Florida Courier May 31, 2013

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MAY 31 - JUNE 6, 2013

VOLUME 21 NO. 22

MONEY AND POWER Here’s a quick look at high points of President Obama’s schedule after he left Morehouse College last week.

ways to work around it is to have a Democratic House of Representatives.

The president faces no more elections and has promised to be more involved in the fundraising push this time out. The president intends to hold at least eight fundraisers for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

American drone power

Chicago money President Obama came home to Chicago on Wednesday to raise money for Democratic congressional candidates as part of a push to take back control of the House and preserve Democrats’ majority in the Senate next year.

Capturing the House would be a boost to Obama as he pursues his second-term agenda.

During a 15-minute speech, Obama said he’s willing to work with Republicans, but can get more done with Democrats in charge of the House.

“If day in, day out, what we confront is obstructionism for the sake of obstructionism, and Pool photo by Kristoffer Tripplaar/Sipa via Abaca Press/MCT what appears to be an interest only in scoring points or placating the base as opposed to trying President Obama delivers a speech on his administration’s counterto advance the interests of the American people, terrorism policy at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in then we’ve got to figure out a way to work around Washington, D.C., on May 23. that,” the president said. “And one of the best

On May 23, in a speech spanning nearly an hour at the National Defense University – and less than a week after he refused to get into a dense policy discussion at all-male, predominately Black Morehouse College – Obama addressed what is likely to be a central piece of his legacy, weighing what is “effective” and “legal” in warfare against what is “wise or moral.”

Obama acknowledged that drone strikes he has ordered have killed innocent people.

And he not only dealt with critics rhetorically, but he also confronted Medea Benjamin, the cofounder of the antiwar group Code Pink. She interrupted the president’s speech numerous times to shout accusations that have dogged him for years.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION / EASTERN CONFERENCE

Battling as San Antonio awaits Miami Heat center Chris Bosh, right, battles Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday in Indianapolis. The series winner plays the San Antonio Spurs for the NBA championship.

See OBAMA, Page A2

Job providers or welfare queens?

State contracts, cash payments go together

By Steve Miller Florida Center for Investigative Reporting

Located on eight acres in Fort Myers, the Florida office of Gartner Inc. is 125,000 square feet of modern corporate campus, with a cafeteria large enough to feed 200 at a time, a gym, and a second-floor outdoor patio. It houses just over 10 percent of the multinational company’s 4,500 staffers.

Gartner’s technology services and consulting operation grew up in Florida, setting down in Lee County in 1998 with a state tax break worth $1.4 million and a promise to hire 335 people for the service center.

Today, Gartner employs 500 people in Fort Myers.

“We were looking to expand a few years ago and started talking to Lee County and the state, and our plan was to add a significant number of jobs. And both the county and the state told us of these programs,” said Christopher Lafond, Gartner’s chief financial officer.

Al Diaz/Miami Herald/MCT

Cash sweetners “These programs” were incenSee JOBS, Page A2

Female prison workers win key legal ruling

By Michael Doyle McClatchy Washington Bureau / MCT

COLEMAN – Dozens of female staffers say they regularly confront groping, rape threats, public masturbation and other serious sexual harassment while overseeing inmates at the large federal prison complex in Coleman, Fla. Located in Central Florida, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando, the Coleman complex consists of low- and medium-security facilities and two high-security penitentiaries. All told, the Coleman complex houses about 7,100 inmates.

But though they say the

ALSO INSIDE

Coleman prison environment is “saturated with sexual abuse and assaults,” the female workers also complain that the federal Bureau of Prisons has failed to act. In some cases, the employees say, supervisors have simply thrown out written complaints about inmate sexual misconduct.

Won key battle Now, in an unusual battle that split the Justice Department, the female workers at Federal Correctional Complex Coleman have won a crucial legal victory. With the Justice Department’s eventual support, but over the Bureau of Prisons’ objections, a Miami-based ad-

ministrative judge has granted powerful class-action status to the aggrieved employees.

“We have to make sure the inmates aren’t running out of control,” Washington-based attorney Cyrus Mehri, who represents the workers, said in an interview Wednesday, “and we have to make sure the Bureau of Prisons takes care of its officers.”

The class-action decision rendered April 9 by Administrative Judge Joy R. Helprin, endorsed last week by the Justice Department, adds clout to the complaint as it proceeds through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Nasty behavior

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

More foster parents needed in state

Tammy Padgett, for instance, was one of more than 60 female workers to file an affidavit complaining about the Coleman environment, saying she endures “masturbatory behavior approximately once per week.”

A Coleman teacher, Eva Ryles, said an inmate in her classroom “masturbated to the point of ejaculation,” while others say inmates have placed sperm in public places.

Vile language is commonplace, the women say, with Ryles adding that “many women have resorted to wearing smocks, jackets or other heavy See RULING, Page A2

WORLD | A6

President will skip ancestral homeland during visit to Africa

OBITUARY | B2

Former FAMU journalism dean dies at 64 FINEST | B5

Meet Teressa

COMMENTARY: GLEN FORD: Detroit’s art treasures saved while the city is picked clean | A4 COMMENTARY: LUCIUS GANTT: DON’T BLAME THE ALCOHOL, BLAME THE CHILDREN | A4

FOCUS

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MAY 31 – JUNE 6, 2013

Talking about ‘justice’ in the Florida Legislature The concept of justice was tossed around like a Frisbee during this past session of the Florida Legislature. It’s a cherished value. It deserves more respect.

Justice is contained in both hands of the blindfolded Roman goddess Justitia. The scales she holds symbolize distributive justice, the moral evaluation of how fairly the benefits and burdens of life are allocated.

The sword carried in the goddess’ other hand represents retributive justice, which requires that those so deserving receive punishment that “fits the crime” – meaning the severity of the punishment shall be proportional (not equivalent) to the crime.

“Justice” was thrown around in debates over the “Timely Justice Act,” which is an attempt by the Legislature to impermissibly dictate to the courts and the current and all future governors how judicial and executive powers shall be exercised with regard to the death penalty.

Sponsors of the legislation want to speed the pace of executions – though it is no secret that Florida’s death penalty system is broken.

Howard L. Simon, ESQ. GUEST COMMENTARY

alized year after year after year.”

This is a distressingly common characterization of justice heard at our state Capitol. A person may be convicted of a crime and locked away, but there is no justice.

Death and justice

Worst in America?

We make more mistakes than any other state. More people are wrongfully convicted, exonerated and released from Florida’s Death Row than any other state – of those that still engage in executions.

Wrongful convictions arise from exonerating evidence, including DNA evidence, discovered years later or evidence withheld by prosecutors that establishes innocence for a crime for which someone was almost executed.

Nevertheless, defending “The Timely Justice Act,” Sen. Rob Bradley of Orange Park exclaimed, “When someone sits on Death Row for 10, 20, 30 years, it really makes a mockery of our justice system. It’s not fair to the victims’ families not only to be traumatized by the loss of a loved one, but then to have to sit and suffer while justice is not re-

Virtually the entire world has ended state executions, either formally abolishing the death penalty or ceasing executions – except Iran, China, Saudi Arabia and of course parts of the United States (most notably Texas and Florida). Are Florida politicians really claiming that if a person has been convicted of homicide and sentenced to life imprisonment, there is no justice unless that person is put to death by the state?

Are the politicians really claiming that the criminal justice systems of, say, Canada, Brazil or Michigan are devoid of justice?

Michigan, the first jurisdiction in the English-speaking world to abolish the death penalty, ended executions in response to the 1828 hanging of Patrick Fitzpatrick for the rape and murder of an innkeeper’s daughter. Fitzpatrick

was put to death with great ceremony – families came for a picnic and to watch the hanging. A few years later, Fitzpatrick’s former roommate made a death-bed confession.

The revulsion over the execution of an innocent man led the Territory to abolish the death penalty, and it has been banned ever since. Those convicted of first degree murder in Michigan are sentenced to life without parole.

Closure or vengeance?

Another spin on the concept of justice, used by former Gov. Jeb Bush to justify executions, is that the death penalty is necessary to satisfy the victims of crime (or their families) and to help bring “closure.” Shame on Florida politicians for leading grieving families to believe that vengeance brings solace and closure following the tragic loss of a loved one.

Godfather Don Corleone is not the model for justice. “You damaged my house; you hurt my family. I deserve satisfaction; so it’s only right that I hurt yours,” is not a principle around which to organize a civilized society.

JOBS tives. Florida was already doing business with Gartner, and to sweeten the deal for the company to build a new office in Lee County, the state gave Gartner economic incentive grants – $6 million as part of an agreement in which Gartner promised to create 800 more jobs and invest $18.2 million of its own money in Florida.

To date, Gartner has received $1.9 million of that $3.2 million in incentive money and has created 289 jobs. Headquartered in Stamford, Conn., Gartner also has a two-year contract for $156,146 with the state for technology consulting services.

Corporate leverage

How it’s done

Not alone Gartner isn’t alone in receiving both state economic incentives and state contracts. Target, Publix, Lowe’s and other corporate giants have been contractors for dozens of state agencies, earning millions while also receiving mil-

OBAMA from A1 “Why was 16-year-old Abdulrahman Awlaki killed? A 16-year-old boy? Why won’t you tell us?” she yelled, invoking the name of one of four Americans the Obama administration acknowledged Wednesday had been killed in drone strikes. Three of them, including Abdulrahman, were slain unintentionally.

Listened to her Rather than dismiss Benjamin as a heckler, the president engaged her, asking her to let him explain but also pausing to listen as she continued to talk while se-

Howard L. Simon, Esq. is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

rules regarding procurement than there are for subsidies,” said Phil Mattera, research director at Good Jobs First, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest group and another critic of taxpayer-funded subsidies. “There has to be fair competition in procurement, so the case can be made that a company with a subsidy is engaged in unfair competition.”

The very funding from an economic incentive may be what made it possible for that company to make the winning bid on a state contract, Mattera said. Florida law does not prohibit a company that receives a subsidy or incentive from bidding on a state contract.

from A1

The incentives come in the form of grants, tax breaks, low-interest loans and training reimbursements. Enterprise Florida, a public-private partnership, recommends to the state companies it believes should receive economic incentives. Some of Enterprise Florida’s board members own companies that benefit from the very incentives they approve.

Through economic incentives and state contracts, the state of Florida every year chooses winners in a selection process that open government advocates criticize as too secretive.

Incentives are the bedrock of Gov. Rick Scott’s economic policy agenda. Scott’s administration awarded more than $130 million in economic incentives in 2011 and 2012.

We would not give legal recognition to a victim’s desire to be satisfied by resorting to the dictates of the ancient Hammurabi Code by which the state takes “an eye for an eye” or chops off a perpetrator’s right hand.

And what of families of murder victims who don’t want the state to take another life? I doubt that the Legislature would be willing to adjust the penalty to “satisfy” those who want some other punishment because they know that executing the defendant will not bring back their loved one and only cheapens life.

Legislators can twist themselves into a pretzel attempting to justify anything. But they shouldn’t be allowed to dress up extracting vengeance and pretend that they are seeking justice.

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Gov. Rick Scott has used millions of dollars of corporate incentives every year to try to create “jobs, jobs, jobs.” lions more in economic incentives, such as work training grants and tax breaks.

According to a review of state data by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, 25 companies have received substantial state contractor payments and economic incentives in Florida.

“This is more proof that Enterprise Florida is picking winners, and most small businesses cannot imagine being successful in securing these awards,” said Dan Krassner, executive director of the Tallahassee-based watchdog group Integrity Florida. “The whole incentives strategy needs further review to see if it is truly in the public interest.”

Nonprofits, too The state government’s generosity has extended to nonprofits as well, such as Burnham Institute for Medical Research in Orlando. The nonprofit received curity closed in around her.

As Benjamin was escorted out, Obama said, “The voice of that woman is worth paying attention to.”

Less than a week later, missiles from a CIA drone killed a Pakistani Taliban leader who was carrying a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head, an indication that the Obama administration and the Pakistani military still are cooperating on the top-secret U.S. targeted killing program.

Kathleen Hennessey and Christi Parsons/Tribune Washington Bureau; John Byrne and Kim Geiger/ Chicago Tribune; and Tom Hussain and Jonathan S. Landay of the McClatchy foreign staff all contributed to this report.

a state subsidy in 2006 that would max out at $155 million if Burnham fulfilled a number of requirements, which included an investment of $67,000 by Burnham Institute and the creation of 303 jobs.

According to state records, the state Department of Health paid Burnham Institute $98,781 in 2008 for services not disclosed in the state data. That pay went up to $153,445 in 2009 and $282,971 in 2010. Through September, the state had paid $118 million on the incentive, while Burnham had spent $36,000 and created 210 jobs.

Millions in incentives Incentive money is given to projects in defined sectors – clean energy, corporate headquarters, financial services and life sciences – and must create at least 50 new jobs.

The state’s incentive payout programs include

a wide range of tax refunds to companies, including rebates for taxes on sales, insurance, property and corporate income. There are tax breaks for specified sectors including clean energy, biomedical technology, financial services and information technology.

There are tax credits and cash for companies that open their doors in certain areas. The state pays for worker training programs for select companies and provides matching money to smaller municipalities.

Incentives unnecessary?

Critics of corporate subsidies and economic incentives, including freemarket advocates such as Americans for Prosperity and state watchdog Integrity Florida, say public money should not be given to companies that have the wealth to operate, yet insist on taxpayers funding part of their business.

“There are a lot more

RULING from A1 clothing” even in hot weather in hopes of avoiding harassment.

Different in Miami “I hear offensive sexual comments virtually every day at multiple locations in the institution,” Coleman treatment specialist Taronica White declared in an affidavit. “I routinely hear comments such as, ‘Ms. White, will you come (blank) my (blank.)”’

White added that she rarely experienced such treatment when she worked at a federal facility in Miami “because it simply was not tolerated.”

Citing the “pending litigation,” Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley declined to comment Wednesday.

T. Rowe Price Associates has been among the managers of state employees’ retirement funds since 1987. The state has invested millions of its employees’ retirement dollars with T. Rowe, with the financial giant earning hundreds of thousands in fees.

The first year those investments show up in state records is 2010, when T. Rowe handled $10.8 million for the state. In all, from 2010 to 2012, state employees invested $38 million with T. Rowe.

In the fall of 2008, T. Rowe made noise about moving its large financial services campus in Tampa, claiming it had several suitors from out of state.

The company began to receive grants and incentives shortly after it threatened to move. It has been approved for $38.7 million in grants and abatements since 2009.

Can’t follow money In 2011, there were calls to reform the state’s incentive program. Senate Bill 2156 wound its way through the Florida Legislature, imposing more restrictions and demanding greater accountability among the state agencies that hand out incentives.

A new database and web-

Workers first filed the EEOC complaint in 2011. The class-action certification is not the last word, and further Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proceedings will continue. The certification is important for several reasons, though; notably, it means the complaint now covers more than 360 women who have worked at the Coleman complex since February 2011.

More than 150 of the women already have sought equal opportunity counseling at Coleman, and more than 200 already have contacted legal counsel. The numbers helped convince Helprin, the administrative judge, that the complaint met the standards for a class action – a decision the Justice Department quietly agreed to accept.

Similar experiences Though saying the class-action question was a “close call,” the Justice Department officials point-

site called Transparency Florida launched in 2012, administered by Florida’s Department of Financial Services. The information is intended to allow the public to trace payments and search state contracts.

But the site contains conflicting information, showing contract information in one portal but not payments in another, making it impossible to follow the money.The system impedes the transparency the new state law attempts to provide.

In the database, disbursements for grants are mixed with those for goods and services, making it difficult for the public to discern just how much business the state is giving an incentive recipient.

Nothing to say Gov. Scott and his office staff declined to speak with the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting for this story. In an email, his office offered a written comment: “[State agencies] evaluate economic development projects on their ability to create jobs in Florida and provide the greatest return on investment for taxpayers. Statetaxpayer funded contracts are not considered in evaluating return on taxpayer investment.”

Krassner, of Integrity Florida, said it’s time for state officials to begin questioning who’s benefitting from state incentives and contracts.

“We can see that the companies benefiting,” he said, “are the same companies that are winning all the time.”

Trevor Aaronson of the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting contributed data analysis to this report. The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting is a nonprofit news organization supported by foundations and individual contributions. For more information, visit fcir.org.

ed out that many female Coleman workers had recounted similar experiences about how, when they complained, Bureau of Prisons managers “discouraged, destroyed or in some instances downgraded the seriousness of disciplinary reports.”

The Bureau of Prisons had urged the Justice Department to appeal the class-action decision, arguing in a May 15 brief that the judge had “failed to apply the correct legal standard.” The bureau also asserted that the judge “accepted as true, with no evidence,” claims made by the women about the Coleman environment.

Mehri countered Wednesday that “we think the evidence is so overwhelming that we will prevail.” He said he hopes the case leads to specific fixes at Coleman, as well as national standards to protect female workers, in addition to payments for the Coleman women.

MAY 31 – JUNE 6, 2013

FLORIDA

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More foster parents needed in state New legislation gives guardians more decisionmaking power

BY MARGIE MENZEL THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

With new legislation reforming Florida foster care, good foster parents will be more in demand than ever. And current foster parents say new ones will have a better experience than the old image of foster care might have led them to expect.

A so-called “normalcy” bill (SB 164) is already in law, giving foster parents more decision-making power when foster children want to take part in activities such as going to the prom or sleeping over at friends’ houses.

Senate Bill 1036, which would give young adults the option of staying in foster care until age 21, passed the Legislature overwhelmingly but hasn’t gone to Gov. Rick Scott yet; he’s expected to sign it.

“Now we’re expecting to have teenagers stay in (foster care) longer, and possibly some teens that will re-enter,” said Lora Diaz, a foster and adoptive parent in Pasco County. “So we need more foster homes to be able to take care of this.”

Joint project Diaz is also a training coordinator with the Quality Parenting Initiative, which many credit with providing the push the bills needed by changing the perception of foster parents and how they’re treated by caseworkers and administrators.

“QPI has changed the culture of child welfare,”

PEDRO PORTAL/EL NUEVO HERALD/MCT

Lisa and Jorge Alvarez, with their family, from left, sitting, granddaughter Noemi, daughters Natasha and Vanessa, granddaughter Mya, back, daughter Kathy Remos and her fiancee, Brandon Phillips, at home in Kendall, Fla., on May 23, 2012. The Alvarez family has fostered 90 children in 12 years, some with difficult medical issues.

Diaz said.

The initiative is a joint project of the Californiabased Youth Law Center, the Florida Department of Children and Families, 15 of the state’s community-based care lead agencies and the Eckerd Family Foundation.

It sprang from a crisis in Florida in 2004, when fos-

ter homes were in such short supply that specialneeds children were sleeping overnight in conference rooms at Big Bend Community Based Care, one of DCF’s lead agencies.

“It was children the shelter had rejected because they had such serious problems,” said Carole Schauffer of the Youth

Law Center. “These were the highest-need kids who needed the most supervision.”

Case settled So Schauffer and Paolo Annino of the Florida State University College of Law sued DCF and Big Bend Community Based Care. By 2007, the case was settled and Bob Butterworth, who had dealt with the lawsuit while serving as attorney general, had become DCF secretary. He met with Schauffer and Jane Soltis of the Eckerd Family Foundation, agreeing that the need for more foster homes was statewide.

The Quality Parenting Initiative came out of that meeting, based on the idea that foster parenting was a brand with an image both negative and just plain wrong. And it was making it harder to recruit and retain good foster parents.

“People keep saying it’s that foster parents don’t get enough money,” Schauffer said. “But there are so many other things that people do that they don’t get enough money for, and they are lined up to do them.”

Parent-child bond The old normal was that foster children couldn’t go on family trips or sleep at a friend’s house without a security check. They couldn’t go to the beach or the prom. Such rules had their basis in liability law, but often damaged the foster child’s relations with the foster parents, espe-

cially for those children too young to understand why other kids had privileges they didn’t.

“They want to blame the parent because they don’t see the system,” said Thomas Fair, 23, a former foster youth who now works at Big Bend Community Based Care. “Sometimes they might take it out on that parent or on their group home or, you know, shut down. So that can really mess up that relationship.”

The child welfare authorities were prone to blame the parents, too, if the foster child made a typical mistake – falling out of a tree or wrecking the car.

“A child could be harmed at the beach, yes, and it has happened in the state,” agreed Mike Wakins, CEO of Big Bend Community Based Care. “But we also know those are the kinds of experiences that develop children and allow them to be part of a normal family.”

Learning outcomes It cuts both ways.

Schauffer said research shows the level of emotional attachment the foster parent feels for the foster child has direct consequences for the child’s ability to learn and succeed.

“If we put those kinds of limitations on, the foster parent is less likely to feel that emotional commitment,” Schauffer said. “And if they don’t feel that emotional commitment, it has a long-term impact on the kid.”

FRIDAY 5/31 1/4pg. (4.93”) X 10” ALL.PRG.0531.TCemail

TM

Plan rejected to exhume remains at Dozier School NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Florida Courier

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS A PLATINUM DUNES/BLUMHOUSE/WHY NOT PRODUCTION ETHAN HAWKELINE LENA HEADEY “THE PURGE” ADELAIDE KANE MAX MUSIC BURKHOLDER CASTING COBY LISA FIELDS PRODUCER GERARD D I NARDI PRODUCER JEANETTE VOLTURNO-BRILL BY NATHAN WHITEHEAD PRODUCED

BY JASON BLUM p.g.a. MICHAEL BAY ANDREW FORM BRAD FULLER SEBASTIEN ´ K. LEMERCIER p.g.a.

WRITTEN AND A UNIVERSAL RELEASE DIRECTED BY JAMES D E MONACO

A Jackson County circuit judge last Friday denied a request by Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office that could have cleared the way for exhuming remains at the closed Dozier School for Boys.

Judge William L. Wright issued an order that urged Florida officials to “proceed with caution” as they continue investigating whether boys at the reform school

Soltis said brain-development research shows teenagers can still change their learning outcomes – with the right kind of parenting.

“Kids who age out (of foster care) at 18 generally have very poor outcomes,” Soltis said. “But if we listen to the research and provide age-appropriate learning experiences and opportunities for these kids, they can do better than we would have thought.”

Troubled childhood John Fair, Thomas’s twin, offers himself as an example. He was troubled in foster care, he said.

“Especially coming from somewhere you can’t trust nobody, don’t have no one caring about you,” he said.

“Seeing that difference in that exchange just opens a lot of doors for you as a person and opens yourself up to the world.”

John Fair will spend this summer in Washington, D.C., on a paid internship at the U.S. House of Representatives.

Schauffer praises the new legislation and says DCF and the community based care agencies have been responsive to Quality Parenting Initiative. But she warns the assumptions of the child welfare system are 100 years old, and – like racism – difficult to remove from institutional thinking.

“It’s hard to get people to think foster parents are full and respected partners on the team, not a baby-sitter,” she said

were possibly killed and buried on the school grounds.

A team from the University of South Florida has studied the Panhandle site to search for remains. Wright wrote, in part, that an interim report by the USF team “does not provide any information or opinion regarding what physical evidence is likely to be found that will lead to the identification of the remains or a determination of the causes of death.”

After Wright’s order, Bondi released a statement indicating she will continue to pursue finding out what happened at Dozier.

“I remain committed to assisting with the efforts to help resolve unanswered questions regarding deaths at the Dozier School for Boys,’’ Bondi said. “In light of today’s adverse ruling, we will be meeting with the interested parties and considering the next course of action to explore other avenues.”

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EDITORIAL

A4

MAY 31 – JUNE 6, 2013

Don’t blame the alcohol, blame the children If you’re wondering why we always seem to be neglected, disrespected, rejected and objected, don’t blame it on the alcohol, blame it on the children.

No, I’m not talking about infants and toddlers. You can blame our social status, our economic exploitation and our social degradation on our “grown" children.

Civil disturbances, social protests, boycotts, sitins, riots, melees, and government confrontations in America and around the world, for the most part, have been instigated and carried out by young people.

From the first day the ancestors of African-Amer-

Lucius Gantt THE GANTT REPORT

icans were kidnapped, packed like sardines on slave ships and brought to American shores, it was the young African men and women that stood up, spoke out and attempted to fight the evils of slavery and the mistreatment of humans by other humans because of the color of one’s skin.

The Nat Turners and Denmark Veseys and Harriet Tubmans of colonial America were not old, worn out

senior citizens; they were young people that fought for their God given rights.

On the continent of Africa, it was students that turned the tide in the fight against apartheid and African colonialism. When they decided to rebel, Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and Patrice Lumumba and others were all African youth.

In the early days of civil rights struggles, most of the marchers, most of the protesters and most of the Black community activists were young people.

Most of The Freedom Riders weren’t community elders, most of the people that sat in at lunch counters were not old nursing home

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: CHRISTIE AND OBAMA

residents and the more militant Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Weathermen, the Black Panthers and other groups were not members at the senior citizens center but they did work with the AARP (not the old folks group), the All African Revolutionary Party.

Sometimes the older preachers would mobilize the Black community and then leave town while the younger activists stayed in town to organize Black folk.

Martin Luther King was not “old" when he did what he did. Malcolm X was not old, Angela Davis was not old when she was active in the movement, Huey Newton, Rap Brown and others were not aged when they protested Black exploitation and degradation.

Even Jesus Christ was young when he was throwing the biblical beast bankers out of the temples!

Step up to the plate

our causes instead of rubber stamping everything a campaign contributor or political party wants them to.

We need young Black men and women to love their race, love their culture, love their community, love their institutions, love their ancestors and love themselves.

Now is the time for young Black people to be brave, bold and smart!

It’s not the alcohol’s fault that Black progress is not what it should be. Blame it on the children and their Uncle Tom, handkerchief headed, boot licking parents that tell the children not to stand up and speak out!

If today’s young people will step up to the plate and continue the AfricanAmerican economic, social and political struggles, the OGs, the older generation of Black activists, will jump into the fray and help you.

Young people should be writing hard hitting editorial columns, not old geezers like I’m about to be.

Young people should be taking over and running Black community organizations like SCLC, NAACP, Rainbow Coalition and the Action Network and the old tired Uncle Toms that did well in the past but are now merely puppets of the modern day slave masters Buy Gantt’s latest book should step down or get to- “Beast Too: Dead Man Writtally out of the way. ing” at any major bookstore and contact Lucius at www.

Young Blacks needed allworldconsultants.net.

We need younger, but Click on this story at www. smarter, Black elected offi- flcourier.com to write your cials that will vote to support own response.

Entertainment choices galore

BOB ENGLEHART, THE HARTFORD COURANT

Detroit’s art treasures saved while the city is picked clean Editor’s note: Charles W. Cherry II’s column will return next week.

Elements of Michigan’s upper class are finally showing concern for the plight of Detroit, its largest city, locked in the deadly embrace of a state-appointed emergency financial manager.

The “one percent” aren’t upset that the city’s residents have been stripped of their democratic rights, reduced to non-citizens with literally no control over their local institutions and resources. Most of the upper crust consider the disenfranchisement of Detroit and fully half of the state’s Black population to be more of a blessing than a tragedy, much less a crime.

Rather, the emergency manager has rattled the sophisticated gentry by appearing to covet the precious works housed in the Detroit Institute of Art – estimated value a billion dollars.

GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT

It doesn’t matter to the privileged classes that the soulful city that produced the Motown sound – an exquisite form of art – is about to be gutted to satisfy the greed of capitalist creditors.

Patrons of the arts have mobilized, not to free Detroit from the bankers’ yoke, but to find ways to separate the city’s artistic assets from the kind of assets that most people depend upon in their daily lives. Rather than demanding that Financial Manager Kevyn Orr and his vultures respect the citizenship rights of 82 percent Black Detroit, they’re seeking legal loopholes to keep the Institute of Art off the auc-

tion block.

This is a false choice. A crime is being perpetuated against the people of Detroit, robbing them of their rights as workers, pension holders, students, citizens and human beings. Rather than make common cause with the victims, whose house is being pillaged, the patrons of the “high arts” want only to remove certain items, and then run right out the door again, allowing the criminals to continue their thievery.

It is like slipping the wristwatch from the arm of a drowning man, rather than rescuing him, and then bragging about having preserved a fine piece of craftsmanship.

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

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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Remember back-in-theday when you used to poke your mouth out, bug your parents (or whatever adult was in charge) about being bored? Well, today’s kids can’t use that tired, old excuse. Neither can we, as grown folks, for that matter.

We’ve been spoiled rotten and have access to endless entertainment options at our fingertips, 24/7. So, I’m excited to share with you insights from Nielsen’s firstever Entertainment Consumer Report, which breaks down, in detail, the myriad of ways we are entertained – whether it’s game playing, watching movies or other video content, listening to music or reading a book.

Three categories As entertainment consumers, we fall into three categories: high, moderate and low entertainment spenders. Although just one-third of the population qualifies as high entertainment spenders, they account for more than 70 percent of entertainment spending.

When it comes to how we listen music, long gone are the days portrayed in the musicals “Cadillac Records” and “Dream Girls.”

But wait. Though digital music leads overall music sales with 118 million digital albums and 1.3 billion tracks purchased last year, the sales of old-school vinyl LPs jumped nearly 18 percent over the last year. As the saying goes, “everything

mographics in movie/TV DVD and streaming video CHERYL purchases. Females index PEARSON- higher than males in movMCNEIL ie/TV DVD purchase, while men outrank women when NNPA COLUMNIST it comes to buying streaming video. old is new again.”

African-Americans index E-readers on the lower end of the deWhat are some other mographic spectrum of dig- forms of entertainment we ital music buyers. We, how- have available to us? Well, ever, index slightly higher I am glad you asked. Some, than other consumer groups in purchasing physical CDs. like me, still love the feel of We make up 12 percent of a good book in your hands. on-demand music stream- But, I know some of you may ers. And, although all age also appreciate the convegroups enjoy music across nience of e-readers. Turns all platforms, young adults out, there’s not much difbetween 18 and 24 spend ference between print and the most time listening to eBook buyers. Among adults music, about six hours a online surveyed in this reweek, which is an hour more port, both groups of readers are more likely females bethan those 25 and up. tween the ages of 55 and 64.

African-Americans inWatching video dex slightly higher with purdiffers chasing eBooks than print Switching gears to what books. and how we watch video So now you see even how content at home, well, the your various entertainment sky is pretty much the limpreferences matter. And it with multiple devices to even though there are many choose from. Some examples of those are: DVR/Blu- choices, each and every Ray, video-on-demand, plus choice is important. subscriber services like NetCheryl Pearson-McNeil flix and/or Hulu. There are also video game consoles, is senior vice president of computers, tablets and/or Public Affairs and Government Relations for Nielsmobile devices.

Here are some quick facts. en. For more information 25-34 year olds are the big- and studies, visit www. gest buyers of movie/TV nielsenwire.com. Click on DVDs and streaming vid- this story at www.flcourieo. African-Americans in- er.com to write your own dex lower than other de- response.

Black students flocking to STEM fields Over last weekend, young people watched or read about President Obama speaking at Morehouse College and first lady Michelle Obama addressing the graduates of Bowie State University. Hopefully they were inspired by seeing so many young and gifted people finishing the course they chose to follow. Well, here is a little known set of facts.

Those colleges are both historically Black colleges-known as HBCUs-and they graduate a disproportionate share of the nation’s Black science, technical, engineering and math majors - the very majors everyone points to as the skills America will need to succeed. And, it turns out, HBCUs are important because those fields are the backbone of the new Black middle class.

More Blacks work in computer-related occupations than are employed as elementary and middle school teachers or postal workers.

And, like those students at Morehouse and Bowie State, Black college students are more likely to choose computer science as a major than White students. In part because of the high share of Blacks who major in computer science and because

WILLIAM SPRIGGS GUEST COLUMNIST

of the large number of Black college students, there are more baccalaureate degrees awarded to African-Americans than to Asian-Americans in computer science.

Now, a great challenge lies ahead. Having found a path to the middle class through education and training, business interests are pushing hard in Congress to import temporary workers to do computer-based jobs.

This while there are still 20,000-plus fewer Blacks employed as computer programmers and systems analysts since their employment peaked in 2008.

Immigration bill hurts Blacks But, while those workers continue to search to get back to the high-tech jobs they trained for, we have seen businesses increase requests for H-1B visas (visas for high-tech workers).

And now the Senate Judiciary Committee adopted ludi-

crous amendments, introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) in the immigration bill, that refuse to give America’s workers a first shot at these jobs. These amendments would even allow businesses to fire American workers and replace them with temporary workers.

The AFL-CIO is fighting to restore some reason here. We need to protect American workers’ huge investment in college loans to get trained in computer and science skills the country needs, while providing a road map to citizenship for all aspiring Americans.

So, the AFL-CIO is challenging Sen. Hatch and the business lobby to make sure there are safeguards to keep a path to the middle class open.

William Spriggs serves as Chief Economist to the AFL-CIO and is a professor and former chair of the Department of Economics at Howard University. Bill is also former assistant secretary for the Office of Policy at the United States Department of Labor.

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

MAY 31 – JUNE 6, 2013

State of equality and justice in America: The presumption of guilt This article - the 15th of a 20-part series - is written in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, of which Congressman Lewis is grand marshal.

For more information, visit www. lawyerscommittee.org.

No evidence

After serving 42 years in an Arizona prison for a crime he didn’t commit, a 58-year-old man was finally released this April. When Louis Taylor was just 16, he ventured out of his comfort zone to try a happy hour advertised by an upscale Tucson hotel, a typical foray for an adventurous teenage boy.

Unfortunately, that night a fire broke out that ultimately claimed 29 lives. In that moment, Taylor stopped being typical and became extraordinary. He did not run from the danger as most people would.

Instead he took responsibility.

He was spotted during the crisis busily helping people escape the flames, escorting guests to safety and assisting people on stretchers.

Ordinarily, he would have been hailed a teenage hero for demonstrating a civic duty only expected of grown men. Yet eyewitness accounts of his beyond-the-callof-duty service were not credited as outstanding demonstrations of good character. To police and even some bystanders his very presence made him automatically suspect.

More than the possibility that he could have saved someone’s life, people were consumed by their sense that he “did not belong in a fancy Tucson hotel”.

The forensic evidence suggested faulty electrical wiring or some building defect as the likely cause, not arson, but scientific facts could not derail a hardwired determination that because Taylor was Black, he had to be at fault. His youth, his innocence, and even his dramatic work to save and comfort the victims were imperceptible and irrelevant.

Outraged citizens wanted the death penalty. A profiler was brought in who swore under oath that the likely perpetrator was “a Black teenager.” Taylor was convicted by an all-White jury and sentenced to multiple life sentences, ensuring he would die in prison. Fortunately, the Arizona Justice Project recently took up the case. New research from the National Academy of Science proved there was no evidence of arson in the fire. Wrongly convicted, Taylor was finally released-42 years later.

It would be hard to call Mr. Taylor lucky, but the truth is thousands just like him, including innocent children, are being victimized by a presumption of guilt that never sees black and brown youth as blameless, as engaged in proverbial “good, clean, fun,” as harmless.

Instead it attributes to them every violence and vice, even if those suspicions contradict the facts.

For nearly 50 years, starting in the 1920s, America maintained a prison population of close to 200,000 people. Today we have the highest incarceration rate in the world with 2.3 million people in jails or prison. One out of three Black boys born in 2001 is likely to serve time in jail or prison during his lifetime. Half of our incarcerated are imprisoned for non-violent drug crimes.

While African-American and Latino teens are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than Whites, they are 3-4 times more likely to be arrested, convicted or sent to jail or prison for non-violent drug offenses. The violent crime rate in America is the same as it was

CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS AND BRYAN STEVENSON guest commentary

EDITORIAL

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: GRADUATION UPDATE

in 1968, yet our prison system has grown by over 500 percent.

School to jail The presumption of guilt follows too many poor and minority children to school, a place where children should be nurtured and supported, not criminalized and incarcerated. Yet the pipeline from school to jail is so insidious, many parents now fear schools as much as they fear the criminal justice system.

In 2012, the Justice Department sued school officials in Meridian, Mississippi for systematically incarcerating Black and disabled children for days at a time for minor dress code infractions like wearing the wrong color socks or talking back to the teacher.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, children have been expelled for giving Midol to classmates, bringing household goods to school for Goodwill donations and scissors to class for an art project.

Children as young as five years old are being led out of classrooms in handcuffs for acting out or throwing temper tantrums. They have been arrested for throwing an eraser at a teacher, breaking a pencil, and having rap lyrics in a locker. Black children constitute 18 percentof the nation’s public school population but 40 percent of the children who are suspended or expelled.

Profiling legalized In Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and a growing number of states, legally sanctioned racial profiling has been resurrected leading Latinos particularly, and other U.S citizens of color, to fear harassment, suspicion and detention.

In New York City between 2002 to 2011, 90 percent of the city’s notorious “stop and frisk’’ victims have been Black and Latino resi-

RICK MCKEE, THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE

dents. In 88 percent of those stops, people of color were found to be innocent of any wrongdoing.

In the year when this nation will celebrate the Supreme Court’s historic ruling to create a right to counsel for indigent people accused of crimes, protections for the poor and innocent are almost non-existent.

In a courtroom, where justice should be blind, the presumption of guilt is especially dangerous. Today too many innocent prisoners like Taylor are trapped by systemic pressure to plead guilty in a system where 96 percent of all convictions are rendered by plea bargains.

‘Innocent Defendant’s Dilemma’ The Innocent Defendant’s Dilemma, a recent study, describes how the blameless, particularly those who are poor, find it an onerous, nearly impossible burden to prove their innocence. With few resources for defense, they find themselves trapped by a system that presumes their guilt. Since the odds seem hopelessly stacked against them, many innocent individuals reluctantly plead guilty to avoid the longest prison terms or even death. Innocent victims lose years in prison, face rejection because of criminal records, and many never reach their potential.

Human rights abuses We have come a great distance in the last 50 years, but we still have not fully escaped the miseducation and distortions created by America’s policies of racial injustice.

These problems demand remedies, and we must admit this nation may require some form of therapy before we can freely reconcile ourselves to a better future informed by the truth surrounding present human rights abuses and those of the past.

Despite progress, in the last 50 years we have retreated from an honest conversation about racial and economic justice, and have opted instead for mass criminalization and incarceration leaving many poor and minority people marginalized and condemned. As Taylor’s story reminds us, out of sight is hardly out of mind. It is an abysmal violation of human dignity.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis has represented the 5th Congressional District of Georgia since 1987.

Bryan Stevenson isexecutive director and founder of the Equal Justice .

Federal contracting promotes inequality On May 21, I had the opportunity to testify before a Congressional Progressive Caucus, meeting on the fact that federal dollars drive inequality by paying contractors who pay too many of their workers very little. The hearing was driven by a study from Amy Traub and her colleagues at Demos, a New York based think tank, that issued a report exposing the many ways that federal contracting often adds to the burden of the low income, especially those who earn less than $12 an hour, or less than $25,000 a year.

If these workers have even one child, they are living at or below the poverty line. As summer looms, we know that children who are in summer programs will be better prepared when they return to school in the fall. Yet those with income limitations will find it difficult to pay fees that range from $50 to $125 a week for summer enrichment programs.

This cycle of disadvantage means that low wages yield more limited opportunities for students who, but for their parental situation, might be exposed to the kind of opportunities that would

DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

make them more competitive for college admissions. Their limited wages create a cycle of disadvantage for children.

Race to the bottom The Obama administration has supported a “Race to the Top” in education, yet job creation suggests that we are running a “Race to the Bottom.’’

We are underutilizing talent and expertise when we sideline so many Americans. Those over 50 who have experienced downsizing have moved into lower paying retail jobs. New college graduates have been pushed back into their parents’ homes, and into low-wage jobs because there is little else available.

Too many take unpaid internships to make them more competitive for future jobs, working at night or on weekends in the retail

seven figure salaries, while workers earn poverty-level wages.

I am especially concerned about home health care workers, and others in the hospital services industry because these are predominately Black and Brown women, taking care of our sick, infirm and elders. How can we expect these workers to offer the highest quality care, when we are not offering them the highest quality wages?

These are women who bring chips of ice to the dying, who hold a hand and say a prayer to someone who needs comfort. They rub the feet and massage the heads of those who are in pain. What if the low wages they are paid becomes a stressor, not allowing them to fully focus on their work for worPoverty level wages Instead, according to Demos ries about their own economic we have millions of workers who survival? work full time, but are paid at low wages, thanks to federal contract- American nightmare Our economy has been bifuring policy. If government takes the lowest bid to provide services, cated between those who have workers will likely earn the lowest good jobs and bad jobs. Good wage. If our government specified jobs have decent pay and benefits, that a living wage and benefits are while bad jobs have hourly pay part of the contract we would re- and none of the above. Increasduce inequality. Today, too many ingly, the Great Recession has contracting executives earn six or pushed former good job workers market because these are their scant possibilities.

Some economists suggest that we are in an economic expansion, not a recession, and the 2.5 percent GDP growth last quarter might support that. Still, there has been little trickle down from the top to the bottom. People take what is offered in salary because they have few choices. The federal government can help or hurt these workers depending on how they choose to protect them with minimum wage legislation, with regulation on federal contractors, with requirements to make health care and other social protections available.

Dealing with the storms of life In parts of our nation, people worry about tornados and hurricanes. Some worry about devastating floods or raging forest fires.

Others worry about blizzards, terrorist attacks or other unexpected events. If you live and work in Washington, DC, the storms of life never seem to end. A struggle seems connected with every aspect of life.

I was riveted to the television during the past week watching the tragedy of the weather event in Oklahoma. I grieved watching stories of those who had lost their homes, their businesses and their lives.

The pain grew even greater as I listened to urgent pleas from those asking Americans to come together to support the rebuilding efforts of our citizens in the mostaffected areas. In the background of my emotions, I could not help wonder why something so horrific must happen to bring Ameri-

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. TRICE EDNEY WIRE

cans together.

Partisan acrimony

in their lives -- and we look to our leaders to help us.

It seems that we’re a nation that cares only when things presented to us are unimaginably devastating. We often place little value on the principle of pro-activity, and pay little attention to preventing tragedies before they occur.

Because of political wrangling and an apparent priority to thwart the president – jobs, businesses and programs that could revitalize our economy are left withering on the vine. Government can’t work optimally, to the benefit of our country, because some politicians choose to derail the appointment confirmation process of talented executives or jurists whose expertise languishes in inactivity.

Unfortunately, within 24 hours of the Oklahoma news coverage, Congressional leaders rejoined their partisan acrimony and bickering. In the face of the great tragedy for the people of Moore, Okla., few legislators could bring themselves to call a truce to make life better for them or for other Americans.

Not all Americans experienced the violence of the Boston bombings nor were we all involved in the Waco tragedy weeks before Ignoring Americans Yes, we have a right to know that, but all Americans desire security from the respective storms what happened in Benghazi, what

really happened at the IRS and the why of the AP story — but should we ignore that millions of Americans outside “Tornado Alley” are still under- or unemployed and they, too, are losing their homes and precious possessions?

Are obstructionist leaders taking the time to see the tragedy in young people preparing themselves for jobs that won’t be available to them? Have they looked with clarity at the obstacles preventing many from preparation for productive livelihoods? Do they see the obscenity of wasting time and money voting 37 times to repeal a law that has been affirmed by the Supreme Court and the re-election of the president?

Or, do they care that healthcare costs are a leading cause of bankruptcy and can ruin the financial lives of otherwise well-prepared retirees?

Tragedies come in many forms.

They needn’t be as immediate or dramatic as the events of Moore, Okla., but the pain of loss is just as great. I pray that the Oklahoma senators who voted against disas-

into bad jobs, and bad jobs have become the norm for too many.

We may be creating a permanent underclass by offering too little to too many, using federal funds to subsidize this inequality.

When full-time workers need food stamps and federally subsidized health insurance, when full-time workers cannot afford apartments, when full time workers give full effort and remain in poverty, then we have turned the American dream into a nightmare!

We cannot compete in this global economy if we cannot pay people wisely and well. Without regulation, the private sector may pay unequal wages, but there is no reason for the federal government to do the same thing.

Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C- based economist and writer. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response. ter aid for the East Coast understand that now.

Leaders in Washington can prevent many disasters if only they would. If they’d legislate on the basis of what is good for their constituents and America, instead of loyalty to Mitch McConnell’s pledge to scuttle the Obama Presidency, some of the disasters we witness wouldn’t exist.

At some point, grown-ups must prevail. The silliness must stop. I fear that too many obstructionists are perfectly willing to wait until 2017 before they act to prevent or resolve the disasters that impact us. We, the people, must stand up to the obstructionists and tell them, “Enough! Stop the games and work for the good of the people you serve!”

Dr. E. Faye Williams is National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women.

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

WORLD

TOj A6

MAY 31 – JUNE 6, 2013

Kenyan paper forced to apologize over reference to Hitler

Then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama is shown with his grandmother, Sarah Hussein Obama, from her house in his family’s village of Kogelo, Kenya on Aug. 26, 2006.

BY KENNEDY ABWAO AND SHABTAI GOLD/MCT

NAIROBI, Kenya — A Kenyan newspaper will be forced to publicly apologize to the country’s president and remove an article from its website which likened the election of Uhuru Kenyatta to the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany.

The comparison has been particularly irksome to the newly elected Kenyatta as his trial is to begin this year at the International Criminal Court on crimes against humanity charges in relation to post-election violence five years ago.

The Star paper will be forced to carry an apology on its website for seven days, according to a decision by the Kenyan Media Council, which enjoys statutory powers to take action against journalists and media owners in the East African nation.

An opinion article by columnist Jerry Okungu, published in February 2012, compared Kenyatta’s possible election to Hitler’s rise to power, specifically focusing on the events leading up to Hitler’s 1933 appointment as chancellor.

PETE SOUZA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/ MCT

President will skip ancestral homeland during visit to Africa TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE

President Barack Obama will embark on a major presidential tour of Africa in June but his itinerary will circumvent Kenya, his ancestral homeland.

Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania will each receive the president and First Lady Michelle.

Kenya was scratched from the group, according to one news report, since being seen with the newly elected president, Uhuru Kenyatta, who still faces charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, would certainly spark a new crisis for the president, already beleaguered by major

controversies.

Obama’s first trip to South Africa since he became president raises the prospect of a reunion with Nelson Mandela ahead of his 95th birthday in July. But Mandela’s health now appears so frail that any photo op will require delicate handling.

Wooed by China The presidential trip, from June 26 to July 3, comes late for many Africans who had hoped that the son of a Kenyan would give priority to the continent.

After more than four years in power, he has spent less than 24 hours in Sub-Saharan Africa – a solitary visit to Ghana in 2009.

Former Chinese president

Hu Jintao, by contrast, has made five trips to Africa as head of state, while his successor Xi Jinping sped to three resource-rich African countries just a month after taking over.

The Asian giant has exercised soft power through building schools and hospitals.

China has quickly overtaken the U.S. with an infrastructure-for-minerals approach that wins friends and influences people. Some governments have welcomed a lack of “preaching” on human rights, pointing out that America’s own record is checkered.

‘Strategic neglect’ The White House last year put out a tepid strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa with vague

objectives: to strengthen democratic institutions; spur economic growth, trade, and investment; advance peace and security; and promote opportunity and development.

Elsewhere, however, a new mantra of “Africa rising,” can be heard at investment conferences, thinktanks and in media commentaries.

“He’s totally neglecting Africa,” said Koffi Kouakou, a Johannesburg-based political commentator in a press interview. “There’s not enough time to catch up. It’s a strategic neglect that is going to be costing America big time.

“Our expectations were too high. His visit now won’t have the same degree of reverberation as when he first became president.”

Won in March Okungu, who warned that Kenyatta would run the country for his personal benefit and that of his allies, says he only meant to compare their rises and not to compare the Kenyan politician’s actions to those of Hitler.

Kenyatta won elections in March this year and was sworn into office the following month.

“I have to challenge the negative media articles because they are being used against me at the ICC,” Kenyatta said during the debates at the media commission over Okungu’s article.

“They are comparing him to Hitler, not only in terms of popularity, but also in respect to crimes against humanity,” the complaints body concluded in its final report.

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IFE/FAITH

May 31 - June 6, 2013

Supermarket turns spoiled food into energy See page B3

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

Blige still dealing with IRS drama See page B5

SUN COAST / TAMPA BAY

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www.flcourier.com

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The Sanford Police headquarters and fire department are located at the entrance of Goldsboro, Sanford’s oldest Black community.

KARSCEAL TURNER/ MEDIA RELATIONS SOLUTIONS

Calm before the next

storm in Sanford?

“This is an atmosphere of waiting to see what will transpire, but the wounds run far deeper and reach further into the past. The city has wounds older than Trayvon.”

George Zimmerman, 29, defendant in the killing of Trayvon Martin, is sworn in as a witness to answer questions by the judge at Seminole circuit court in Sanford during a pre-trial hearing on April.

Francis Oliver Curator of the Goldsboro Historical Museum Smith came to Sanford from Elgin, Ill., where he was the police department’s deputy chief. He succeeded Bill Lee, who was fired in June 2012 following the national outrage over the Sanford police department’s handling of the shooting death of Martin.

The teen’s shooting sparked rallies around the country, including one on March 22, 2012 that attracted 8,000 people to Sanford to hear the Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, Martin’s parents and others demand Zimmerman’s arrest.

POOL PHOTO BY JOE BURBANK/ ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

As Trayvon Martin trial nears, residents say police distrust remains an issue

‘True distrust’

BY KARSCEAL TURNER SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

S

ixteen months after Trayvon Martin’s death and in wake of the trial of the man who took the 17-yearold’s life, all is relatively calm in Sanford.

Ironically, a brisk walk into the oldest Black neighborhood in Sanford begins at the police station located at 815 Historic Goldsboro Ave. Half a block down sits Goldsboro’s Welcome Center, where a memorial for Trayvon Martin and other victims of gun violence now sits.

Francis Oliver, curator of the Goldsboro Historical Museum, said earlier this month that the area is pretty calm – weeks before the trial, which begins June 10.

“This is an atmosphere of waiting to see what will transpire, but the wounds run far deeper and reach further into the past,” she said. Oliver said mistrust between the once all-Black town and the police has always been prevalent.

“The city has wounds older than Trayvon,” she added.

In February, she was quoted in an Orlando Sentinel article about the memorial, “We should remember Trayvon, but we should not forget about all the other kids that have been victims of crime.’’

New enforcer Enter Cecil Smith. He is the new police

The above photo of Trayvon Martin was taken from his cell phone. chief. And he’s Black.

Upon his swearing in April, this was his defining statement: “I can’t tolerate racism within the police department. I can’t tolerate people being harassed by police officers.”

That statement was in response to taking over a department that one year ago was called racist and incompetent for choosing not to arrest George Zimmerman, the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black 17-year-old over a year ago.

James Alexander, 41, a member of a Masonic lodge in Sanford, offered his insight.

“Things right now are calm,” he said.

“People are watching the trial closely to see what happens; they still recall the day that the shooting made national news. A lot of us still stand with Trayvon Martin’s family and pray that justice will be served.”

Alexander echoed the sentiment of distrust between Black residents and the Sanford Police Department.

“True distrust remains between the cops and citizens. They (the police) love the city and its people. But we as a people feel slighted by what’s going on and I think the incident with Trayvon added fuel to the fire in some respects,” Alexander explained.

“We’ve have had the police come out to our (Masonic) events and help out.

The police force is comprised of a lot of great people who were just as shocked by this situation but they cannot express that to the public. They have to follow the rule of the law and keep peace.

I think people should know the law and empower themselves.”

‘Knock and Talk’ Many of the residents of the minority community were at odds with law enforcement facilities in close proximity to their neighborhood.

“To me it was a great step in building the community but as a people we tend to distrust the police for past deeds. I think it takes more than having an African-American police chief to squash the distrust. I think people need to believe

that they can communicate with the police and not feel stereotyped by them. I think everyone in the town agrees that this is a tragedy and are just waiting for the case to be over,” he added.

One of Smith’s first tasks involved walking door to door during a “Knock and Talk” to help build up a relationship with residents. He visited neighborhoods all over Sanford in an attempt to get officers out of their squad cars and change the department’s image in a neighborhood where many residents have grown openly hostile to police.

“Since the new chief was installed, we’re giving him a chance,” said Prophetess C. Philemon, another Goldsboro resident. “He knows there is a trust issue and is willing to attempt to bring the community together. Many of us were happy to see some sort of development in the area because it is usually blighted.”

No trial delay Seminole County NAACP head Turner Clayton said the organization doesn’t anticipate any unrest or riotous behavior from the minority community and isn’t sure that NAACP representatives will be in the courtroom for the June trial. “We haven’t planned anything as of yet,” Clayton said. “We don’t want to do anything which may impede the judicial process.”

On Tuesday, a judge ruled that Zimmerman’s second-degree murder case will proceed to trial June 10 despite his defense team’s request for a delay.

Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson made the announcement during a two-hour hearing Tuesday morning at the Seminole County Courthouse.

The judge also ruled that the defense may not bring up Martin’s past marijuana use at trial, or his school suspension or alleged participation in fights, without clearing several legal hurdles and another ruling granting permission.

The rulings came days after Zimmerman’s defense posted photos and text messages online gathered from the slain teen’s phone. The phone included texts about being a fighter, smoking marijuana and being ordered to move out of his home by his mother.

See SANFORD, Page B2

OBITUARY & CALENDAR

B2

Former FAMU journalism dean dies at 64 COMPILED BY FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

Florida A&M University and former FAMU journalism students around the country are mourning the death this week of Dr. James Hawkins, the longtime dean of the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication who retired last year.

Hawkins was pronounced dead Monday at Coliseum Northside Hospital in Macon, Ga. He was found unconscious in his car outside a Macon restaurant and pronounced dead at 5:04 p.m. at the hospital. He

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

was traveling back from Atlanta Monday afternoon and decided to stop and have an early dinner with a former student in Macon, according to family spokesperson Kim Godwin.

“We have lost a great educator and administrator who worked Dr. James tirelessly during Hawkins his tenure to continue the great legacy of the School of Journalism at FAMU,” Interim President Larry Robinson said in a story in the FAMUAN, the university’s

Fort Lauderdale: Join Judah Worship Word Ministries on a Pastor’s Appreciation Lunch Cruise to honor Dr. Willett L. Mitchell as she celebrates 40 years in the ministry. The cruise is July 20 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. with boarding at the Doubletree Hotel, 2670 E Sunrise Blvd. More information: 954-791-2999.

Miami: The Miami Jazz Society’s Miami Tower Film Series will present two films, June 4 with a reception with snacks and beverages from 5 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. and the film “Where’s Poppa?” from 6:15 p.m. – 7:35 p.m. and “Weekend

student newspaper.

“Due to the commitment and dedication of his students, the program produced outstanding journalists and graphic design professionals who helped diversify newsrooms and design studios throughout the U.S.”

producer for the City of Lakeland, told the Florida Courier on Wednesday.

“What I remember most about Dr. Hawkins is his quiet demeanor. He was quiet but his passion for students to succeed in school and in their careers shined.’’

Former students shocked

Major impact

Hawkins, the second dean in the history of FAMU’s highly regarded School of Journalism and Graphic Communication, died apparently from a heart attack.

Hawkins, who turned 64 on May 25, retired from FAMU last summer.

Scores of testimonials filled Facebook beginning Monday evening and continuing into Tuesday, as former students expressed shock, grief and fond memories of a man who made a difference in their lives.

“When former J-School students say he helped them graduate – we really mean it. He was always accessible and helped me deal with challenges I had with finishing my journalism degree,” Antwan Key, a multimedia

Robinson, FAMU’s interim president, was the provost in 2004 when he named Hawkins the dean, succeeding Bob Ruggles, who founded the program in 1974 and who hired Hawkins in 1977 after Hawkins earned his doctorate at Ohio State.

Much of the journalism school’s success — it was the first at a historically Black university to be recognized by the Accrediting Council for Education and Mass Communications — is a direct result of Hawkins’ efforts, Robinson said in an article in the Tallahassee Democrat.

“We’ve had a great journalism program and Dean Hawkins contributed to its success for a very, very long time. It’s hard to separate the overall success of the program and him

“The Putting on the Gospel’’ tour featuring music from Grammy Award Nominee Tamela Mann and comedy from David Mann aka “Mr. Brown” will be held at FaithWorld in Orlando on June 8 at 7 p.m. More info: www.puttingonthegospel.com.

Marsha Ambrosius will be in concert with Chaka Khan on July 20 at the James L Knight Center in Miami for a 7 p.m. show.

Miami Shores: A workshop titled “Savvy Social Security Planning: What Baby Boomers Need to Know to Maximize Retirement Income” will be presented by the Treece Financial Group Inc. at the Miami Shores Brockway Memorial Library June 18 from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Free. Registration suggested. More information: 305-751-8855.

Miami: R&B trio TGT (Tyrese, Ginuwine and Tank) will be at the Times Union Center Performing Arts Moran Theater in Jacksonville July 3 and the James L. Knight Center in Miami July 4 for shows at 8 p.m.

Miami Gardens: A soccer match pitting Spain vs. Haiti will be held at Sun Life Stadium June 8 at 4 p.m.

West Palm Beach: T.I. and Tyga are scheduled to be part of the America’s Most Wanted Festival starring Lil’ Wayne at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach July 14.

Coconut Grove: The Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival, the largest Black heritage festival in the U.S., celebrates the first Black settlers

SANFORD

A native of Newport News, Va., Hawkins earned his bachelor’s degree at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., where he met his wife, Judith, a Leon County judge.

A viewing is scheduled for Monday, June 3, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Lee Hall Auditorium on FAMU’s campus. A memorial service will begin at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be sent to the James E. Hawkins Endowed Scholarship. Mail check or money order to Florida A&M University Foundation, Inc., 625 E. Tennessee Street, Suite 100, Tallahassee, FL 32308-4933. More information about the fund: 850412-5755.

The FAMUAN and Tallahassee Democrat were used in compiling this report.

Fort Lauderdale: The Florida Minority Community Reinvestment group along with a coalition of Florida minority non-profits and neighborhood associations are hosting the 2013 Let’s Do Business Florida & Summit June 28-June 29 at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa. More information: www.letsdobusinessflorida.com.

Marsha Ambrosius

Miami: Enjoy a free session of yoga in the park every Monday and Wednesday from 6 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. - 10:15 p.m. all participants must be at least 18 years old and sign a waiver. Bring your own yoga mat, water and towel. More information: 305-3587550.

Service on Monday

Fort Lauderdale: Community Builders HDC presents a 10-week series of West African and Yorùbá Orisa classes. Experience informative classes rooted in authentic traditions with drum, rhythm, song and dance. The class is every Saturday from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. through May 24 at ArtServe, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd.

Adults $15, children $5 per session.

More information: 786-344-1153.

David and Pamela Mann

at Bernie’s” from 7:35 p.m. – 9:15 p.m. at the Miami Tower, 19th floor auditorium, 100 Southeast 2nd St. Free admission. More information: www.MiamiJazzSociety.com or Keith Clarke 305-684 4564.

having some role in it over that time frame,” Robinson said. “He will be missed by all of those he touched, including myself.”

Library and Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd. More information: 954-357-6282 or www.TheRealHaiti.com.

The comedian, singer and TV personality is scheduled June 7 at the Seminole Coconut Creek Casino at 9 p.m.

Boca Raton: The Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital will honor members of the community who are living beyond the diagnosis of cancer and seeking wellness into the future on National Cancer Survivors Day, June 2, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at Sandler Pavilion, 701 NW 13th St. Learn more about National Cancer Survivors Day at NCSD.org.

Miami-Dade: “The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful’’ (and her dog) will premiere at the Carnival Studio Theater June 15 at 1 p.m. $20.

S

Wayne Brady

Lauderhill: The fourth annual Caribbean, Multicultural, and International Business Expo will be held at the Inverrary Vacation Resort, 3501 Inverrary Blvd. June 6 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Free. More information: www.

BrowardBiz.com or www.ChamberRSVP.com.

Miami: Angelique Kidjo will be at the Adrienne Arsht Center May 31 for an 8:30 p.m. show.

MAY 31 – JUNE 6, 2013

in South Florida, the Bahamians.

The festival is June 8 at 10 a.m.

The street festival stretches from Grand Ave/Douglas Road (S.W. 37 Avenue) through Margaret Street, with smaller events held at other locations in Coconut Grove.

Coral Gables: The Miami Romance Month Bridal Showcase featuring a fashion show, free product sampling, special wedding services offers, and the chance to win prizes to include a dream honeymoon on MSC Cruises will be held June 2 from noon to 4 p.m. at The Westin Colonnade. $10.

More information: 305-539-3076.

Fort Lauderdale: Photographer Diana Pierre-Louis’ work “The Real Haiti,” featuring historical sites, landscapes and real life, are depicted in a series of photos through May 31 at the African American Research

Fort Lauderdale: Live jazz, blues, pop and everything in between along Hollywood’s signature 2.5 mile Boardwalk is every Friday of every month. More information: 954-9242980.

Boca Raton: An open mic night for 18 and up featuring comedy, poetry and music is held every Monday at the Funky Biscuit in the back of Royal Palm Plaza, 303 SE Mizner Blvd. Sign up is at 8 p.m. The show begins at 8:30 p.m. More information: Richy Lala 561-512-8472.

Miami: Miami-Dade County hosts a Downtown Harvest Market every Friday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Residents and visitors have the opportunity to purchase seasonal produce directly from Miami-Dade growers at the Stephen P. Clark Center’s Courtyard, 111 NW 1st St. More information: www.earth-learning.org.

Prophetess C. Philemon, a Goldsboro resident, points to what was once a thriving now blighted Black neighborhood just down the block from the Sanford Police Department.

from B1 “This case has dragged on long enough,” prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda said in arguing for the trial to start as scheduled.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty, stating that he resorted to self-defense after Martin punched him and beat his head to the ground after the two crossed paths inside the Retreat at Twin Lakes, a gated community in Sanford.

Crime down?

According to Cityrating.com, Sanford crime statistics reported an overall downward trend in crime based on data from 12 years with violent crime decreasing and property crime decreasing. Based on this trend, the crime rate in Sanford for 2013 is expected to be lower than in previous years.

The city violent crime rate for Sanford in 2010 was higher than the national violent crime rate average by 68.55 percent and the city property crime rate in Sanford was higher than the national property crime rate average by 118.73 percent.

In 2010, the city violent crime rate in Sanford was higher than the violent crime rate in Florida by 25.45 percent and the city property crime rate in Sanford was higher than the property crime rate in Florida by 80.83 percent.

Recent 2013 projected data suggests total incidents of crime totaling 3,825 to include property crimes and violent crimes (murder and manslaughter), vehicle theft, and robbery.

Sybrina Fulton, left, the mother of shooting victim Trayvon Martin, sits with her attorney Benjamin Crump, during a pretrial hearing on May 28 in Sanford. In the background, Robert Zimmerman Jr., the brother of George Zimmerman, is seen.

George Zimmerman did not attend the hearing.

Florida freelance writer Karsceal Turner wrote this article for the Florida Courier.

POOL PHOTO BY JOE BURBANK/ ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

KARSCEAL TURNER/MEDIA RELATIONS SOLUTIONS

RED HUBER/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

Tracy Martin, father of Trayvon Martin, left, and Rev. Al Sharpton, right, speak to activists at a rally on March 22, 2012.

SOJ

MAY 31 – JUNE 6, 2013

ENVIRONMENT

B3

Turning spoiled food into energy Anaerobic digester system transforms supermarket’s inedible groceries into clean electricity

BY TIFFANY HSU LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

What happens to the 40 percent of food produced but never eaten in the U.S. each year, the mounds of perfect fruit passed over by grocery store shoppers, the tons of meat and milk left to expire?

At Ralphs supermarket chain, it helps keep the power on.

In a sprawling Compton, Calif., distribution center that the company shares with its fellow Kroger Co. subsidiary Food 4 Less, organic matter otherwise destined for a landfill is rerouted instead into the facility’s energy grid.

Though many grocery stores have tried to cut down on food waste and experiment with alternative energy, Kroger says it’s the first supermarket company in the country to do both simultaneously.

The technology that helps transform moldy chicken and stale bread into clean electricity is known as an anaerobic digester system. At the 59-acre Compton site, which serves 359 Southern California stores, more than 100 onlookers gathered recently to watch the system go to work.

‘Juicy milkshake’ of trash Several chest-high trash bins containing a feast of limp waffles, wilting flowers, bruised mangoes and plastic-wrapped steak sat

in an airy space laced with piping. Stores send food unable to be donated or sold to the facility, where it is dumped into a massive grinder — cardboard and plastic packaging included.

After being pulverized, the mass is sent to a pulping machine, which filters out inorganic materials such as glass and metal and mixes in hot wastewater from a nearby dairy creamery to create a sludgy substance.

Mike Vriens, Ralphs vice president of industrial engineering, describes the goop as a “juicy milkshake” of trash.

From there, the mulch is piped into a 250,000-gallon staging tank before being steadily fed into a 2-million-gallon silo. The contraption essentially functions as a multi-story stomach.

CHISTINA HOUSE/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Kroger Co.’s clean-energy production facility in Compton, Calif., converts food that can’t be sold or donated into energy. Above, bins of food are lined up for a demonstration at the facility on May 15. dustrial sewer. Leftover sludge becomes nutrient-rich organic fertilizer, enough to nourish 8,000 acres of soil.

The “closed-loop” system was developed by Boston startup Feed Resource Recovery and offsets more than 20 percent of the distribution center’s energy demands — all without producing any pungent odors.

The program helps Kroger reduce its waste by 150 tons a day. The trash otherwise would have been sent away to be composted, hauled away six times a day by diesel trucks traveling 500,000 miles a year.

From sludge to fertilizer Inside, devoid of oxygen, bacteria munch away on the liquid refuse, naturally converting it into methane gas. The gas, which floats to the top of the tank, is siphoned out to power three on-site turbine engines.

The 13 million kilowatthours of electricity they produce per year could power more than 2,000 homes in that period, according to Kroger.

Excess water from the digester is pumped out, purified and sent into the in-

Millions of savings Kroger won’t say exactly how much it spent on the anaerobic digester but estimates that it will offer an 18.5 percent return on the

company’s investment.

The project, over its lifetime, could help the grocer save $110 million. The supermarket giant is considering similar technologies for other Kroger locations nationwide.

The grocery chain’s move, some four years in the making, comes amid heated debate over the nation’s food and energy supply.

In August, the Natural Resources Defense Council reported that 40 percent of food in the U.S. goes uneaten — the equivalent of 20 pounds of food per person per month. The waste is shuttled to landfills, where it contributes to 25 percent of the country’s methane emissions.

Other methods Some grocers have tried to cut back on garbage by

putting less food out on display and even composting leftover products. Northern California chain Andronico’s Community Market sells aesthetically marred but still edible produce at a discount. The Austin, Texas, store In.gredients says it sends less than a pound of waste to landfills each month by offering reusable and compostable containers in-house.

Other chains try to reduce their environmental footprint through cleanelectricity projects. Whole Foods Market said solar energy helps power some of its stores. Wal-Mart is testing wind turbines, installing solar panels and fuel cells and says threequarters of its California facilities use some form of green energy.

But in recent years, amid high waste-disposal costs and uncertain en-

ergy prices, anaerobic digesters have gained favor.

The technology has been proposed as a fuel source for data centers, farms, government buildings and other sites.

Urban solution?

Nick Whitman, president of Feed Resource Recovery, said Kroger’s new anaerobic digester may help encourage future installations in more urban areas.

“We’ve had to solve some really critical problems — sanitation, efficiency and reliability issues — that have plagued anaerobic digestion and prevented its wider adoption in the U.S.,” he said at the Ralphs demonstration.

“We’ve been able to bring digestion out of the farms and off the composters and into cities and industrial centers.”

How to do your part to slash summer utility bills Make the thermostat work for you

BY TERRI BENNETT MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

It’s getting downright hot outside these days. Don’t despair over rising utility bills as you try to keep cool inside your home. Here are five ways to slash summer utility bills.

up the difference. Or install and program a programmable thermostat so you won’t worry about changing the thermostat every time you leave your home.

First, program your thermostat to work around your family’s summer schedule — set it a few degrees higher when no one is home, so you’re not cooling an empty house.

Contrary to popular belief, your cooling system doesn’t struggle to make

Don’t forget the fan A fan is another effective way to make it feel cooler in your home. One ceiling fan alone can make a room

feel as much as seven degrees cooler. If you raise your thermostat by two degrees and use a ceiling fan, you can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent.

The fan’s blades should spin counter-clockwise during the hotter months, generating a stronger breeze directly under the fan. Of course, don’t waste

Green cars still a small part of new-car sales

Although green cars have been available for more than a decade and are more refined than ever, they only account for about 2 percent of new-vehicle sales and their sales continue to rise and fall with the price of gasoline. Many conventional compacts today get close to 40 miles per gallon, causing many consumers to reconsider the premium for a hybrid, an electric car or a diesel-powered vehicle. In addition, with all of the new oil production, the supply of gasoline is likely to be steady for the foreseeable future.

Green cars maintain market share but don’t attract new growth

MCT

Sales of hybrids, electric vehicles and diesel-powered cars started the year strongly as fuel prices began to rise. But when prices began to flatten out, many green-car sales fell. Sales of some green vehicles in March and for the first quarter in the U.S.: Audi, including the A3 and Q7 diesels Sales year-to-date through March 1,014, down 40.6%

Honda, including Insight Hybrid

Porsche, including Panamera and Cayenne hybrids Sales year-to-date through March 200, down 59.1%

U.S. gas prices Average cost per gallon of regular unleaded gas, 2013

3.78

3.67

Sales year-to-date through March 3,539, up 104.2%

286

Fuel economy of select hybrids Ford Fusion Hybrid

47

41

41

March

March sales 2,236

47

mpg hwy

mpg city

44

mpg hwy

Source: AAA, Edmunds.com, Automotive News, Autoblog.com

mpg city

51

mpg city

0.82

Car and truck sales Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid

36

25

mpg hwy

Toyota Prius Hatchback

March sales 8,521

Sales year-to-date through March 21,081, up 6.6%

15.1

Ford C-Max Hybrid

22.9%

Nissan, including the Leaf

Volkswagen, including Beetle, Golf and Jetta diesels

March sales 32,444

Sales year-to-date through March 83,642, up 2.6%

65.8

mpg city

Feb.

44.6

Toyota, including Prius and Lexus hybrids

March sales 57

Sales year-to-date through March 11,138, down 13.7%

March sales 31

Sales year-to-date through March 625, up 359.5%

Honda Insight

Jan.

351%

Mitsubishi, including the i electric car

56

General Motors, March sales including Chevy Volt, 4,068 Buick LaCrosse e Assist

March sales 8,107

Sales year-to-date through March 21,499, up 332%

49.3%

March sales 454

Sales year-to-date through March 1,161, down 49.4%

$3.32

Ford, including Fusion plug-in hybrid and Focus Electric

March sales 312

mpg city

New vehicle sales in the U.S., in millions, 2013

1.40

37

mpg hwy

1.04

1.19

Volkswagen Golf Diesel

48

mpg hwy

Graphic: Terry Box, Troy Oxford, Dallas Morning News

30

mpg city

42

mpg hwy

Jan.

Feb.

March © 2013 MCT

Set the thermostat a few degrees higher when no one is home. energy and turn the fan off when you leave the room.

In humid climates, using a dehumidifier will also make it feel cooler by lowering the relative humidity inside your home.

Make windows more efficient Closing the blinds and curtains during the day can also help you keep cool. When you block the sunlight you can reduce the heat coming into your home by as much as 40 percent.

To maximize your benefit, make sure the side of the curtain facing the window is white and sun reflecting.

You can also choose curtains with a thermal lining for additional insulation.

Keep cool in kitchen The kitchen is another big source of heat inside your home. Avoid running your appliances such as the dishwasher (or clothes dryer) during the day. Instead, run it at night and only when it is fully loaded.

Instead of heating up the oven, fire up the grill to

keep it cool inside. Using the microwave is another way to whip up those side dishes without creating more heat in the kitchen.

Trees make big impact Finally, plant a tree (or two) near the southwest corner of your home.

Choose a deciduous tree that will shade your home in the summer and shed its leaves in the fall to allow in warm winter sunlight. Plan for the tree to grow there for decades so don’t plant it too close to your home.

Find out the approximate full size of the canopy and plant it accordingly.

Combined, these tips can dramatically reduce the amount of energy you use to keep your home cool. And you’ll hardly break a sweat as you do your part to make them work for you.

Terri Bennett is a national speaker, eco-expert and author of “Do Your Part: A practical guide for everyday green living” available at DoYourPart.com.

SAFETY

B4

3

MAY 31 – JUNE 6, 2013

STOj

Check this clip-and-save page to see whether your family is ready in case disaster strikes. before it happens

Gather documents and cash

Evaluate your home

Store important documents such as insurance policies, deeds, property records and birth certificates in a bank safe-deposit box. Store copies in your disaster-supplies kit.

Structural safety

q Keep a stash of cash or traveler’s checks at home where you can quickly get them in

case of evacuation.

q

Make sure your home is bolted to the foundation and the structure is properly reinforced.

q

Make a family emergency plan

q

Identify a safe place in each room of your home and practice rapidly getting there.

Best locations include under a sturdy desk or table, or beside a sturdy, large piece of furniture such as a sofa or bed. Avoid doorways; doors could bang open and shut during a storm.

Check the roof, foundation, chimney and walls for cracks and overall condition. Contact trained contractors in your area for information on retrofitting.

q

If you live in an apartment, know where your building’s utility controls are and how to use them.

Plumbing

q Practice home-evacuation drills. Choose someplace nearby for your family to meet.

OFF

Expect a lack of transportation.

q

Educate your children. Get a copy of your school district’s disaster policy regarding transportation and the release of students. Keep photos of family members in your wallet in case someone is missing.

q Take a first-aid course. Learn CPR. q Know where the nearest police and fire stations are. Know the route to the nearest

q

Strap your water heater (gas and electric ones) to studs in the wall with heavy-duty metal strips or to the floor to prevent gas leaks and possible fires from broken pipes. You can find strapping kits at home-improvement stores.

hospital emergency room. Keep critical phone numbers and your insurance-policy numbers by your phone and in your wallet.

q

Enter your “ICE” — In Case of Emergency — numbers on your cell phone so emergency workers will know whom to contact if you’re hurt. For example, enter “ICE husband John” and the phone number.

q

Find out whether any neighbors have medical or other expertise. Plan to unite if your neighborhood becomes isolated. Help elderly, disabled or single-parent neighbors create an emergency plan. Get contact information for their relatives.

Fill in the spaces below and keep this page in a handy place.

Family Emergency meeting place: _____________________________________________________ Out-of-state contact, phone number: ____________________________________________ Insurance company and phone numbers: ________________________________________ Insurance policy numbers:______________________________________________________ Driver’s license numbers: ______________________________________________________

q

Family members should know how to shut off waterlines in case of a leak in the house. Label the shutoff valve clearly; it’s the first valve in the line after it enters the house.

Gas

q

All occupants should also know how and when to turn off the gas. If you smell gas after a storm or other emergency, shut off the meter valve found at the first fitting on the supply pipe coming out of the ground. Use a wrench to turn the valve either way until it is perpendicular to the pipe. Keep a wrench attached to the gas meter with a wire. Call the gas company to get service restored.

ON

OFF

Electricity

q

Neighborhood Neighbors’ names, phone numbers: _____________________________________________

Utility companies Electricity: ___________________________________________________________________ Water: _______________________________________________________________________ Natural gas: __________________________________________________________________ Phone: _______________________________________________________________________

Emergency Call 911 in life-or-death situation: _______________________________________________ Doctor’s phone: _______________________________________________________________ Pharmacy phone: _____________________________________________________________ Police non-emergency phone: __________________________________________________ Fire non-emergency phone: ____________________________________________________ Closest emergency room, address: ______________________________________________

Other ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________

Buy a portable, gas-powered generator for emergency electricity. Only appliances that can use extension cords should be attached to a generator. A 2200-watt unit can power a refrigerator and several lamps. Keep fuel in a safe, protected container.

q

Learn how to shut off the electricOlder ity: Turn off single panel breakers first, then switch off the main breaker. To turn back on, switch the main breaker first, then the single breakers. On older panels, pull the main fuse blocks.

Main breaker

Newer panel Single breakers

Household items

q

Place flashlights in hallways, bathrooms and bedrooms. Keep a flashlight, spare batteries and sturdy shoes under the bed. (Shoes will protect you from broken glass and other debris on the floor.)

q

Evaluate each room. Secure appliances, bookshelves and hutches to wall studs. Mirrors should be hung on double hooks; do not lean them against the wall.

q

Place heavy objects and electronic equipment on lower shelves. Use large Velcro patches or nonskid rubber shelf liner to help keep items in place.

q

Place a beanbag of sand or shot in the bottom of vases and other breakable items to help hold them down.

q Store household chemicals safely, preferably on or near the floor. after an event

Hurricane Sandy’s devastation is shown on the southern end of Long Beach Island, New Jersey, as beach houses are washed off their foundations on Oct. 30, 2012. The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30.

CLEM MURRAY/PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/ MCT

Check on everyone • Provide first aid and a safe place for anyone who is injured or very upset.

Check on and help neighbors.

• Call 911 or other emergency phone numbers only if injuries are serious or the situation is life-threatening. Unnecessary calls can hamper rescue efforts.

Assess surroundings •Check for hazards such as fire, leaks, chemical spills and precarious structures. Natural-gas companies ask customers not to turn off their gas service at the meter unless they smell or hear a leak. If you smell gas coming from inside your home, call your gas company from a phone outside. It’s important not to touch electric switches or use the telephone until the situation is corrected. Only the gas company can restore service.

•Plug appliances into a generator directly or with extension cords. Never plug a generator into a household outlet because power can flow back to the utility’s main system and injure utility workers trying to restore power. Always run generators outdoors to prevent buildup of toxic fumes.

•Turn on the radio. In the case of an emergency that displaces many people, shelter locations will be announced.

•Give pets food, water and dry shelter.

Keep them away from antifreeze.

•Turn off all appliances except the refrigerator and one light. This prevents a power surge when power is restored.

Call for help • If phone service is available, give your out-of-state contact an update on your situation. If service is spotty, ask

your contact to call your insurance company if necessary, and your family and friends who may be worried about you.

Gather water •Be prepared to treat, filter or boil contaminated water.

•Use hot water sparingly. Most water heaters can retain heat for three days.

•If the water supply is cut off, drinking water is still available in your home in water heaters, in-house plumbing and melted ice cubes.

•Use a hose to get drinking water from your water heater’s drain valve in an emergency. It will be cloudy at first but will clear up after a few gallons.

•If pipes break or leak, turn off water at the shut-off valve inside your home.

Prepare food •If the electricity is out, open the refrigerator and freezer doors only when necessary. Eat refrigerated food first, frozen food next and dried or canned food last.

•Refrigerated foods should be OK for about eight hours, holding a temperature of 40 degrees, unless the door is opened often.

•Food in a freezer of 12 cubic feet or more should stay frozen for 48 hours if the freezer is full and the door kept closed; that food will keep safely cold for up to 72 hours. Frozen food that has completely thawed — especially vegetables and dishes containing meat, fish, eggs, cheese and cream sauce — should be tossed out because of possible bacteria growth. If the freezer temperature is higher than 40 degrees, throw out all food. seattle times / MCT

STOJ

MAY 31 – JUNE 6, 2013

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA'S

finest

submitted for your approval

B5

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

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

teressa

Teressa Cree was raised in Weston. The former track athlete and current dancer/ fitness model graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications. The 24-year old loves dancing and has performed with several popular music artists. She also has appeared in commercials and music videos. She can be reached at teressacree@gmail.com.

j.

J. Cabarrus is a six-year veteran to the modeling industry based in Atlanta.

He has been featured as an extra for “Big Mommas, Like Father, Like Son,” a runway show for Kontrol Magazine, and the “Naked Black Justice” campaign by photographer James C. Lewis. His hobbies include traveling, working out and reading with dreams of becoming an international face of fashion. Reach him at JerryCabarrus@gmail.com or facebook.com/jcabarrusnow.

CREDIT: Nathan Pearcy

Blige, Hill among latest FAST JUST KEEPS stars dealing with IRS drama THE WORD IS OUT

GETTING BETTER!

INSANE, HUGE FUN.”

“

SLASHFILM

“‘FAST & FURIOUS 6’ DELIVERS

THE BIGGEST ACTION YET IN THIS UNSTOPPABLE SERIES!” HITFIX

FAST 6’ IS FUN, ENTERTAINING AND VICIOUSLY SEXY.

“‘

THIS IS WHAT SUMMER MOVIES ARE ALL ABOUT!”

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Success in music can be a fairy tale come true. Only for some, it can be less like “Cinderella” than one of those stories about wishes that backfire.

Joseph Robinson Jr. Leland Robinson of Englewood, N.J., the heirs of the Sugar Hill label, are the latest music industry heavyweights undone by their own Midas touch — courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service. Both were sentenced last Thursday in a $1.2 million failure-to-file taxes case to three years’ probation apiece, a combined total of $24,000 in fines and other penalties.

Also last week, Mary J. Blige, the R&B star famous for “No More Drama” and “Be Without You,” was hit with a tax lien because of the $3.4 million she owes to the government. Hip-hopper Lauryn Hill, formerly of The Fugees, was sentenced earlier this month to serve three months in federal prison for failure to file to the IRS, to the tune of $1 million (she paid up the bulk before sentencing).

MR

FOX-TV

BY JIM BECKERMAN THE RECORD/MCT

Who gets blame?

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UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA AN ORIGINAL FILM/ ONE RACE FILMS PRODUCTION A JUSTIN LIN FILM VIN DIESEL PAUL WALKER BREWSTER DWAYNE JOHNSON “FAST & FURIOUS 6” MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ JORDANA MUSIC TYRESE GI B SON CHRI S ‘ L UDACRI S ’ BRI D GES SUNG KANG LUKE EVANS GI N A CARANO JOHN ORTI Z

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BY CHRIS MORGAN

BY NEAL H. MORITZ p.g.a. VIN DIESEL CLAYTON TOWNSEND p.g.a.

BY JUSTIN LIN A UNIVERSAL PICTURE

It’s an age-old question: Why do so many music people have so much trouble with money? Bad advice, bad habits, lack of fairness in the music industry itself — all have gotten the blame.

“The problem is that I don’t have the right people in the right places doing the right things,” Blige said in a published report last May. In an open letter last month, Lauryn Hill blamed “an old conflict between art and commerce. ... I’ve been fighting for existential and economic freedom.”

At his sentencing on May 23, Leland Robinson said he

Mary J. Blige

Lauryn Hill

was “not a criminal,” while being “totally remorseful ...

I take full responsibility for my actions.”

Perhaps the real culprit is a culture that showers riches on people too young or inexperienced to manage them, said Sirius XM radio host Ed Lover, who became well-known in hip-hop circles through his long stint as a DJ and a VJ on MTV. “When you don’t come from money, you have no one to teach you about money,” he said.

No withholding Take the matter of withholding taxes. In the music industry, stars usually get their money upfront and in full. If you don’t know about withholding — or you don’t care about the money you’ll be owing the government next year — it’s easy to fall into a “sufficient unto the day” attitude.

“In the entertainment business, they usually don’t pay taxes out of your check,” Lover said. “There’s no withholding at all. If a record label owes you $50,000 or $60,000, you’re going to get a $50,000 or $60,000 check.”

Similarly, artists who are paid cash for a live performance often assume that’s that — they don’t realize that the venue reports the salary to the IRS, which will demand taxes on it.

And that’s just the beginning. Stars, if they’re not careful, are liable to have expenses they didn’t bargain for. There’s the entourage of employees, person-

al assistants, friends, bodyguards and hangers-on, each one a paycheck.

Others come to grief through “investment opportunities”: real estate, restaurants, any of which can easily misfire.

“Sometimes it’s a case of having the wrong people around you,” said Ben E. King, the soul star (“Stand

by Me,” “There Goes My Baby”).

The ‘lottery syndrome’ He was lucky. Like many music celebrities, he came to stardom young — and ignorant about money matters. Unlike many, he got himself a good personal accountant early on.

“He was the greatest of the great, he gave me the best advice,” King said.

“Other than that, the fact that the people at Atlantic Records were very protective: Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Jerry Wexler. They were all nice people. Sometimes when they knew you didn’t know anything, they would say, ‘I’m not going to beat you up.’ They kept me from going under.”

In his 50-plus years in the business, King has been audited, but he’s never gotten into serious trouble with the IRS. Others have been less fortunate.

There are a lot of reasons that music stars come to grief in money matters, but the chief one, said financial consultant Tom Orecchio, is what he calls the “lottery syndrome.”

“If someone is not used to having money, and is suddenly responsible for a large amount of money, it’s difficult to budget that,” said Orecchio, coowner of Modera Wealth Management, which helps high-net-worth individuals manage their cash flow.

The Record is in Hackensack, N.J.

FOOD

TOj B6

TOJ

MAY 31 – JUNE 6, 2013

10 Tips for Perfect Grilling To help you get the perfect steaks every time, follow these simple tips from the experts at Omaha Steaks: 1. Clean and preheat grill on high.

2. Lightly oil everything before putting it on the grill. This helps the searing process and prevents sticking.

3. Season food before grilling.

4. Sear the outside of steaks when grilling.

This helps with the flavor and juiciness.

5. Use tongs or a spatula to turn meat on the grill. Using a fork can damage the meat.

6. Cover grill as much as possible during the grilling process. This helps to lock in the grilled flavor and will help prevent flare-ups.

7. Keep a spray bottle with water handy to douse any unexpected flare-ups.

8. Use the 60/40 grilling method. Grill for 60 percent of the time on the first side, then grill 40 percent of the time after turning over the food. This will make sure your food is evenly cooked.

9. Place cooked food on a clean plate.

Never place cooked food on the plate you used to transport the raw food to the grill without thoroughly washing it first.

10. Allow foods to “rest” for 5 minutes between cooking and eating. This will help them retain moisture when you cut into them.

To get your grill time just right, download SteakTime, Omaha Steaks’ free app with an innovative grill timer, at www.itunes. com/appstore.

FROM FAmily Features

The next time you fire up the grill, give your taste buds a thrill with recipes that are inspired by some of the best cuisines from around the world.

These recipes from Omaha Steaks will take you on a culinary adventure right in your own backyard. Sweet and spicy Korean, zesty South American and bold Mediterranean flavors make per­ fectly grilled steak even better.

You can find more adventurous recipes at www.OmahaSteaks.com.

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Chimichurri Salsa Serves 4 4 Omaha Steaks Ribeye Steaks Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste 1 cup Chimichurri Salsa (see recipe) 4 cilantro sprigs Begin by thawing steaks. Then season and grill to desired doneness.

Top each steak gener­ously with Chimichurri Salsa.

Garnish each steak with one cilantro sprig.

Chimichurri Salsa Makes 1 cup 1/2 cup green onions, minced 2 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced 1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced 1/4 cup cilantro, minced 1 tablespoon jalapeño, minced 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/2 lime, juiced Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Mediterranean Sirloin Skewers Serves 4 to 6 2 pounds Omaha Steaks Sirloin Tips 1 cup Mediterranean Steak Marinade 4 to 6 skewers Thaw sirloin tips.

Prepare Mediterranean Steak Marinade.

Drain sirloin tips and place in a resealable bag with marinade. Marinate sirloin tips in refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight. Agitate bag periodically to ensure marinade is well combined with the sirloin tips.

Preheat grill on high.

Thread sirloin tips onto skewers. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

Serve over couscous, pasta, salad or rice.

Mediterranean Steak Marinade Makes 1 cup 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons sea salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons fresh garlic cloves, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped 1/4 cup California chardonnay wine Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Korean Barbecue Beef Tenderloin with Stir-Fried Bok Choy Serves 6 to 8 1 3-pound Omaha Steaks Tenderloin Roast 2 cups Korean Barbecue Marinade (see recipe) 1/4 cup Omaha Steaks Private Reserve American Steak Rub 1 pound Stir-Fried Bok Choy (see recipe) 1 14-ounce bottle Korean barbecue sauce 6 to 8 cilantro sprigs 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds Begin by completely thawing tenderloin.

It will take 2 days in refrigerator or 1 hour in a sink full of cold water.

Remove tenderloin from plastic, and place in a large resealable bag with Korean Barbecue Marinade. Marinate overnight in refrigerator.

Remove tenderloin from marinade, and season with steak rub. Sear tenderloin on all sides on a pre-heated grill. Place in a 250°F oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 125°F for medium rare.

With 15 minutes remaining, prepare the bok choy and heat Korean barbecue sauce.

Remove tenderloin from oven, let rest 15 minutes. Slice and serve. Garnish with cilantro and a mixture of sesame seeds.

Korean Barbecue Marinade Makes 2 cups 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced 1 cup canned pear juice 1/2 cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper Place sesame oil in a thick bottom pot and add garlic and ginger. Place pot on a medium burner and add the rest of ingredients and slowly bring to a boil.

Bring heat down to a simmer and cook while stirring for approximately 5 minutes.

Remove sauce from heat and refrigerate for up to one week.

Stir-Fried Bok Choy 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 pound bok choy, chopped 1/3 cup Korean barbecue sauce 1 tablespoon sesame oil Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste In a wok, briefly heat canola oil. Add bok choy and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add Korean barbecue sauce and sesame oil to wok and mix well. Serve while hot.