.

Blake and Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts asked the Justice Department in October to conduct a “collaborative review” of the city police department.

The request came after The Baltimore Sun reported that the city had paid $5.7 million in court judgments and settlements in 102 civil suits alleging police brutality since 2011.

Nearly all of the victims in the incidents that sparked the lawsuits were cleared of criminal charges. The Sun found that some city officers were involved in multiple lawsuits, and there were significant gaps in the systems used to monitor police misconduct.

The collaborative review is being conducted by Hillard Heintze, a Chicago-based consulting firm that is examining the Police Department’s use-of-force reports and investigations, training procedures and policies.

At a recent public hearing, hundreds of city residents, most of them Black, complained to the consultants about harassment, beatings and other mistreatment by city police.

Collaborative review urged Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-

African-American volunteers needed for Alzheimer’s study Blacks in U.S. twice as likely as Whites to develop disease

ALZHEIMER’S SIGNS vs. TYPICAL AGERELATED CHANGES

FROM FAMILY FEATURES

JED KIRSCHBAUM/BALTIMORE SUN/TNS

Levi Watkins, Jr. gives welcoming comments at Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration on Jan. 7, 2005 at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md. on the picket line during a protest in the 1980s. Watkins’ involvement in such causes was most likely inspired by his close connection to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom he met as a boy in Alabama. Later, Watkins served as a driver for King and joined the movement as a result of the divisive racism he witnessed.

In 1991, Watkins moved to the classroom as a professor of cardiac surgery and then the associate dean of Hopkins’ medical school. According to the Baltimore Sun, there Watkins provided support and opportunities for the next generation of doctors. Famed neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson counted Watkins as one of his mentors and friends.

Watkins retired from surgery in 2006 and from the classroom in 2013, according to published reports.

Created MLK event He also was active in his church community and was a 40-year member of Baltimore’s Union Baptist Church. Watkins was lauded by the Rev. Alvin C. Hathaway Sr. for his service to the church and its surrounding communities.

Watkins is credited in creating the annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration at Hopkins, an event that has been ongoing for over 30 years. Last year, the school unveiled a portrait of Watkins installing it earlier this month in the Division of Cardiac Surgery.

He never married. Watkins is survived by his brothers Donald V. Watkins Sr. and James Watkins, his sister Doristine Minott, and several nieces and nephews.

‘Good Times’ actor Ben Powers dies at 64 EURWEB.COM

Alton “Ben’’ Powers starred as Keith Anderson in the last season of the CBS series “Good Times.’’ In this 1978 cast photo, he is shown during his wedding to Thelma, played by Bern Nadette Stanis.

Actor Alton “Ben” Powers, best known for his role on the 70s CBS sitcom “Good Times’’ has died at age 64.

Powers died April 6 in New Bedford, Mass., according to the Auclair Funeral Home, which handled arrangements.

No cause of death was given.

In “Good Times,’’ Powers was the husband of Thelma Evans, played by Bern Nadette Stanis.

Powers also appeared as Moochie in the 1980s CBS series “Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer” with Stacey Keach, and had guest roles on other TV shows, including “Gimmie a Break,” ”Flamingo Road,” ”The Greatest American Hero,” ”The New Odd Couple,” and “Laverne & Shirley.”

Powers also acted in several 1980s movies, including “Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie,” ”Things Are Tough All Over” and “The Man Who Loved Women.”

His first TV roles were on NBC’s “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in.”

The Brooklyn, New York, native, was brought up by his grandparents in Providence, Rhode Island. He sang in the choir and was a cantor at the First Tabernacle Pentecostal church, according to his family. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design, and began his acting career at the Trinity Repertory Theater in Providence, his family said.

Powers is survived by his mother, two sisters, two uncles, two aunts, four nephews and three nieces.

More than five million Americans are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and scientists expect this number to triple by 2050. Experts say that AfricanAmericans are two to three times more likely than White Americans to develop the disease.

A groundbreaking study testing whether an investigational drug can prevent or slow the development of Alzheimer’s seeks volunteers – including AfricanAmericans – who have just the earliest changes in their brain associated with the disease but don’t yet have any symptoms.

The A4 Study (which stands for the Anti-Amyloid in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s study), funded by the National Institute on Aging, Eli Lilly, and several philanthropic organizations, seeks to delay Alzheimer’s-related brain damage and curb memory loss before any outward signs develop.

Why it’s important Healthy people with normal memories can join a clinical trial aiming to prevent memory loss associated with the disease.

“It is extremely important that African-Americans get involved with this study,” said Dr. Reisa Sperling, principal investigator of the A4 Study. “We need to know why AfricanAmericans develop Alzheimer’s in such high numbers, and the A4 Study offers new hope that we can give people a way to fight back, give them something they can actively do to protect their own memories.”

This landmark study takes a new approach to Alzheimer’s research by testing for an elevated level of a protein known as “amyloid” in the brain. Scientists believe that elevated amyloid in the brain may play an important role in the eventual development of memory loss and Alzheimer’s.

65 and up wanted Researchers say that the goal of the A4 Study is to test

Experts point to several differences between warning signs for Alzheimer’s and the typical changes that occur as people age.

• Poor judgment and decision making vs. making a bad decision once in awhile • Inability to manage a budget vs. missing a monthly payment • Losing track of the date or season vs. forgetting which day it is and remembering later • Difficulty having a conversation vs. sometimes forgetting which word to use • Misplacing things, unable to retrace steps to find them vs. losing things from time to time.

Although no cure exists for Alzheimer’s, experts say an early diagnosis is key in getting people the medical help and support needed to maintain their quality of life as long as possible.

SOURCE: CONTRA COSTA TIMES/ TNS

whether an investigational drug that targets amyloid plaques can help to slow the progression of memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s. Another major emphasis of the study is to help determine why certain populations, including AfricanAmericans, are more likely to develop this disease.

The A4 Study requires 1,000 healthy participants between the ages of 65 and 85 who have normal thinking and memory function to enroll in sites across the United States. Researchers estimate that 10,000 people will need to be screened to find 1,000 individuals who qualify.

Potential study volunteers can learn more about the study including how to enroll by visiting the A4 website at A4Study. org, contacting 844-A-4-Study (844-247-8839) or by emailing BrainLink@ucsd.edu.

D. ROSS CAMERON/CONTRA COSTA TIMES/TNS

Roberta Randolph, of Oakland, Calif., left, laughs with her son-in-law Nathaniel Mason in his home in 2010. Randolph had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Her daughter, Dolores Durley, a certified nurse assistant t the time, got Randolph tested after noticing some warning signs and quickly got a diagnosis. Randolph was put on medications to help slow the progression of the disease.

STOJ

APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

BOOKS

B3 And so he understands (and tells Bride) that “no matter how hard we try to ignore it, the mind always knows truth and wants clarity.” That said, he, too, is struggling with a childhood trauma: the murder of Adam, his older brother, by a serial molester. And so, all too often, the answers to his parents’ questions are “1. So far nothing.

2. Despair.”

Booker is a horn player, but the plot hinges on seven sheets of written reflections about Bride that he sends to Q. Olive, his aunt, for safe-keeping. They are exquisite – and provocative.

Made for each other

Although at times “God Help the Child’’ feels “plotted,” Morrison has created compelling characters in Bride, Booker and Sweetness.

New Toni Morrison book deals with skin color, child abuse

BY DR. GLENN C. ALTSCHULER SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

The 11th novel of Pulitzer Prize winner Toni Morrison begins with Mrs. Bridewell’s lamentation that she knew something was wrong the moment she saw her baby. Lula Ann was “Midnight black, Sudanese black.” Mrs. Bridewell and her husband were “light-skinned, with good hair, what we call high yellow.”

Lula Ann’s mother recoiled at touching her daughter’s skin. And she

BOOK REVIEW Review of “God Help the Child: A Novel.’’ By Toni Morrison.

Alfred A. Knopf. 178 pp. $24.95. insisted that Lula Ann call her Sweetness: repulsed at her too-thick lips, Mrs. Bridewell decided that “Mama” would confuse people. She couldn’t “see past all that black to know who she was and just plain love her.”

In response, Lula Ann builds a protective im-

munity, rebrands herself as “Bride” and becomes a twenty-something Jaguar-driving executive of You Girl, a thriving cosmetics company in California. But she is miserable. Booker, her boyfriend, with whom she shared “every fear, every hurt, every accomplishment,” has broken up with her, and she is sleeping with men whose names she does not know. Worst of all, the Vicodin and hangovers are making her remember “some not-so-proud junk in the past.”

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

Compelling characters Like many of her novels, “God Help the Child’’ is a haunting and harrowing examination of the enduring impact of slavery and racism on African-Americans. Her decision to focus on skin color (along with child abuse) in her first work of fiction set in the 21st century is particularly interesting.

“It’s just a color,” Booker maintains. “A genetic trait, not a flaw, not a curse, not a blessing nor a sin.” Bride acknowledges that his

words were rational and, for a time soothing, but at odds with her day-to-day experience – “like sitting in a car under the stunned gaze of little white children who couldn’t be more fascinated if they were at a museum of dinosaurs.”

Although at times “God Help the Child’’ feels “plotted,” Morrison has created compelling characters in Bride, Booker and Sweetness.

Probing questions Booker, we learn, grew up in a book reading-family shaped by “talk in the flesh and text on paper.” Every Saturday morning, before breakfast, his parents asked their children two questions: What have you learned that is true (and how do you know)? What problem do you have?

Bride’s “imagination is impeccable the way it cuts and scrapes the bone never touching the marrow where that dirty feeling is thrumming like a fiddle…,” the second page reads. Three pages later, Booker claims, “Trying to understand racist malignancy only feeds it, makes it balloon fat and lofty floating high overhead fearful of sinking to earth where a blade of grass could puncture it…”

Bride and Booker, it’s clear, are made for each other. Happily, Booker will apologize to his brother for using him “to chain myself to the illusion of control and the cheap seduction of power. No slave owner could have done it better.”

Bride will “wake up in sunshine from a dreamless sleep.” And each of them will be better prepared to answer his parents’ probing questions: What have you learned that is true (and how do you know)?

What problem do you have?

Dr. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. He wrote this review for the Florida Courier.

Cynthia Bond’s ‘Ruby’ tells of woman’s trials in all-Black Texas town

BY ELIZABETH HAMILTON DALLAS MORNING NEWS/TNS

Cynthia Bond had just finished teaching a writing class when her cell phone rang.

“Hello, Cynthia,” said the voice on the other end. “This is Oprah.”

Bond screamed. When Oprah Winfrey old her she loved her novel “Ruby” and was going to make it her Book Club 2.0 selection, Bond could only scream again.

“Everybody turned and stared at me like I was crazy,” says Bond with a laugh. The screams were warranted, she says, because the selection was an unexpected validation for the novel she had poured more than a decade of her life into writing. It will also help Bond, a social worker, make a better life for herself and her 10-year-old daughter.

The novel is part romance, part ghost story, part mystery and part historical fiction. It tells the tale of Ruby, a beautiful woman from a fictional, all-Black town in East Texas called Liberty.

Ruby is sexually abused as a child.

When she escapes to 1950s New York City as an adult, she turns to prostitution to survive. Now back in Liberty, she’s slowly descending into insanity because of her violent past.

Inspired by family history Everyone in the town abandons her — some do worse — except Ephram Jennings, a church deacon who’s loved Ruby from afar since they were kids.

The novel was informed by Bond’s experience of abuse growing up and her social work teaching writing to at-risk youths in Los Angeles, she says. It was also inspired by her own family’s history.

Bond’s mother was born in Liberty Community, an all-Black town in East Texas from which the fictionalized Liberty gets its name. In the 1930s, Bond’s aunt was murdered by a sheriff and his deputies because she had been involved with a White man. The men, rumored to be members of the Ku Klux Klan, shot her multiple times and threw her body on her father’s front porch in a sack.

“This story is something that’s lived in our family for many years,” she says by phone from her home in Los Angeles. “I wanted to share that secret, but do it in a way that kind of wouldn’t hurt the reader.”

Beauty amid the pain Her aunt and grandfather appear

Cynthia Bond’s novel is part romance, part ghost story, part mystery and part historical fiction. as fictional characters in the story.

Through memorializing them in the novel, Bond says she hopes to bear witness to their lives as well as other victims of violent racism and abuse.

“It’s that question, ‘If a tree falls in the woods and makes a sound, is it heard?’” she says. “I want that fall to be heard.”

Bond’s only fear is that many wouldbe readers avoid the book because it’s rumored to be unnecessarily dark, so violent it’s hard to read. “I’m not a crime reporter,” she says. “I’m not a journalist. I’m a fiction writer, and one of the things I really tried to do is take care of my reader.”

How? By creating beauty amid the pain. She hopes her lyrical writing allows the reader to experience the violent parts of mankind more gently.

“I believe that when we see how textured the world is that we become better people,” Bond says.

It creates in us a greater capacity for empathy, she says, and seeing those who’ve suffered pull through is a source of great hope.

Ruby pulls through. Because of Ephram, “for a brief instant, Ruby saw the treasures within her soul,” says Bond.

That starts her on a path toward healing. It also gives us hope, she says.

Bond has already seen the book provide such hope for readers. After being selected for Oprah’s book club, Bond has heard from women who’ve experienced many of the things Ruby had.

One said she knew Ruby’s experiences so intimately she felt like she was Ruby herself. “Wow,” Bond says. “This is why I wrote the book.”

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BUSINESS

APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

S

LegaL Notice

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Economic and Property Damages Settlement The Deadline to file a Claim is June 8, 2015

WILLIAM ARCHIE/DETROIT FREE PRESS/TNS

Shevone Jones looks at tax papers prepared by H&R Block in Hazel Park, Mich.

What to do if you missed the April 15 tax deadline

BY JENNIFER CALONIA GOBANKINGRATES.COM/TNS

Missing the federal taxfiling deadline on April 15 doesn’t mean you’re in Uncle Sam’s doghouse yet, but it does mean you need to rally in order to keep the taxman from knocking on your door.

Whether you’ve already received a late notice from the IRS or have missed the tax deadline, stave off the panic of missing the last day to file taxes by following these five simple steps:

Determine if you’re due a refund If you are owed a tax refund, you have the luxury of taking your time filing a 2014 tax return, since the IRS isn’t necessarily itching to write a check out in your name. (But why wait?)

Most of the big tax preparation services offer free tax estimators that can help you determine whether you’ll receive a refund.

You’ll need to submit basic information like your marital and filing status in 2014, as well as answer a few questions to assess your tax burden.

For those who find they are unlikely to get a refund, it’s time to round up all financial documents from the previous year to get a tax return submitted as soon as possible.

Gather important documents Depending on how you file your tax return — married filing jointly vs. single, taking the standard deduction vs. itemizing — you’ll need to procure various documents, receipts and statements to ensure that you qualify for your claimed deductions and credits.

Examples of necessary items include your Social Security number (SSN), your spouse’s SSN if applicable, W-2s, retirement income statements and documented income if selfemployed.

Statements for savings and other investments, like IRAs, should also be accounted for, as well as tax-related interest documents, such as forms 1098 for mortgage interest paid and 1098-T for paid college tuition. Hopefully you also kept receipts for large expenses, like alimony, health care, child care, and prize money won through contests and lotteries.

Submit your 2014 tax return ASAP Once you gather the paperwork, you’ll need to start the 2014 tax return process. The reason filing your tax return as soon as possible is so important is because the late-filing penalty (if you didn’t request an extension) is 5 percent each month of the taxes you owe until you file (up to 25 percent).

That’s 10 times more than the late-payment penalty, which is 0.5 percent every month until you pay (up to 25 percent).

Submitting a federal tax return should always be free, and you can turn in your completed return from the IRS website directly, or through thirdparty tax services like H&R Block or TurboTax online.

Sending your 2014 tax return electronically is an affordable, fast way to file taxes. Typically, the IRS sends filers email confirmation that their returns were received with a day or two of clicking submit.

Electronic filing also erases the risk of delayed or lost returns via U.S. mail.

However, filing your taxes through the U.S. Postal Service can also be advantageous, especially when you’re trying to minimize late-filing penalties.

Mailing your tax return Priority Express, which guarantees overnight shipment, might be costly, but in the long run, it could save you more money. The post office also offers other proof of mailing services at a cost, providing you

with legitimate proof that you filed.

Pay taxes you owe You’ve finally sent the IRS your tax return — but don’t pat yourself on the shoulder yet. There’s still that tax bill to contend with. As soon as you’ve completed and sent in your 2014 tax return, it’s time to pay what you owe, plus any incurred late-filing and late-payment penalties.

For more traditional methods, you can send payment to the IRS by mail in the form of a check or money order. If you choose this option, make sure to write payments out to the U.S. Treasury and include the following on your payment: • Name and address • Daytime phone • Social Security number or employer identification number • Tax period and related tax form or notice number After paying your tax debt, it’s time to slow down and take a breath. The worst is over (unless you face an IRS audit).

Keep a record of all confirmations Finally, as the chaos settles, make sure you’ve kept a paper (or electronic) trail of all the confirmations and tax payments you’ve made in case there’s a hiccup in the process.

A general rule of thumb is to keep all receipts, statements, copies of tax returns and other related tax documents for the return year’s entire “period of limitations,” which ranges anywhere from two years to six years.

GOBankingRates.com is a leading portal for personal finance news and features, offering visitors the latest information on everything from interest rates to strategies on saving money, managing a budget and getting out of debt.

Judge backs AHCA on immigrant emergency care THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

An administrative law judge Monday ruled in favor of the state Agency for Health Care Administration in a long-running dispute with hospitals about emergency care for undocumented immigrants. The case focused on Medicaid payments that hospitals receive when undocumented immigrants go to emergency rooms.

Judge John D.C. Newton, in a 43-page decision, rejected arguments by a coalition of hospitals that the Agency for Health Care Administration had overstepped its authority in approving rules that involve the duration of payments.

“The agency was resolute in its commitment to only apply the standards and definitions of statutes and rules in the evaluation of claims for payment for

emergency medical services to undocumented aliens,’’ Newton wrote.

In 2012, Newton ruled against AHCA in an earlier case brought by hospitals.

That case stemmed from a change that AHCA made in 2010 to allow payments until patients were “stabilized.”

The hospitals argued the change was made improperly and that it led to claims being denied and to attempts to recoup money from hospitals. After that case, AHCA discontinued its use of what Newton described as the “stabilization standard” and changed the process for evaluating claims.

Jobless rate holds steady Florida’s unemployment mark stood at 5.7 percent in March, holding steady from February, the state Department of Economic Opportunity announced

last week. The jobless rate, which has been at 5.7 percent since December, represents 548,000 people out of work from a workforce of 9.1 million.

The figures for February and December were revised up after initially being posted at 5.6 percent. The national unemployment rate has been at 5.5 percent the past two months.

Gov. Rick Scott, who spent days last week trying to lure jobs from California, announced the latest figures during an appearance on April 17 at Kellstrom Defense in Miramar.

The fields showing the largest percentages in growth during the past month were construction, professional and technical services and leisure and hospitality. Fields such as educational services and waste services showed declines between February and March.

June 8, 2015 has been established as the deadline to submit a claim in the Economic and Property Damages (“E&PD”) Settlement with BP Exploration & Production Inc. and BP America Production Company (“BP”) related to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. So if you are eligible to file a claim, you must act soon.

Who

is included ?

The E&PD Settlement Class includes people, businesses, other entities, and properties in the states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, and certain counties in Texas and Florida, that were harmed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred on April 20, 2010. The website DeepwaterHorizonSettlements.com has detailed descriptions and maps of the included geographic locations to help you determine whether you are a part of the E&PD Settlement Class.

Additionally, you can call 1-866-992-6174 or e-mail questions@DeepwaterHorizonEconomicSettlement.com to find out if a geographic location is included.

What

are the payment

categories ?

The settlement provides payments if you had economic loss or property damage because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. By submitting a claim, you can request a payment in one or more of the following seven categories:  Economic

Damage  Loss of Subsistence  Vessel Physical Damage Real Property Sales Damage Vessels of Opportunity Charter Payment  Coastal Real Property Damage  Wetlands Real Property Damage

Economic Damage payments are available for Individuals and Entities that lost profits or earnings as a result of the Deepwater Horizon Incident. Coastal Real Property payments are available for property that was physically damaged in connection with the Deepwater Horizon Incident. Detailed descriptions of all seven categories are available at the website.

There is no limit on the total dollar amount of the E&PD Settlement. All qualified and timely claims will be paid in full once they are approved. The Settlement also allowed for Seafood Compensation claims, but the deadline for those claims has passed.

hoW

do i request a payment ?

You must submit a Claim Form to request a payment.

You can get a copy of the various Claim Forms by visiting the website or by calling 1-866-992-6174.

Claims can be submitted online or by mail. If you have questions about how to file your claim, you should call the toll-free number for assistance. The claims process can be complex, so if you are eligible to file a claim, you should act now so you may complete your claim before the June 8, 2015 deadline.

DeepwaterHorizonSettlements.com 1-866-992-6174

STOJ

APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

Brian Sleepy is a global analyst in the United States Navy.

Brian is an avid gym rat who loves traveling and staying in shape to look and feel good. His ambitions are to earn a college degree, remain positive, become successful, and to congregate with motivated and thriving individuals.

Contact Brian at briansleepy619@ gmail.com Credit: T I Photography by Phil.

B5

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

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

lynn

brian

South Floridian Lynn describes herself as very cool and down to earth, loves to laugh, and is very passionate about singing, dancing, and modeling. Most of all she lives life to the fullest. Contact Lynn at twitter. com/_LynnAllen_.

Website celebrates the 100th anniversary of Billie Holiday’s birth

BY ADRIAN MCCOY PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/TNS

A new website and multimedia archive dedicated to the late Billie Holiday — billieholiday.com — is a gateway to the legendary singer’s life and work. The site is a treasure trove for fans of Holiday’s music and also an excellent introduction for anyone not familiar with it.

Holiday was born April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia and grew up in a jazz rich environment in Baltimore. By the time she was in her teens, she was singing and recording and went on to work with many of the leading bands, including Count Basie, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. Before her death at 44, she created a prolific collection of recordings.

The site was created by The Bicycle Music Group and the Estate of Billie Holiday to mark and celebrate the 100th anniversary of Holiday’s birth.

It’s filled with music, performances, videos and photos, as well as a wealth of historic information and background.

DARIUS RUCKER

The country singer’s Southern Style Tour takes place May 22 at the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre at the Florida State Fairgrounds and May 23 at the Coral Sky Amphitheatre at the South Florida Fairgrounds.

Photos, timeline There’s a large collection of recordings and videos to explore.

The listener can hear the songs and read background on each, along with the lyrics. Spotify subscribers can listen to albums in their entirety.

Highlights include performance video of “Strange Fruit” — her chilling and powerful reading of a protest song about lynchings in the South.

The site is complemented by a presence on other platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

There are links to a montage of photos and album covers on Pinterest, a timeline documenting her life and achievements and links to other websites devoted to Holiday.

CHARLIE WILSON

The Forever Charlie Tour takes place on June 19 at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami and June 20 at Amalie Arena in Tampa. The show features Charlie Wilson, Joe and Kem.

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Boca Raton: The Legends of the Old School tour takes place at 7 p.m. May 29 at Mizner Park Amphitheater. The show will feature Salt N Pepa, Vanilla Ice, Stevie B, Color Me Badd and 2 Live Crew.

Miami Gardens: The Dr. Ricky Dillard Gospel Music Workshop at Miracle Deliverance Healing Revival Center is April 25 at Upper Room Ministries, 3800 Northwest 199th St. A workshop is at 11 a.m. with a concert at 6 p.m. More information: 561-853-8300 .

Orlando: Wanda Sykes will take the stage on April 25 at Hard Rock Live Orlando.

Billie Holliday was born on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia. She died in New York on July 17, 1959 at age 44.

Fort Lauderdale: See the legendary Roberta Flack on April 24 at the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Orlando: The third annual International Christian Film Festival takes place through April 25 at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Orlando: More information: www.internationalcff.com.

Fort Lauderdale: A free breast cancer screening is April 27 from 10 a.m. to noon for women 50 through 65 at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd. Register at 954-558-9180.

Orlando: Actor and comedian Kevin Hart’s tour makes stops on April 25 at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Amalie Arena in Tampa on May 8 and AmericanAirlines Arena on May 9.

Tampa: Candy Lowe hosts Tea & Conversation every Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at 3911 N. 34th St., Suite B. More information: 813394-6363.

Fort Lauderdale: The Robert

Cray band with guest Shemekia Copeland performs April 30 at the Parker Playhouse.

Gulfport: The A.C.T. Arts Conservatory will present a Soul Train ’70s Throwback Party Inaugural Gala at 7:30 p.m. May 8 at the Gulfport Casino Ballroom. More information: 727-346.8223 or act1midtown@gmail.com.

Miami: The Haitian Compas Festival is May 16 at 4 p.m. at Sun Life Stadium.

Tampa: BlackintheBay.com and Pickett PR will present the third annual Derby Delight on May 2 from 3 to 7 p.m. at Waterfront Garden at Ulele, 1810 N. Highland Ave. More details: www.blackinthebay.com.

Sunrise: 99 Jamz presents Rick Ross and Jeezy on May 23 at the BB&T Center.

B6

FOOD

APRIL 24 – APRIL 30, 2015

How to stretch your protein dollars

while cooking at home

BY ANDREA WEIGLN NEWS & OBSERVER/TNS

You may still be wincing a bit if you had to write a bigger-thanexpected check to the state or Uncle Sam on tax day this year.

Moments like these make many of us ponder belt tightening, especially how we can save a few dollars on our food budgets.

First off, the easiest way to save money on food is to cook more of it at home. Second, the most expensive items on our shopping lists are often animal proteins: filets of fish, hunks of meat, cuts of poultry. So how can we save money and still get our protein fix?

Linda Watson of Raleigh, N.C., who offers frugal, healthy recipes on her Cook for Good website, says: “The most expensive protein you eat is a protein you don’t need.”

The typical American consumes too much protein, said Jennifer Anderson, a registered dietitian with the heart and vascular institute at Novant Health in Charlotte, N.C.

Most adults need between 46 and 56 grams of protein a day.

Keep in mind that two large eggs have 12 grams, a 4-ounce piece of chicken has 36 grams, and an 8-ounce cup of skim milk has 8 grams. Eat all of those in a day and you have consumed the recommended daily limit.

“We can get our needs met without having meat at every single meal,” Anderson said.

Consider potatoes, peas Fish, meat and poultry are not our only sources of protein. Think of financial guru Dave Ramsey’s oft-given advice to those trying to save money: Eat beans and rice and rice and beans.

You don’t have to be that spartan, but beans are a good starting point for frugal, protein-packed meals.

Many other vegetables are excellent sources of protein: potatoes and green vegetables such as peas, broccoli and leafy greens. And don’t forget protein powerhouse Greek yogurt.

Another idea is to stretch the animal proteins that you do buy

with other ingredients. Instead of a hunk of meat on your plate, use meat to season a vegetable stir fry or a bean soup. One chopped chicken breast can go a long way in a pasta salad filled with vegetables. Ground beef goes farther for tacos if tortillas are also filled with grilled peppers, onions and squash.

When you do shop for fish, meat or poultry, only buy it on sale, advises frugal blogger Jessica Fisher, author of the Good Cheap Eats blog and a new cookbook by the same name.

Fisher has a lot of experience stretching protein dollars, feeding her family of eight. She combines turkey and black beans for a simple taco dinner. She makes lasagna with only a pound of ground meat, and sloppy Joes instead of hamburgers. She notes that today’s chicken breasts are so huge that she often cuts them into four portions.

Less meat doesn’t leave her or her family hungry.

“We feel satisfied,” Fisher said.

“We don’t feel deprived.”

TOJ

PHOTO BY JULI LEONARD/RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER/TNS

Top these simple bean tostadas with homemade refried beans with sour cream and fresh tomatoes.

Cheapest sources of protein We compared some favorite sources of protein by price per ounce.

• Dried beans: $1.87 for 32 ounces, which when cooked equals about 96 ounces; 2 cents per ounce.

• Canned beans: 77 cents for 15.5-ounce can; about 5 cents per ounce.

• Kale: $1.99 for 2-pound bunch; 6 cents an ounce.

• Eggs: $1.89 a dozen for large eggs, which are each 1.75 ounces; 9 cents an ounce.

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast: $1.99 a pound on sale at meat counter; 12 cents per ounce.

• Canned tuna: 90 cents for 5-ounce can; 18 cents per ounce.

• Ground pork, 90 percent lean: $3.99 per pound; 25 cents per ounce.

• Ground beef, 93 percent lean: $5.99 per pound; 37 cents per ounce.

Recipes for stretching protein dollars • Italian Tuna and White Bean Salad: Combine 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon each kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and Dijon mustard in a large bowl and stir with a whisk. Add 1 cup halved grape tomatoes, 1 cup sliced red onion, 2 (6-ounce) cans tuna packed in oil (drained and broken into chunks), 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans (drained and rinsed) and 1 chopped head green leaf lettuce.

Toss. Divide among four plates and top with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.

• Peanut Butter Chicken and Pasta: Whisk together 1/3 cup each rice vinegar and vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons each peanut butter and soy sauce, 1 tablespoon each honey and toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet until hot. Cook 1 peeled, shredded carrot for 1 minute, stirring. Add 1 pound chopped skinless, boneless chicken breasts and 1 cup chopped green onions, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Bring large pot of water to a boil; cook 1 pound linguini or thin spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, toss with sauce and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro. Divide noodles among four plates and top with chicken.

Source: Prices are based on Harris Teeter Express Lane.

The recipes are adapted from “Cooking Light The Complete Quick Cook” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough (Oxmoor House, 2011); and “Good Cheap Eats,” by Jessica Fisher (Harvard Common Press, 2014).

Processed foods aren’t all bad FROM FAMILY FEATURES

With all the noise about foods you should or shouldn’t feed your family, it can be difficult to make a confident decision while perusing those grocery store aisles.

One type in particular – processed food – is often vilified in today’s food environment, but that shouldn’t necessarily be the case. Processing foods can have benefits to improve food’s shelflife, reduce food waste, conserve resources and provide healthier and safer food for families everywhere.

“Defining processed foods has been challenging,” says Connie Weaver, Ph.D. and distinguished professor in Nutrition Science at Purdue University, who works to improve the communication and translation of health studies to the general public. “A common definition is essential so everyone can talk together and have a more meaningful conversation about processed foods.”

Check kitchen staples PHOTO COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

Before eliminating processed foods from your family’s diet, it’s important to understand the true definition s well as the many associated benefits, a nutrition expert advises.

From a scientific standpoint, processed foods can include common kitchen staples such as bread, cheese, wine and yogurt.

“To a scientist, processing is how many steps the manufacturer of the food requires to trans-

form it from the raw materials into the food you eat,” Weaver explains.

Yet, people often misunderstand processed foods as those with empty calories or junk foods laden with sodium, fat and sugar. For consumers, it’s really not about the degree of processing; it’s about nutrient density or the formula of the food.

Some advantages The nutritional value of processed foods depends on the formula or recipe, according to Weaver. Processing steps can be used to improve the nutrient content of a food.

For example, manufacturers are reducing sugar, sodium and fat to improve the health of some foods, and adding or devising formulas for foods that have nutrients that people need more of, such as dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium and potassium.

Some of the most important nutritional deficiencies in the world have been resolved because foods have been enriched and fortified with nutrients. For example, adding iodine to salt cured goiter, an enlarged growth in the throat caused by iodine deficiency.

Similarly, adding vitamin D to milk in the United States has cured rickets, the bowing of legs in children due to deficiency.

More recently, medical foods for people with diseases who can’t tolerate the risk of bacteria or infection rely exclusively on processed foods.

Soy beverages’ benefit Soy beverages are another example of processed food. Weaver’s research team at Purdue University studied calcium absorption from a soy beverage enriched with calcium and found it just as bioavailable, or absorbable, as cow’s milk. That caused the U.S. Department Agriculture to allow calcium-fortified soy beverages in school lunch and breakfast programs as an alternative to milk.

Before eliminating processed foods from your family’s diet, it’s important to understand the true definition s well as the many associated benefits, Weaver advises.

Processed foods enable us to have safe, nutritious and affordable food available year-round.

Additionally, to feed the world, every method will need to be considered, including processing, to feed the masses and reduce waste, she adds.

Consumers interested in learning more about food can visit www.bestfoodfacts.org, which houses information from more than 170 university-based experts and registered dietitians.