Florida Courier - November 23, 2012

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Florida Classic Recap: Wildcats do it again B1

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VOLUME 20 NO. 47

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NOVEMBER 23 - NOVEMBER 29, 2012

FROM COMPETITORS TO COMPADRES Perry Thurston and Chris Smith will be Florida’s most powerful Democratic legislators for the next two years.

and raised. They had watched pioneering Black Broward politicians such as Chester Byrd and Boisy Waiters in Dania, Andrew DeGraffenriedt and Carlton Moore in Fort Lauderdale, and Carl Weaver in Pompano effectively make changes in local Black communities.

Both Smith and Thurston decided to throw their prospective University’s College of Law and hats in the political ring at the worked for a private firm after same time. graduating. Thurston finished law school at the University of Flori- Bruising campaign da and started his legal career in The parallel lines of their lives the Broward County Public Decrossed during a local political fender’s Office before moving on race in 1998. to private practice in partnership That year, a Florida House of with Attorney Johnny L. McCray, Representatives seat opened Jr. as a criminal defense attorney up when the incumbent, Manin Pompano Beach. dy Dawson, decided to run for the state Senate. Both Smith and Political interest Thurston – who did not know Both Smith and Thurston saw each other at the time – decided politics as a way to help the com- to run for the seat.

See COMPADRES, Page A2 munities in which they were born

State Sen. Chris Smith and State Rep. Perry E. Thurston, Jr. made history in various ways Tuesday when they were appointed to lead Democrats in both chambers of the Florida Legislature.

BY CHARLES W. CHERRY II FLORIDA COURIER

For almost 30 years, the lives of Christopher “Chris” Smith and Perry E. Thurston, Jr. paralleled each other.

Both were born and raised in Broward County, and attended high schools there. Both attended a Historically Black College or University (HBCU); Smith went to Johnson C. Smith University; Thurston went to Morehouse College.

Both decided to become attorneys. Smith went to Florida State

CHARLES W. CHERRY II AND SULE JOHNSON / FLORIDA COURIER

Thousands skip Florida Classic

GAZA-ISRAEL CONFLICT

The faces of Mideast crisis

No ‘100,’ boycott, scheduling all blamed

BY ANDREAS BUTLER AND ASHLEY THOMAS FLORIDA COURIER

The economic impact of a Florida Classic in Orlando without the famed Florida A&M University’s “Marching 100’’ was felt last weekend when the country’s largest Black HBCU event attracted its lowest turnout since the mid-1990s.

A suspension has silenced the band from all performances because of the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion after last year’s Classic.

Champion died Nov. 19, 2011 after being hazed by members of the ‘100’ after last year’s Florida Classic.

Champion’s parents have since filed a lawsuit against the university; the university’s president and band director subsequently resigned; and more than a dozen band members were criminally charged in the aftermath of Champion’s death.

And while alumni, officials and fans from both teams had been trying to encourage attendance despite the 100’s absence, last Saturday’s attendance was dismally low with only 32, 317 spectators in attendance.

60,213 in 2011 The last time the attendance was that low was in 1996, the last year the game was played in Tampa. That year, attendance was 31,208. In 1997, the

EZZ-AL-ZANOON/APA IMAGES/ZUMA PRESS/MCT

Relatives of wounded Palestinians stand in al-Shifa hospital after an Israeli air strike in Gaza city on Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in meetings with Mideast leaders this week to try to broker a truce.

See CLASSIC, Page A2

Obama’s ‘Pivot to Asia’ clouded by Middle East violence

BY ANITA KUMAR AND WILLIAM DOUGLAS MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS (MCT)

YANGON, Myanmar — Welcomed by U.S. friend Thailand and greeted with rock star status during a historic visit to Myanmar, President Barack Obama felt the love on much of his three-nation tour of Southeast Asia.

The tour was overshadowed, though, by violence in the Middle OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT East, and the verdict is still out on Ready to do business: Before his trip to Asia, President whether he achieved tangible results in a region that’s often felt neBarack Obama met with congressional leaders about glected by Washington. the fiscal cliff. He shakes hands with Speaker of the A “Pivot to Asia” was the central House John Boehner during a meeting on Nov. 16 at theme of Obama’s trip, a signal of the White House. the administration’s planned sec-

ALSO INSIDE

ond-term emphasis on improved relations with countries that share the region with an increasingly assertive China. He returned to Washington on Wednesday.

Yet as Obama and key administration officials tried to devote quality time and attention to Asia during their stops in Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia — the latter two hosting a U.S. president for the first time — he found himself pivoting back to the Middle East and a violent confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, as well as a looming fiscal crisis at home that could adversely impact Asia and the rest of the world.

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

State’s jobless rate falls to 8.5 percent; lowest since 2008 PARENTING | B4

The Parent Connection: What you can do to improve your child’s education FINEST | B5

Meet Mekyra

See OBAMA, Page A2

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: Random thoughts of a free Black mind | A4 COMMENTARY: DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX: Customers urged to not shop at Walmart early | A5

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NOVEMBER 23 - NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Wildcats and Rattlers must have each other’s backs Editor’s note: This commentary is an edited version of an e-mail circulated among Bethune-Cookman University alumni prior to the 2012 Florida Classic football game.

As we approach the most meaningful and pivotal football game in the history of Bethune-Cookman University and Florida A&M University athletics, there is a very disturbing trend that has developed. Many alumni, friends and supporters of both BethuneCookman and FAMU are vowing not to attend this game because of the absence of the suspended FAMU band.

We all are familiar with the events related to the suspension. We sympathize and empathize with

My teammate died DONZELL FLOYD GUEST COMMENTARY

FAMU drum major Robert Champion’s family, and we share in the grieving process that is still ongoing among our FAMU administration, faculty, students and fellow band members.

Yet we also realize that we too were once young, and didn’t always make good decisions, nor follow the rules that were in place for our safety and welfare. And as happens in life sometimes when we don’t, the ultimate price was paid.

I lost a football teammate tragically during my days at Bethune-Cookman due to a serious error in judgment and disdain for the rules on his part – an incident that clearly remains with me to this day, some 40-plus years later.

But now, as we did back then, we must harness the strength that results from adversity, and aid and assist each other as we move forward (much wiser) from here. We must still remain our brother’s keeper.

This will be a serious mistake if we don’t sell this game out, as we will once again contribute mightily to our own demise. And we must also realize that there is a certain element that thrives on seizing any

opportunity to defame the FAMU brand.

Let us not be naive enough to think otherwise.

And each one of us who’s not planning to attend this game is playing right into their hands. We, and not them, will suffer as a result of our non-attendance.

Generates income This is the highest revenue producer for both schools each year, and greatly impacts each of our total athletic departments’ operating budgets – not just the football team’s budget. We must remember that we have to also assist in funding the costs of our nonrevenue-producing sports – tennis, volleyball, baseball, softball, golf, track and field, bowling,

CLASSIC from A1 first year in Orlando, attendance spiked to 56,351. Last year, attendance was 60,213, which was lower than the Classic’s heydays from 1999 to 2006 when the weekend extravaganza posted attendance above 70,000.

“In hindsight, we feel the loss of the FAMU band this year was the biggest impediment to having the attendance numbers we have become accustomed to at the Florida Blue Florida Classic,” Greg Creese, director of Communication for Florida Citrus Sports, told the Florida Courier this week.

“The fans who did attend appeared to have the same amazing time that the Classic provides every year. Florida Citrus Sports and the Florida Classic Consortium will do everything in their collective power to make sure the game returns to form in future years. It is our anticipation that it will.”

Florida Citrus Sports runs and operates Orlando’s Citrus Bowl, where the Florida Classic is played annually. Florida Blue, formerly Blue Cross Blue Shield, is the major sponsor of the Classic.

Florida Blue announced during the Classic that it plans to continue sponsoring the game.

‘Depressing’ turnout Students, alumni and vendors

CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

A relative handful of fans sat in the section of Orlando’s Citrus Bowl usually reserved for FAMU’s “Marching 100.” were all concerned about the low turnout.

“I have many friends who attend FAMU and others that are fans. They said they weren’t going because the band wasn’t playing. It was sad to see because they still could have shown support for their team and school. It was very depressing,” commented B-CU student Brianna McDonald, who attended the game.

Bruce Blunt, Sr. owns Mr. Bojacks catering business, which sells barbecue and chicken wings. This year, lines for his food were short.

“Not good; not good at all,” Blunt told the Florida Courier about the low attendance. “I’ve heard oth-

COMPADRES from A1 Smith’s center of power was his Fort Lauderdale hometown; Thurston’s was in nearby Pompano Beach.

In an interview on the bus ride back from Tallahassee on Tuesday, Thurston called his campaign fight against Smith “doorto-door combat” that was to be the most energetic campaign he has run to date.

Doing everything “I learned how to run a campaign because we had no money and we had to do everything ourselves – strategy, fundraising. It was all trial and error. When we ran out of money for signs, we made handmade signs,” he explained.

It was a tough race for other reasons. Each candidate’s wife, Desorae Giles-

OBAMA from A1 Short romance Obama on Tuesday dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from Asia directly to the Middle East for talks with Israeli and Arab leaders, a potentially disquieting sign for what Asian leaders can expect in Obama’s second term.

“Having Clinton fly directly from Asia to the fires in the Middle East reminds Asia that the conflict in Gaza and Middle East strife in general is like a jealous lover, always calling the U.S. high-level political focus

Smith and Dawn Board Thurston, was a member of the same sorority – Delta Sigma Theta. Both had rabid supporters who believed each man would be best for the job.

When one candidate was seen at an event, someone could call the other so he could also appear at the same event. Thurston diplomatically says both his mother and Smith’s were “heavily involved” in the race.

Smith won the race.

Thurston says that there was a sense of “relief” among mutual family friends because they were no longer forced to make a political choice. Smith and Thurston would appear at events together after Smith’s win to let their respective bases of supaway from Asia,” said Ernest Bower, chair of Southeast Asia studies for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Administration officials on the trip insisted that the focus on the Middle East doesn’t mean the White House is putting Asia on the back burner.

“At the risk of having a double metaphor with a pivot, we believe that the United States can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor for strategic communications, told reporters Tuesday in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

ers who say they are done with the Classic, but it may open opportunities for new vendors.

“The only people who made money were those who worked for me.”

The impact also was felt in the stands on Saturday when B-CU defeated longtime rival FAMU 2116. When B-CU scored a touchdown, the Marching Wildcats entertained the crowd. There was no band to root for the Rattlers during their shining moments on the gridiron.

‘No boycott’ Others also blamed a couple of other factors, including setting

port know that there were no hard feelings between the two.

Smith’s 1998 victory launched his political career that includes, to date, eight years in the Florida House (including two years as Democratic Leader, the position Thurston now holds); and four years and counting in the Florida Senate.

Thurston didn’t walk away from politics with the loss.

“We both knew there would be other opportunities for both of us, regardless of the result of the 1998 race,” Thurston asserted.

“The community would benefit from either of us getting elected; the other would come back in some capacity.”

Thurston was one of the first financial contributors to Smith’s campaign when he ran for re-election in 2000.

Thurston bided his time and turned down a re-

Rice, Kerry, Hagel?

But Clinton’s sudden departure to the Middle East highlighted another concern within Asia: While most in the region welcome the stability of dealing with Obama for four more years, they are nervously watching who will replace Clinton and outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Both Clinton and Panetta are staunch advocates of the administration’s “Asia Pivot” policy.

“Asians generally want continuity,” Bower said.

“They’re worried that (United Nations Ambassador) Susan Rice would be more Middle East focused.

(Massachusetts Sen.) John Kerry would by OK because

etc., and in many cases, basketball.

So let us not be guilty of “having 20/20 eyesight, yet lacking adequate vision.”

We must not be guilty of not being able to see the forest because of the trees.

And think about how our football coaches and teams will feel if we don’t come to this game in record numbers.

Strong solidarity Look at the (University of Florida) Gators and (Florida State University) Seminoles. Each year, the first thing the alumni do is display across-the-board solidarity by selling out the game. Any current issues to them are secondary to accomplishing this feat.

We must display the same

FAMU’s Homecoming festivities on the weekend before the Florida Classic, and the sudden retirement this month of FAMU Coach Joe Taylor.

“Somebody had to make a choice and it seems somebody had to spread it out between Homecoming and the Classic,” former FAMU player Rudy Givens told the Tallahassee Democrat.

One FAMU administrator who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak for the university agreed with Givens.

“There was no boycott by Rattlers,” he said. “It was all about scheduling. Lots of people who come to the Classic from Georgia had to make a choice, and many of them choose Homecoming in Tallahassee rather than the Florida Classic in Orlando. They couldn’t do both.”

Didn’t carry weight The perspective of a B-CU leadership team member who also did not want to be identified was very different. He said that FAMU did not carry its weight this year.

“They sold less than 200 tickets to the ‘Battle of the Bands’ this year,” he said. He also believes that FAMU took a cavalier attitude toward participating in an anti-hazing seminar that was held on Friday.

“FAMU has thousands more graduates than B-CU does,” the man explained. “Yet, there were more B-CU fans in the stands than FAMU fans. Is the Marching 100

quest from Broward County’s Democratic leadership to run against Smith after Smith refused to support one of their handpicked candidates in 1998.

The Broward Democratic establishment wanted to punish Smith for stepping out of line.

Thurston refused to be used as a tool to retaliate against Smith. He ran for a State House seat again in 2006 as Smith was finishing up his Florida House career. Thurston won that race, and was subsequently re-elected in 2008, 2010 and 2012.

On the bus On Monday, Thurston and Smith made history when they were unanimously selected to assume the top leadership positions among Democrats in the upcoming session of the Florida Legislature for the 2012-2014 legislative term. he’s a Vietnam veteran familiar with the region, and (former Nebraska Republican Sen.) Chuck Hagel was a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of the Asia subcommittee.”

Rice, Kerry and Hagel have been among the names mentioned as possible nominees to replace Clinton.

Fiscal cliff looms The Middle East wasn’t the only issue that followed Obama to Asia. The “fiscal cliff” — a potential yearend whammy of tax increases and spending cuts that could affect the U.S. and world economy if Congress and the White House

level of allegiance to our institutions if we are to be successful.

Let us not be guilty of falling for the oldest trick in the book – allowing outsiders to pit us against each other, often to OUR detriment. We Wildcats and Rattlers must have each other’s backs.

Beat the enemy at his own game by keeping our athletic departments out of the red. If we do less than this, then we will have failed ourselves, as well as the B-CU and FAMU brands and legacies.

Together we stand; divided, we will surely fall.

Donzell Floyd is a B-CU graduate and a former Wildcat football player.

so important that FAMU alumni won’t even show up to support the biggest single revenue generator for their own school?”

Different feel Though fans for both schools cheered rabidly for their respective team during the game, the halftime show didn’t seem to have the anticipation and the nervous energy it usually has. And spectators at last Saturday’s game did something that’s usually unheard of – they left the stands during halftime.

Bethune-Cookman’s Marching Wildcats took the field and went through their usual paces before surprising the crowd by spelling the word LOVE in formation, with the ‘O’ in the shape of a heart. The gesture garnered polite applause from the FAMU faithful.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that minutes later, after Grammynominated singer Charlie Wilson took to the stage to fill in for the Marching 100, Martin Robinson of Tampa went looking for French fries. He got bored, he said.

“Three-fourths of the people who come here come to see the Florida A&M band,” said Robinson, who was a drum major for FAMU in the 1970s.

Others, like Deloris KinslerGriffin, a retired schoolteacher from Ocala, told the Sentinel she had been waiting for a glimpse of the drum majors. She also waited for a tribute to Champion that never came.

Each took a busload of family, friends and supporters on a seven-hour bus trip from Fort Lauderdale to Tallahassee for their ceremonial appointment in the Old Capital building and their formal swearingins Tuesday in the modern Capitol building.

In the Senate, Smith is the Democratic Leader; Thurston is the Democratic Leader in the House. It’s the first time in the history of the Florida Legislature that Black politicians have held the top political offices in both legislative chambers at the same time. It’s also the first time the post has been held by politicians representing the same county.

Had Democrats been able to wrest control of the Florida Legislature during this month’s elections, Smith and Thurston would have been Senate President and House Speaker – the most powerful positions in the Florida Legisdon’t reach a deficit reduction agreement deal by the new year — dogged Obama on his tour.

Between meetings and events in Asia, Obama made fiscal cliff-related calls to investor Warren Buffett and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.

Obama apparently even talked fiscal cliff with a monk while touring a temple in Thailand over the weekend.

“Yes,” the president told the monk, “we’re working on this budget, we’re going to need a lot of prayers for that.”

Obama appeared to make little headway on economic or regional issues at the East Asia Sum-

lature.

‘Loyal opposition’ Both lead an emboldened minority that is now large enough to gum up the procedural works if necessary to get Republicans’ attention – though Smith says he hopes Senate Democrats wouldn’t have to.

“It should not take those type moves because we’re all fighting for the same thing, and that’s a better Florida,” Smith said, noting his focus would be on improving education, implementing Obamacare and lowering skyrocketing homeowners’ property insurance rates.

The real work – and the partisan political infighting – has already begun behind the scenes. The 2013 Legislative Session is actually scheduled to begin on March 5, 2013, with Smith and Thurston “large and in charge” for the Democrats for the next two years. mit, especially on tensions between Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam with China over the South China Sea. “I think he (Obama) generally accomplished what he sought to do, although the summit was kind of a disaster, in that it resolved nothing and ended in acrimony,” said Joshua Kurlantzick, a Southeast Asia fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“I don’t think he allayed any of China’s concerns, nor did China allay any of the countries’ in the region’s concerns. It’s a stalemate right now ... and it’s unlikely China’s going to give way on the (South China Sea).”

november 23 - november 29, 2012

A felony at age 12 Elementary schoolers’ arrests alarm justice officials

BY LAUREEN ROTH AND LESLIE POSTAL ORLANDO SENTINEL (MCT)

ORLANDO – Janay Jelks loves singing, coloring and Dora the Explorer. She’s 12 but has the mental age of a preschooler. She also has a felony rap sheet.

Janay has been arrested three times since September at Cherokee School, an Orlando elementary school designed to be a safe place for the youngest Orange County students with severe emotional problems.

She’s not alone. Since the start of school in August, police have arrested 11 students a total of 14 times at Cherokee, which has an enrollment of 57.

That’s nearly one in five students.

The spate of arrests, which includes at least nine felony charges, has alarmed Orange County’s juvenile justice community and prompted a judge to meet with the school’s principal.

It is “ridiculous” to criminalize students for behavior that is tied to their disabilities, said Olga TelleriaKhoudmi, juvenile division chief for the Orange/Osceola Public Defender’s Office.

“That’s not the way to deal with these kids,” Telleria-Khoudmi said, noting an arrest can follow children for the rest of their lives. “You have to have a little bit of tolerance. …

You’re not dealing with a regular school.”

Questionable arrests Janay was charged with felonies for poking a police officer with her finger, throwing small plastic blocks in her teacher’s face and hitting her prin-

cipal, according to interviews and arrest affidavits.

In Florida, any battery on a teacher or law enforcement officer is a felony, even if there is no injury.

“I’m just really shocked.

Really? Felony assault?” said Letasha Brown, Janay’s mother.

Circuit Judge Alicia Latimore, one of three judges who handles juvenile delinquency cases in Orange, was so concerned about the arrests that she visited Cherokee’s campus this fall.

The arrests at Cherokee outnumber the arrests of students at Orange’s 121 other public elementary schools combined.

“I’m not saying that children should be able to hit or batter freely, but it should be taken into account that children are placed in Cherokee for a reason,” Latimore said.

Most of the cases involved a single slap, punch or kick and did not cause injury, she said.

“They have the right to contact law enforcement,” Latimore added. “I just wish the staff and the teachers would not choose to do it so frequently.”

‘Intense’ behavior Some Cherokee students arrested this fall face felony charges for accusations that include throwing a soda bottle at a teacher; hitting and kicking staff members; and threatening employees with a sharpened pencil, arrest affidavits show. Two other arrests were for incidents that happened off campus.

Cherokee Principal Carol-Ann Clenton-Martin said she never wants to have students arrested but sometimes it’s necessary.

The school has had kids arrested in the past, but not this many.

The school typically calls police, she said, only when a student can’t be calmed down after 20 to 30 minutes of “intense” behavior. Her

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JACOB LANGSTON/ORLANDO SENTINEL/MCT

Letasha Brown, right, sits with her 12-year-old daughter Janay Jelks at their Orlando home on Nov. 12. Janay was arrested three times in September and October at Cherokee School, an Orlando elementary school designed to be a safe place for the youngest Orange County students with severe emotional problems. staff members are trained to physically restrain children who pose an imminent danger to themselves or others. They have used those techniques 53 times this fall, records show.

Seeking remedy But in a school with students with troubling behaviors, law enforcement is sometimes needed, she said, saying that some of her staff have been injured by students in the past few months. Some, she noted, also have declined to press charges against their students.

“I’m charged with taking care of children and keeping them safe and providing them with an education,” said Clenton-Martin, who is in her first year running Cherokee after serving as an assistant principal at a school for older students with emotional disabilities. “Nobody wants to see a child arrested.”

Orange Superintendent Barbara Jenkins said her staff is looking into the issue.

“Of course we’re concerned with an increase in arrests at Cherokee,” particularly because of the

special needs of the children there, she said. We need to “see if we can bring some remedy to those increases.”

‘Traumatic’ case When elementary school students are taken into custody, many of them are so small that the handcuffs slip off their wrists. It’s “traumatic,” and some sob in fear, said Steve Dalsemer, director of the Juvenile Assessment Center, where arrested Orange County children are processed.

During his arrest in September for punching a staff member, a 10-yearold Cherokee student said: “I’m sorry for hitting you.

Please don’t send me to jail,” according to his arrest affidavit.

He has been held in jail overnight several times after arrests at school, his mother said. The older boys in his cellblock encouraged him to say his prayers before going to sleep. She asked not to be named because her son has several pending court cases.

When students such as those from Cherokee are arrested, they are usual-

ly found incompetent to stand trial, making their involvement in the criminal justice system a waste of resources and time, Latimore said. Adequately funded mental-health services would be better than time spent in police cars, detention and court, she added.

One case dropped One of Janay’s cases already has been dropped, and her mother said their attorney told her the girl won’t be found competent to be tried in the other two.

When Janay got to the assessment center, staffers gave her coloring books to keep her calm while she waited for her mother.

“It was like having a 3- or 4-year-old in a jail, which isn’t appropriate,” Dalsemer said.

At home, Janay greets visitors with a smile and asks them to sign their names and put their phone numbers in her composition book. She is eager to show off her bedroom, decorated with a dollhouse motif, and her green piggy bank, though she struggles to get out the words “piggy bank.”

Mom overwhelmed Brown calls Janay “my angel” but knows her daughter is sometimes defiant and acts out when others cannot understand her or she cannot do something. She expected Cherokee to have experts on staff who could deal with her.

Janay, still working to master letters and colors, spent most of her previous school years in Seminole County, either at a public school for children with disabilities or at a private one. At neither campus, her mother said, did administrators ever call police to deal with her daughter.

She was stunned that was Cherokee’s solution.

“Why would you have my baby arrested? This is a school for kids like that,” Brown said.

Since the most recent arrest in mid-October, Janay has not been in school because Brown doesn’t want her at Cherokee.

“It’s been rough all these years,” Brown said. “I’m overwhelmed these last three months.”

Young love out of control Abuse among teens grows as they mimic behavior of adults

BY DAPHNE DURET PALM BEACH POST (MCT)

PALM BEACH – The image of a married woman hiding a black eye behind sunglasses as a symbol of intimate partner abuse is being eclipsed by the image of a girl walking through a school hallway hiding bruises her boyfriend gave her — too young and inexperienced to think of the blows as anything but love.

Nearly 1.5 million high school students across the country experience physical violence at the hands of a dating partner each year, according to a website created by the National Dating Abuse Hotline and the awareness group Break the Cycle.

One in three adolescents have experienced physical, verbal, emotional or sexual abuse from a boyfriend or girlfriend, a rate that exceeds other forms of youth violence, said the website, www. loveisrespect.org.

That rate is holding steady, even as other forms of violence decrease, the American Psychological Association said. And that alarms domestic violence workers in Palm Beach County.

Disturbing behavior “We see a lot of parallels between teen dating violence and adult domestic abuse,” said the Rev. J.R. Thicklin, president and CEO of Destiny by Choice, a West Palm Beach domestic violence awareness group.

“But in the case of teens, there are a whole lot of other issues that don’t exist between adults,” he added, “and that’s one thing that makes the statistics especially disturbing.”

Unlike adults, teens in abusive relationships don’t typically live together or see one another

much outside of school, Thicklin and others said. Their battleground becomes the telephone and social media — where putdowns, name-calling and jealousy manifest in angry phone calls and Facebook posts.

But when they meet, the episodes can be just as violent as those among adults. Thicklin brought up the case of Brandon Nicholas Santos, 18, arrested on first-degree murder charges in the death of his girlfriend, Emilie Sineace, 16.

Violent end Police said Santos drove to Sineace’s suburban Lake Worth house Sept. 14 and sent her a text message to come outside. When she did, he fired six shots at her.

Half of them hit her and Sineace, an Inlet Grove High student and aspiring surgeon, died the next morning.

Now Santos, who recently played football at Park Vista High in suburban Boynton Beach, may spend the rest of his life in prison.

“The thing about this case is that so many people say that (Santos) was a nice young man, and he didn’t appear to them to be violent,” Thicklin said. “But again, it goes back to so many times where our young men are taught, either at home or from the people around them.

“They can’t let a woman ‘run them’ or they need to ‘get her in line’ or other mind-sets that make them feel like they need to have a sense of ownership over the person they’re dating.”

These mind-sets are part of what local violence prevention workers are trying to combat.

At a seminar earlier this month in Geri Grocki’s leadership class at Boynton Beach High School, Jennifer Rey posed a question that drew smiles from most of the teens: What happens when a boy shows emotion?

“They say you’re acting like

TEEN DATING VIOLENCE FACTS Girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence — almost triple the national average.

Violent relationships in adolescence can put victims at higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior and further domestic violence.

Being physically or sexually abused makes teen girls six times more likely to become pregnant and twice as likely to contract a sexually transmitted illness.

Half of youth who have been victims of both dating violence and rape attempt suicide, compared with 12.5 percent of nonabused girls and 5.4 percent of non-abused boys.

33 percent of teens who were in a violent relationship ever told anyone about the abuse.

81 percent of parents believe teen dating violence is not an issue, or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue.

One in 10 high school students has been purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend.

One-quarter of high school girls have been victims of physical or sexual abuse.

Violent behavior typically begins between the ages of 12 and 18.

Source: Loveisrespect.org.

a girl,” said Jobed Jerome, 17, a broad-shouldered varsity offensive lineman on Boynton Beach’s football team. “It’s like, ‘You need to man up.’ ”

Students respond Rey, who works with the Delray Beach-based nonprofit group

JENNIFER PODIS/PALM BEACH POST/MCT

Jennifer Rey, a counselor with the nonprofit Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, Inc., background center, conducts a class at Boynton Beach High on Nov. 2 in Boynton Beach. One of the goals of the group is to prevent teen dating violence.

Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, let a few other students chime in similar responses and added a few of her own, capping off a video illustrating the messages of violence that permeate hip-hop music and pop culture.

Advocates against domestic violence say the gender stereotypes and media images discussed in Grocki’s class, especially when coupled with children who witness violence in their homes, send the message to many teens that violence is the way to deal with conflict — even when it comes to dating.

Jerome and the other students in Grocki’s class say they’ve heard of cases in their own schools of peers being involved in abusive relationships. In most cases, they say, the victims don’t take the abuse seriously, a sentiment echoed by many advocates against domestic violence in adults and teens.

Teaching with Rey was fellow counselor Candace Britt, who spends four days a week talking to middle school students about abstaining from violence that

permeates parts of pop culture and possibly their own home lives.

Emotional abuse Britt herself was just 22 when she began a relationship that became physically violent. As with most cases, it was marred by emotional and verbal abuse — a two-year barrage of criticism, put-downs and arguments that didn’t come to blows until she tried to leave for good.

“The first time he ever told me he loved me was after we had one of those big arguments,” she said.

Now, more than three years removed from the relationship, Britt said she tries to teach teens to see the signs of abuse and separate themselves before it’s too late.

The incidents of physical violence in abusive relationships most often occur after the couple has been sexually involved, Thicklin said, adding that workers find it can trigger more feelings of ownership.

EDITORIAL

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NOVEMBER 23 - NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Giving thanks for the hard times Thanksgiving is a season when many Americans gather with our families over full dinner tables to count our blessings.

Seventeen-year-old Eva Maria Turcios and her family take very little for granted any day, including the blessing of having any dinner at all: “I mean, there were nights where we didn’t have anything to put in our stomachs. Like we’d just have to drink water. And I guess there’s times where we didn’t know where we were going to live.

But now it’s just a normal thing for us. When we’re faced with problems like that, we don’t sit there and cry about it. We don’t sit there and wait for someone to do something for us.

My mom and I just figure

Marian Wright Edelman NNPA COLUMNIST

out something, a way for us to make it to the next day, to put food in our stomachs, to have a roof over our heads.”

On paper, Eva is a standout high school senior with a 3.8 GPA and a rigorous course load of all honors and international baccalaureate classes. She is the secretary of her school’s Hispanic Leadership Club and hopes to study biology, chemistry, or biomedical engineering in college. It’s impossible to fully appreciate her academic accomplishments without knowing something

about her life outside the classroom.

Born in Honduras, her parents brought her to America for a better future two months later. Her father worked hard and bought a house for the family in Virginia, while her mother stayed home to care for Eva and her younger siblings.

Eva always loved reading and did well in school, and for a while, life was calm.

But by the time Eva was 10, her American dream had turned into a nightmare of abuse and then extreme poverty.

Her father started drinking heavily and became abusive, terrorizing the entire family. The alcoholism eventually cost him his job.

When he picked the children up from school one

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: TEACHING GAZA MANNERS

day so drunk they didn’t think they would survive the drive home, Eva called the police herself to report him.

But his worst crime was still to come.

A few months later, after another drinking binge, he brutally assaulted two buddies with a machete inside the family’s home and then ran from authorities. Eva was 11 years old and will never forget the terror of being woken up to translate for her mother amid the chaos as the house was overrun with police officers and dogs and surrounded by helicopters.

Overcoming challenges

er enough work to keep the family afloat.

Eva took care of her younger siblings, and got her first job at age 14 to help out.

Today Eva works four days a week and cooks for the family and keeps the house clean while her mother works two jobs. Through it all she never stopped excelling in school, even when small things like routine writing and research assignments presented challenges.

Eva often became depressed at her family’s situation and the thought that things might never get better. But her mother reminded her that education was the only way out: “‘If you don’t get an education you’re going to work like me your whole life, and we’re going to live our whole life the way we are now.’ And that motivated me….And even though it might take a lot of hard work, it’s better to work hard in school than work hard in a fast food restaurant.” That hard work has gotten her where she is now.

Her father was deported, and Eva remained her mother’s strongest support as their family fell into extreme poverty—experiencing gnawing hunger, homelessness, and hopelessness.

They shared single rented rooms and spent time on Hard work pays off waiting lists at homeless It’s made her one of the inshelters while Eva’s mother spiring Washington, D.C. arstruggled to piece togeth- ea winners of the Children’s

Defense Fund’s Beat the Odds® scholarship awards.

These awards are given each year to high school seniors who have succeeded in school despite tremendous adversity, and come with a $10,000 scholarship, laptop computer, guidance through the college admission process, and an invitation to join CDF’s young servant leadership development training programs.

Find out more about the Beat the Odds program and how you can celebrate and support children like Eva who’ve beaten the odds in your community. Then find out what you can do for the millions of Evas still desperately waiting for hope and help.

Begin today by insisting that President Obama and members of Congress put the millions of Evas in our nation at the top of their priorities agenda and pursue justice for all our young who are the poorest Americans.

Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund.

For more information, go to www.childrensdefense. org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Thoughts at large about the election and the ‘gift’ What cover-up?

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 159 Rest in peace, Florida Classic? Not so fast. But it’s clear there’s no real substitute for the halftime battle of the bands between B-CU and FAMU. Last week’s empty seats – the “nosebleed” upper bowl seats on both sides of the stadium were completely closed – clearly inform us that many people come just for halftime. And I’m one of them.

Halftime is the reason my kids, now 12 and 8, have grown up going to Orlando for the Classic. I want them to witness the best HBCU bands the country has to offer. Over the years, we’ve strolled into games early in the first quarter and late in the second quarter, straight off the Turnpike from South Florida. But as long as we all get there before halftime, it’s all good for me.

This year, families may have been priced out. With the elimination of upper bowl seating, starting ticket price was $37 apiece, even for children. With $25 parking, $7 funnel cakes, and $15 chicken wings, that’s a $200 outing for two kids and two parents, not including travel and hotel accommodations on the weekend before Thanksgiving and “Black Friday.”

This year, the Florida Classic became a day trip for some people rather than a

quick takes from #2: straight, no chaser

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq. PUBLISHER

weekend experience.

Solutions – Use the 2012 experience as a teachable moment not to take the Florida Classic’s success for granted. Blackowned media like ours should be longterm partners who efficiently and effectively market the event to Black Floridians who do have a choice as to where they’ll spend entertainment dollars.

Budweiser, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s are mature companies with consumers around the world. They spend billions to advertise their products, all of which are well-known. The Florida Classic Consortium should quit assuming that because there’s a Classic, people will come.

More next week.

Contact me at ccherry2@gmail. com; holler at me at www.facebook. com/ccherry2; follow me on Twitter @ ccherry2.

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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However, current events received prior to deadline will be considered before any information that is submitted, without the Publisher’s prior approval, after the deadline. Press releases, letters to the editor, and guest commentaries must be e-mailed to be considered for publication. The Florida Courier reserves the right to edit any submission, and crop any photograph, for style and clarity. Materials will not be returned.

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

Conservatives couldn’t wait to attack the president after he whipped Mitt Romney like a runaway slave in the 2012 election. This talk about a Libyan Embassy murder cover up pales in comparison to what Republicans did not too long ago.

If some want the president impeached because CIA talking points given to the United Nations Ambassador were incorrect, I guess every Republican that voted to spend a trillion dollars and kill hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Americans to invade Iraq to locate weapons of mass destruction should be impeached too!

Closet Klansmen don’t hate the president because of CIA talking points. They hate Barack Obama because he looks like he is Black.

Where is my gift?

Where is my “gift?” No one asked me but I want a 14 percent tax rate. I also want a trillion dollar bail out like AIG and other insurers and beast bankers got. How about a million dollar subsidy to not write The Gantt Report, like some farmers get not to grow certain crops? Perhaps I can get a

supporter emphatically told me if you want a job at FAMU you should go to school Lucius there. I would guess that Gantt even the new football coach will be a FAMU grad beTHE GANTT REPORT cause when they hired outside the school, the coach welfare deal like Lockheed quit in mid-season after he and some imperialist mili- realized his team couldn’t tary industrial businesses beat Bethune-Cookman, I imagine. have gotten in the past.

Petraeus affair When I wrote about the cat many readers thought I was way out of line but what do you think now. America’s most famous general wasn’t satisfied with his house cat so he had to chase an alley cat that masqueraded as a biographer.

The alley cat even started a digital catfight with a wildcat posing as a socialite. No matter how good the cat is, if you sleep with a cat that’s not yours you’ll end up in the kitty litter looking for a new job some day.

FAMU grads only If you’re not a FAMU graduate, don’t go to sleep and dream about becoming the new university president. The more things should change, the more they will remain the same.

A very good friend of mine and a FAMU graduate and

Financing needed On my visit to the Caribbean I was told by many islanders that an AfricanAmerican newspaper would be welcomed there. However, no one suggested how an African-American edition of a Caribbean newspaper would be financed.

Oh well, there’s nothing I can do about that unless I hit the Powerball drawing this week.

Happy Thanksgiving holiday to all of the readers of The Gantt Report. If you’re in Tallahassee, don’t throw your leftover food away.

Bring a single brother a plate.

Buy Gantt’s book “Beast Too: Dead Man Writing” and contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net). Click on this story at www.flcourier. com to write your own response.

Obama voters want jobs, better cities Elections have consequences. President Barack Obama’s stunning re-election victory came dramatically from the same emerging majority coalition — a rainbow coalition — that brought him to the presidency in 2008.

At its heart are minorities, young people, single women and union households.

What do they want?

These voters reflect America’s diversity. But they share one thing in common: They were the hardest hit by the recession and have had the hardest time recovering from it.

The president’s vote directly tracked income levels. He won a large majority of those making less than $50,000 a year.

Action demanded They want action on jobs.

They want action on wages, with overwhelming support for raising the minimum wage. They want investment in education and opportunity, so their children can get a good public education and afford to go to college. They want highspeed rail public transportation — which was rejected by the governors in New Jersey, Florida and Wisconsin — put back on the table.

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

We can connect the jobs to where people live. We can make the steel, make the rail, lay the rail. The cost of energy-efficient transportation will reap rewards.

We’ll all benefit and be more secure.

These are the most vulnerable of Americans, so when Washington talks about a deficit agreement, these Americans will have clear priorities. Like the vast majority of Americans, they want Social Security and Medicare protected, not cut.

An election night poll

by Campaign for America’s Future and Democracy Corps found that 62 percent of voters would find cuts in Social Security benefits unacceptable as part of a deficit agreement, and 79 percent would oppose cuts in Medicare benefits.

Up taxes on rich They support increasing taxes on the rich, as do a majority of voters. They join the stunning 72 percent of voters who would find unacceptable cuts in domes-

tic discretionary spending such as “education, child nutrition, and worker training and disease control.”

They stand with the 75 percent who would find unacceptable deep across-theboard cuts that don’t protect programs for “infants, poor children, schools and college aid.”

The president’s real mandate — and his real opportunity — is to lay out a plan for revitalizing our cities.

This will help get the economy going and put people to work.

The president’s voters want jobs, not cuts in vital programs. They want a plan to rebuild our cities — not a plan to cut vital security programs and continue to starve vital investments in our cities.

These voters have stood up for the president, now the president has a clear mandate to stand up for them.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is the founder of the organizations that merged to form Rainbow/ PUSH. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

NOVEMBER 23 - NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Customers urged to not shop at Walmart early When I think of Thanksgiving Day, I think of family, gathered around a table that groans with turkey and dressing, green beans and candied yams, mac and cheese or whipped potatoes, and lots of other goodies.

I look forward to seeing folks I haven’t seen in a while, savor the food and fellowship, bring in the late evening over coffee and pie.

Nobody is rushing out to go shopping – most people save that for the Friday after Thanksgiving, often called: Black Friday, because many stores find themselves in the black after the profligate shopping that day.

There have been tragedies associated with Black Friday shopping.

A few years back a Walmart employee was trampled to death by a crowd way too eager to get to the consumer goods. There have also been fights, altercations, bruises, and cuts as customers have vied for some of the scarce goods available or for crazy deals (often only for the first 200 people). Lines often snake around stores as people wait for a chance for a bargain.

Now Walmart has upped the ante. Last year they opened at 10 p.m. and this year they will open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Just when folks settle down from their meal and start swapping lies, someone is going to have to get up and rush to work so they can serve those consumers who want to shop on Thanksgiving Day.

DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

Many of those who will work do so out of desperation. Many Walmart employees don’t have a full 40-hour shift; some find their hours adjusted each week.

Thanksgiving work will augment scarce incomes. Just this week, I talked with a couple whose joint income at Walmart is $26,000 a year, partly because neither has a full week’s schedule.

Employees protest There are those who say, “well, why do they work there than.’’ suggesting that there are easy alternatives. But Walmart is one of our nation’s largest employers, and they often set the tone for similar stores like Best Buy, Sears and others. With Walmart opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, their competitors will follow because they don’t want to lose momentum to Walmart.

This is why some Walmart employees are protesting the way that Walmart treats its employees. They want to inform the public of illegal actions that Walmart has taken against its employees, and have initiated a series of pro-

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

Manipulating public opinion This animus can generally be laid at the feet of those who have, without shame, used fear to manipulate public opinion. They have found it easy to gain support for their positions when they justify them as an alternative to some catastrophic social event or “unacceptable” political construct.

Among their most egregious acts is the use of the most deeply divisive issue that has impacted our nation since its inception – race.

Noting this, the fact is not lost that Ronald Reagan effectively used the image of the mythical “welfare queen” to defeat Walter Mondale.

Laughing at Fox News Personally, I extend thanks to the Obama campaign for inspiring some of the most entertaining television I have ever seen. On the day after the election, for the first time in my life, I watched a full hour of “The O’Reilly Factor’’ and “The Sean Hannity Show.’’

Bill O'Reilly, with all the pompousness he could muster, declared that most of the people who voted for President Obama were those who want "free stuff” from the government. He also declared that if the president doesn't turn the country around economically during his second term, the Democratic Party will be "terminated permanently." When watching O’Reilly in action, his snugness about his own importance elicits smiles and laughter.

For outright loud laughter, one has to watch “Chicken Hawk’’ Han-

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: THE POWER OF VOTING

Workers exploited Barbara Ehrenreich captured the ways that people are forced to work at a store very much like Walmart in her book, Nickeled and Dimed. She wrote about the workers who were forced to work “off the clock”, after they had punched out, or before they punched in.

She wrote about the low pay. And she wrote about those supervisors who had made a deal with the devil – implementing unfair policies for their own survival.

When Walmart employees speak out there is retaliation.

They are fired, or their hours are cut back. They very swiftly get the message that speaking out will be punished. Too many silently seethe at unfair policies; too dependent on the little pay they get to raise their voices.

This is why the Making Change at Walmart campaign is so important. It challenges the notion that economic growth is dependent on the exploitation of workers, and suggests, instead, that paying people a living wage is a way to grow a stable and secure workforce.

Walmart is not the only com-

This “queen” allegedly “cruised” the streets of U.S. cities in her Cadillac squandering thousands of “welfare dollars” while “decent, hard-working Americans” worked to send her money.

Using the same fear, Bush (41) operative, Lee Atwater used the darkened image of convicted murderer “Willie Horton” to capture the 1988 presidential victory.

Atwater employed the most stereotypical images of the angry African-American male to reinforce the racial insecurities of White America. By the end of the 1988 presidential campaign, Black men were the recipients of the ill-will of a large segment of the American populace.

Race baiting good politics?

Karl Rove, heir-apparent to Atwater, and a wide-swath of Republicans have accepted racial division as harmonious with good politics. In this most recent elec-

Serious miscalculations about presidential election I must admit to not believing that President Obama would be re-elected.

In fact, I wasn't convinced that he had won until hearing it from Fox News around 11:30 p.m.

I made some serious miscalculations about the 2012 presidential election. One was clearly underestimating the number of Black folks, especially in the battleground states, for whom the Obamas being in the White House is a huge symbol of accomplishments, something for which to be very proud.

Another was to seriously underestimate the number of working class and middle income Whites in states such as Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Virginia who were prepared, on that rare occasion, to vote for their economic interests over their racial prejudices.

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tests, including strikes, rallies, an online campaign, and other actions. Their organization, Making Change at Walmart says that Walmart can help revive our economy if they will simply offer workers full-week schedules and fair pay.

Moving forward in faith I am firm in my belief that fear and faith cannot simultaneously coexist! I am equally firm in my belief that the full-measure of our national achievement will be determined by the positive faith we maintain in our future potential.

Our national ethos has been described as a democracy that is blessed with the peaceful exchange of power every four years.

Attendant to that is the understanding that the guiding principles of the nation are determined by the will of the majority and protect the minority through measured compromise.

Despite the tumult of numerous events throughout our history, we have been well-served by those ideals. Regrettably, we have witnessed a coarsening in the national discourse and increasingly disagreeable interaction between the political factions which lead our nation.

EDITORIAL

A. Peter Bailey TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

nity, who is probably the most fervid Obama hater on television. He actually said, with a straight face, that the Obama campaign had been “mean, nasty, uncivil and small.”

This, coming from two major belligerent, trash-talking propagandists for Obama haters throughout the country, elicited loud laughter.

Weeping and wailing Both Fox propagandists insisted that what they call “mainstream media” has been soft on President Obama about the killings in Benghazi. The media, they whined, refused to demand that he answer questions about what he knew about Benghazi and when he knew it.

Which raises a question. Since O’Reilly repeatedly boasts that his is the most watched news program on cable television and Fox News boasts that it is America’s News Headquarters, why don’t they use some of their millions of dollars to have one of their reporters follow the president everywhere he goes and shout out questions about Benghazi? That would be more impressive than weeping and wailing.

Peter Bailey, a former associate editor of Ebony, is currently editor of Vital Issues: The Journal of African American Speeches. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Jeff Parker, Florida Today and the Fort Myers News-Press

pany that prefers to pay its workers on a part-time basis. Many fast-food operations do the same thing, varying hours each week so that workers have no way of knowing when they will work.

This means they have difficulty arranging for childcare with these variable hours. Of course, that this does not concern their employers.

They are more interested in their bottom line, profits.

Great deals not worth it Many who are aware of the labor exploitation at Walmart say that their prices and deals are unbeatable, and with their money tight they have no choice but to seek the best bargains they can find.

Yet the price of the great deals is tion, we have seen race, women’s reproductive rights, abortion, immigration, Obamacare, same-sex marriage, and the fear associated with these, and other, issues used to promote or support particular political positions.

Dramatically obvious were the racial attacks leveled at President Obama. The litany of these attacks need not be repeated. Anyone casually familiar with current events knows of the derisive labels applied to him.

Even the Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates were not immune to the use of these fear tactics. Behind closed doors, Romney used the language of divisiveness to attribute parasitic characteristics to 47 percent of Americans and, openly, Ryan made great sport of calling Americans “makers and takers.”

Now that these recent divisive efforts have failed in their attempt to dissuade Americans from voting for President Obama, we are left with the question, “How do we move forward?”

exploitation of another worker.

The action to inform Walmart customers about Walmart’s unfair pay and illegal actions allows people who shop on Thanksgiving Day and on other days to make informed decisions about their shopping. One of the ways consumers can make a statement is to stay home on Thanksgiving Day, enjoying family, giving thanks, and postponing shopping.

Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response. good will must first join together in a rejection of the politics of division. However uncomfortable, we must resolve to commit to working to achieve the common purpose of guaranteeing all Americans the right and ability to succeed and achieve on personal merit.

Consistent with the president’s goal of achieving a level playing field for all citizens, we must reject the forces of greed that strive to hold on to a disproportionate amount of economic resources.

We must resolve to agree that no one position is absolutely correct and that significant opportunity exists for a synthesis of ideas and objectives. We must reject the purveyors of fear and the barrage of their messages of despair.

Our future rests in an acceptance of our unique connection to each other. For our ultimate success we must move forward together in faith for a brighter collective future.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is chair of the National Congress of Black Women. Click on this Reject divisive tactics story at www.flcourier.com to Needless to say, Americans of write your own response.

Obama won… don’t complain Obama’s victory means four more years with no hope or change.

When I think about what the future offers, it reminds me of the last thing I said during my closing remarks at a 2008 debate for state representative in Massachusetts.

I said: “If you like the way things are, vote for the incumbent… and don’t complain.”

Liberals, you got what you wanted — and there’s no doubt that Obama’s friends in the media properly informed you.

Gloat…and don’t complain.

When you continue to have problems finding a job, and the government begins to run out of money to support the jobless, don’t complain.

As college degrees become even more worthless while student loans bills hit the mailboxes, don’t complain.

As we finally start to see what’s really going on at the post-Hurricane Sandy eastern seaboard, don’t complain.

Israel, I don’t know what to tell you.

When more American embassies become terror targets and more American YouTube video creators are blamed, arrested and jailed despite our First Amendment, don’t complain.

When parents have to start telling their kids not to keep cellphones on the chargers as much because utility costs are rising due to closing power plants, don’t complain.

BOB PARKS GUEST COLUMNIST

When single women have trouble finding eligible, working men to use that free birth control on, don’t complain.

When our health care system begins to resemble that of England (and, eventually, Cuba), don’t complain.

When illegal immigrants and radical religious elements are pandered to and the law abiding are forced to live with the failed changes they demanded, don’t complain.

Takers vs. makers And when the 47 percent becomes 50 percent or higher within the next few years — when the takers outnumber the makers — and they demand higher taxes to support them, don’t complain.

Look forward to an empowered TSA, EPA and IRS and don’t complain.

As for Republicans, if their party intelligentsia continues to seek out candidates they believe will appeal more to liberals and moderates than to its base, don’t complain.

Romney had money, no message While running for Massachusetts Republican Party chairman in 2007, I ran into many in the loyal Romney

machine who were in my face — challenging my assertion that you could have all the money in the world but still couldn’t win without a message. Mitt Romney had all the money needed but he let the Obama campaign define him.

And the Romney campaign absorbed those that did not learn that lesson from 2008.

Those same people will likely go on to do the same thing in 2016.

In 2008, they said that those who support clearly failed leadership need to experience living in the dumpster water so they’ll finally see the clear difference in ideological directions.

That’s already happening in New York City. Liberals will have to live in it for four more years.

Don’t complain.

Bob Parks, a senior producer at the Media Research Center, is a member of the national advisory council of the black leadership network Project 21. A New Visions Commentary paper published November 2012 by The National Center for Public Policy Research, 501 Capitol Court NE #200, Washington, D.C. 20002, 202/543-4110, Fax 202/543-5975, E-Mail Project21@nationalcenter. org, Web http://www.project21.org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

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FLORIDA

NOVEMBER 23 – NOVEMBER 29, 2012

State’s jobless rate falls to 8.5 percent; lowest since 2008

BY MICHAEL PELTIER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s jobless rate fell in October to 8.5 percent, its lowest level since December 2008, the state’s unemployment office reported last week.

Florida still lags behind the nation but closed the gap a bit. The national rate stood last month at 7.9 percent.

If discouraged workers and part-time employees seeking full-time jobs are added, Florida’s unemployment rate for October was 16.4 percent down from 18.2 percent a year ago.

“We are creating an environment that fosters job creation, economic development and provides a skilled workforce,” Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement.

“My number one goal is to create jobs for Florida families and get this state back to work. There is still more work that needs to be done, but I'm confident we're on the right path.”

Government, construction slump continues Non-agricultural employment reached 7,371,500, the 27th straight month that the number of employed residents increased year to year, according to DEO estimates.

Florida’s labor force also grew in October, inching up 0.7 percent from October 2011.

Non-farm employment has grown by 67,600 jobs over the past 12 months, with professional services, health care, transportation and utilities sectors providing most new jobs over the year.

Total government employment fell by 12,900, driven by a decrease in state government work, which fell 2.1 percent. Florida’s construction sector also continued its slump, falling 4,900 jobs from an already anemic October 2011.

Lowest rates in Panhandle Crestview/Fort Walton/ Destin had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 5.7 percent. Tallahassee came in second at 6.2 percent. Counties with a high percentage of government employees continued to enjoy some of the lowest jobless rates in the state, with Walton Okaloosa, Wakulla and Franklin counties in the top five.

Palm Coast in Flagler County continued to experience the most severe joblessness, with 11.3 percent of its labor force out of work. The Treasure Coast cities of Port St. Lucie and Vero Beach posted unemployment rates of 10.2 percent.

Speaking to the Federalist Society in Washington last week, Scott said in prepared remarks that the drop in unemployment combined with increases in the labor pool were testament to the wisdom of austere state spending and other Republican-led efforts.

“Our economic turnaround for Florida families is well under way and we are proof that conservative solutions work,” Scott said.

“Keeping the cost of living low for families and growing the economy so anyone who wants a job can find one is not just great policy – it is critical to preserving the American Dream for future generations,” Scott said.

Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith said in a prepared statement. “It is unfortunate that under Rick Scott, Florida’s economy continues to lag behind the rest of the nation.

Florida home sales shoot up Existing home sales in October surged 25.3 percent from a year ago while pending sales increased by

even more, according to data released Monday by Florida Realtors.

Pending sales, those expected to close within 90 days but not yet completed, shot up 56.7 percent in Oc-

tober from a year ago. Meanwhile, median sales prices increased year-to-year by 9 percent to $145,000.

Nationally, existing home sales last month increased 10.9 – percent from Octo-

ber 2011. Among southern states, existing-home sales increased 11 percent from October 2011. The median price in the South was $152,200, 8.2 percent above a year ago.

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Some criticism from Democrats Democrats were quick to question whether all was good news, noting Florida’s rate remains higher than the national average, and has been worse than the nation as a whole since mid-2008.

“Floridians know that growing our economy starts with investing in the middle class, a center point of which is investing in schools to create the next generation of new, good paying jobs,”

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HEALTH FOOD || HEALTH TRAVEL | |MONEY SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS LIFE | FAITH | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD November 23 - November 29, 2012

IFE/FAITH

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

A glance at some top toys See page B4

How to dress up next holiday gathering See page B6

SUN COAST / TAMPA BAY www.flcourier.com

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SECTION

B

FLORIDA CLASSIC RECAP “We started slow and put ourselves in some bad spots but we found a way to win,” said B-CU Coach, Brian Jenkins.

“We have to find ways to win the game.

We gave ourselves a shot to win it but a couple of plays hurt us,” said FAMU’s interim head coach Earl Holmes, who coached the Rattlers’ last two games.

FAMU Head Coach Joe Taylor abruptly retired earlier this month.

B-CU to host Carolina team

1

Wildcats do it again

The Wildcats finish the season unbeaten in the MEAC for the first time since 1984 and went 8-0 in conference play for the first time.

B-CU is the MEAC champions and will host Big South Champion Coastal Carolina (7-4) at Municipal Stadium at 2 p.m. the first round of the Football Championship Series (FCS) playoffs on Nov. 24.

FAMU’s season came to an end.

It’s the Wildcats second playoff appearance in the last three years and fourth overall.

Florida A&M (4-6, 4-4) was threatened with a game-winning drive last Saturday but Damien Fleming was sacked by BCU’s Harold Love and fumbled.

“It was great to make the play, but it was a team effort. We ran a stunt play and he was right there in front of me,” Love said.

Fleming was ruled down, but an official review awarded B-CU the ball with just over a minute remaining.

It was the only takeaway of the game for the Wildcats defense, which came into the game leading the nation in that category.

“You can’t play looking to get them but we stayed the course and our defense made a big play,” stated Jenkins.

FAMU ‘better than record’ Isidore Jackson ran for 77 yards with a score and had three catches for 41 yards garnering MVP honors for B-CU. “I just went and did what I was supposed to do. Our offensive line did a great job blocking,” responded Jackson.

Fleming threw for 166 yards with a touchdown and was named MVP for FAMU. “We are better than our record indicates. We have been in situations to win at the end before. Last week we were able to pull it out but this week we didn’t,” said Fleming.

Bethune-Cookman (9-2, 7-0) took a 14-10 lead when Jackson took a pitch 34 yards for a touchdown on a fourth down and three yards to go with 3:13 to play in the third quarter.

“It was just one man out there and our receiver Eddie Poole made a good block,” said Jackson.

2

Rattlers have drive but fall short

3

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11 tackles for B-CU’s Fields

1. B-CU coaches, students and alumni give the No. 1 sign following the Wildcats’ big win.

2. FAMU’s defense goes after B-CU. 3. Bethune-Cookman cheerleaders rile up the crowd at the Citrus Bowl.

4. Isidore Jackson of B-CU and Damien Fleming of FAMU were named MVPs of the classic.

5. The Marching Wildcats of B-CU played new tunes and old favorites during half time and also performed alongside R&B singer Charlie Wilson.

KIM GIBSON/FLORIDA COURIER

The Wildcats converted another fourth down and three in the fourth quarter on an Andronicus Lovette run.

On the next play, Lovette scored from a yard out to make it a 21-10 game.

FAMU responded with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Fleming to Dewayne Harvey to get within 21-16. The extra point attempt was blocked.

The Rattlers came out strong on their opening drive but only got a 20-yard field goal from Chase Varnadore.

“It was good to score, but we need to punch it in the end zone in those situations,” said Holmes.

The Wildcats took a 7-3 first quarter lead when Quentin Williams found Eddie Poole for a one-yard touchdown pass.

James Owens’ 41-yard touchdown run gave FAMU a 10-7 lead in the second quarter.

5 see more of the classic on page B2

B-CU has bragging rights for second year in a row by defeating FAMU 21-16 at Classic

BY ANDREAS BUTLER FLORIDA COURIER

Bethune-Cookman held off rival Florida A&M 21-16 in front of just 30,317 fans in the 33rd Annual Florida Classic at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando on Nov. 17.

A critical turnover and two critical fourth down conversions aided B-CU in its win.

B-CU could have tied the game at 10 all just before the half but Sven Hurd’s 36-yard field goal attempt blocked.

Williams threw for 120 yards and ran for 86 more for B-CU. Eddie Rocker added 69 yards rushing for FAMU. The Wildcats outgained the Rattlers 325-286 in total offensive yardage, including 205-120 on the ground.

B-CU was two-for-three in the red zone scoring chances compared to 1-for-1 for FAMU. The Rattlers’ only red zone score was a field goal while B-CU’s two scores were touchdowns.

The Wildcats were led defensively by Jarkevis Fields who tallied 11 tackles.

Love added six tackles, Dewed Lane and D.J. Howard contributed five, and Elvin Toney had a sack for B-CU. Jonathan Pillow led the Rattlers defense with eight tackles and a sack.

Brandon Denmark added seven tackles, Brandon Hepburn had six. Ellie Hyppolite also had six tackles and a sack for FAMU.

T

CALENDAR • OBIT

B2

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Central Florida deejay Niecy-D’s third annual Birthday Bash Weekend, presented by Partnership for American African Development, takes place Nov. 23 – Nov. 25 at the Westgate Family Vacation Villas & Resort in Kissimmee.

Proceeds benefit community-based organizations. More information: www. paadonline.com.

Tampa: Join Mayor Bob Buckhorn and “American Idol’’ Michael “Big Mike” Lynch for the annual tree lighting ceremony at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park at 6 p.m. followed by an 8 p.m. free movie in the park of “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.’’ Also the Santa Fest and Downtown Holiday Parade will take place at 11 a.m. on Dec. 1 followed by a 4 p.m. festival. More information: Tampagov.net.

Jacksonville: The Jacksonville Light Boat Parade and Fireworks Spectacular will commence Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at Jacksonville Landing, 2 Independent Drive.

Live music in the courtyard after the parade will feature Stevie Fingers and Sho Nuf 10 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Orlando: Orlando Community Arts Inc. presents Clare and the Chocolate Nutcracker at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.

Orlando: “Sister Act The Musical’’ makes its way to the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre Dec. 4- 9.

Jacksonville: Rap artist 2 Chainz will be at the Florida Theatre Jacksonville Nov. 23 for an 8 p.m. show and at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater Nov. 26 for an 8:30 p.m.

TOJ

NIECY-D

Jacksonville: Author and televangelist Joel Osteen will be at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.

Jacksonville: The theatrical musical “West Side Story’’ returns to Jacksonville as presented by The Artist Series at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, Dec. 4 – Dec. 9. More information and show times: www artistseriesjax.org.

NOVEMBER 23 - november 29, 2012

ERICA RIGGINS

The Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists will host its annual Griot Drum Awards & Scholarship Banquet on Nov. 15 at The Nielsen Company’s headquarters in Oldsmar. A reception will be held at 6 p.m.; dinner and a program begins at 7 p.m. A panel will include Bay News 9 anchor Erica Riggins.

More information: www.tbabj.com.

YVONNE BROWN

The Miami Jazz Society presents Yvonne Brown and the Gary Thomas Trio Dec. 14 during a lineup of “Holiday Jazz” at the Southeast Financial Center in downtown Miami, 200 South Biscayne Blvd.

Other performances daily from Dec. 10 – 14 are scheduled at noon. Free.

MiamiJazzSociety.com.

JOE

R&B artist Joe will take center stage at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center for the RYSE Awards on Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. More information: rysemagazine.com.

Ocoee: The City of Ocoee will award $10,000 in matching grants for neighborhood improvement projects as part of its Most Valuable Partnership (MVP) Matching Grant Program.

The maximum grant award is $2,000. Applications are

available at www.ocoee.org or at the City Hall reception desk. The deadline to submit applications is Nov. 30. More information: www.ocoee.org or call 407905-3100.

Tampa: Wiz Khalifa’s tour

stops at the University of South Florida Sun Dome Dec. 2 for a 7:30 p.m. show.

from 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

More information: 727-3933597.

St. Petersburg: First Fridays are held in downtown St. Petersburg at 250 Central Ave. between Second and Third Avenues

Tampa: Tampa’s Downtown on Ice will take place through Jan. 5. Tickets are $10 for 90 minutes on the ice and covers skate rental.

The rink is open from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday nights and Friday nights until 10 p.m. On Saturdays, the rink is open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 9 p.m. More information: tampasdowntownonice.com.

R&B singer Billy Scott dies of cancer

FLORIDA CLASSIC RECAP

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Rhythm and blues singer Billy Scott has died in North Carolina at age 70. He died Nov. 17 from pancreatic and liver cancer at his home in Charlotte.

Born Peter Pendleton in Huntington, W. Va., he sang with various groups while in the Army. After he was discharged in 1964, he changed his name and with his wife, Barbara, in 1966 began recording as The

Prophets.

Their first gold record was 1968’s “I Got the Fever.”

Other hits included “California” and “Seaside Love” as the Georgia Prophets.

The group recorded a number of hits in the 1970s in the beach music genre, Billy Scott a regional variant of R&B. Scott was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 1999.

1

2

3 These homeowners were helped by the program. To hear their story, go to MakingHomeAffordable.gov

If you’re struggling to keep your home, there is help.

Today, many people are at risk of foreclosure through no fault of their own.

4 1. Television crews from ESPN Classic broadcast the Central Florida game.

3. R&B singing sensation Charlie Wilson took center stage during halftime.

2. Percy Williamson, Leisure Services director of Daytona Beach, is pictured with his wife, Carmen.

4. Newscasters and fans alike watch the Classic from box seats.

Photos by CHARLES W. CHERRY II/FLORIDA COURIER

Making Home Affordable is a free program from the U.S. government that has already helped over a million struggling homeowners.

The sooner you act, the better the chance we can help you.

MakingHomeAffordable.gov

|

1-888-995-HOPE (4673)

STOJ

NOVEMBER 23 – NOVEMBER 29, 2012

HOLIDAYS

B3

Symphony in B Ages 3 and up

Battat Toys, $49.99 Young maestros place up to six tiny plastic instruments (each with an electronic sensor) in the orchestra pit to hear them play together. The real fun comes in switching them around. Replace a violin and a piano with, say, an accordion and a tuba, and the whole tenor of a tune changes — oom-pah-pah Brahms, anyone? With 13 instruments and 15 songs, combinations are endless.

Digital Light Designer Ages 6 and up

Crayola, $49.99 Kids can see their name — and much more — in lights with this way-cool glowing art gizmo. Use the stylus to draw pictures and play games on the outside of the dome, then turn on the animation mode and watch the drawings spin like a top.

YBike Explorer Ages 5 to 10

YBike, $199.99 With its sidemounted steering handles and quickswivel rear wheel, this lean, mean, kidpowered machine just screams for a driveway slalom course.

To find the very best toys of the year, magazine recruited dozens of families to test more than 250 playthings.

Based on their feedback, here are the top 10 winners plus a few more fun picks!

More fun picks 3D Cityscape Ages 3 to 7 Alex Toys, $21.95 Blingles Bling Studio Ages 6 and up Moose Toys, $19.99 Cloud Matchmaker Ages 4 to 9 Hape/Beleduc, $19.99

Monster Fighters Vampyre Castle

Color-In Metallic Tattoos Ages 6 and up Creativity For Kids, $15

Ages 8 and up

Servin’ Surprises Kitchen & Table

Expedition Dino Ages 5 to 8 Haba, $36

LEGO (9468), $99.99 With 949 pieces, Lego’s monster of a building set has more moving parts than a bat-infested clock tower. “The greatest Lego set ever,” raves one mom. “It glows in the dark! It flings spiders! It comes with a car!”

Fashion Forms Ages 8 and up Klutz, $24.99 Flying Super Grover 2.0 Ages 3 to 6 Playskool, $29.99 Friends Heartlake Stables Ages 7 and up LEGO (3189), $49.99

Ages 3 to 6

Fisher-Price, $79.99 Little Chopped champions will find everything they need in this compact kitchen: 26 pieces of play food and dinnerware, a griddle, a burner, an oven and sound effects (boiling water, sizzling grill). The best parentfriendly feature: the cooking area turns into a smooth-topped play table, with room to store most of the accoutrements neatly inside.

Henry Haba-Strong’s Armor Ages 3 to 6 Haba, $33 Magician’s Kitchen Ages 5 and up Playroom Entertainment, $30 Monster High Create-aMonster Design Lab Ages 6 and up Mattel, $39.99

Marker Airbrush Ages 5 and up

Crayola, $24.99 Our testers got, well, pumped up by this no-batteriesrequired air-brush set. Simply put a washable or fabric marker in the spray gun, give the unit a few pumps, and decorate away! Big bonus: When the set’s markers run out, just replace them with standard Crayola markers.

Micro Chargers Time Track Ages 6 to 10

Take Along Soccer Match Ages 5 to 10

Playmobil (4725), $59.99 Sports-loving Playmobil fans will give its 22- by 33-inch soccer set a big cheer. Kids move their players into position to set up for the perfect kick or header. For all-important road matches, the game folds into its own carrying case.

Moose Toys, $34.99 Don’t let their 1-inch stature fool you: These cute-as-a-bug mini racers flash serious speed as they whiz around the twisting track. Scaled up to lifesize, they’d top out at 600 mph. Eat rubber, Jimmie Johnson!

Monopoly Zapped

Play-Doh Diggin’ Rigs Buster the Power Crane Ages 3 to 8 Hasbro, $19.99 Stone Age Cave With Mammoth Ages 4 to 10 Playmobil (5100), $69.99

Super Heroine Role Play Set Ages 3 to 6 Melissa & Doug, $29.99

Ages 8 and up

Hasbro, $29.99 How do you improve on a classic? Add 21st-century tech by downloading a special app to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to boost the fun. Testers loved the app mini-games, such as Get Out of Jail, where players fling Mr. Monopoly, Angry Birds-style, into his waiting car.

Master Kitz Ages 5 and up Kidzaw, $29.99

Go-Go-Pogo Ages 5 to 10

photos courtesy of Fa m i ly F u n magazine

Diggin Active, $49.99 Our testers were leaping around like kangaroos at a sock hop on this electronic pogo. Five built-in challenges, such as speed trials and a freeze-tag version of Musical Statues, kept the fun going for hours.

Undersea Friends Building Set Ages 3 to 6 K’nex, $20.99 Word Snag Ages 8 and up Pressman Toy, $12

TOj B4

PARENTING

Stoj

NOVEMBER 23 – NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

Family Features

A new study of the American family’s “passion points” from Just Kids, Inc. reveals that most families (45 percent) agree schools and education are their top priority. Yet, parent involvement in their children’s education is at an all-time low.

According to studies by the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education, students whose parents are involved in their education are more likely to: • Earn higher grades and test scores.

• Enroll in higher-level programs.

• Pass their classes and be promoted.

• Attend school regularly.

• Adapt well to school, have better social skills, and even show improved behavior.

• Graduate and pursue postsecondary education.

While parental involvement during the elementary school years is fairly strong, it tends to drop off dramatically when those children go on to middle and high school. There are several reasons for this: • Many parents feel that their children should do their homework alone, or that if parents aren’t experts in a subject matter, they shouldn’t try to help.

• Middle and high schools tend to be bigger than elementary schools, and less personal.

• The structure of the school day can also be a problem for parents — instead of one teacher that parents can contact, students have multiple teachers who don’t know them that well.

“Of all the choices we as parents will make in our lifetime, decisions about our children’s education are among the most important,” says Rose Fernandez, parent advocate and founder of the National Parent Network for Online Learning.

“Schools need to do more to get parents involved and parents need to raise the bar on what they expect of their schools, the teachers and themselves.”

Fernandez says schools that succeed in engaging families from diverse backgrounds share three key practices: • Focus on building trusting, collaborative relation­ships among teachers, families and community members.

• Recognize, respect and address families’ needs, as well as class and cultural differences.

• Embrace a philosophy of partnership where power and responsibility are shared.

“If a school district doesn’t establish parental involve­ment as a priority, if it doesn’t define what it means, then parents need to take action,” suggests Fernandez.

Ask the Right Questions

• Find out about teacher expectations of student performance. What percentage of the grade comes from tests, homework and class participation?

• Find out about the school’s stance on communication with parents.

Are there regular check-ins with your child’s teacher, either in person or via email? Is parental involvement in the education process welcomed or discouraged?

• Find out how individual learning needs are met. Are there individualized education plans for students who struggle? How are the needs of gifted students met? Are there paraprofessionals available in class?

The ABCs of parent involvement If you want to be more involved in your child’s education, but aren’t sure how, try implementing these ABCs. A Ask — Ask children specific questions about the school day.

What projects are they excited about? What did they learn in a particular class? How did they feel? What were the highs and lows of the day? Ask, and then really listen to their answers.

Advise — You can’t do homework for them, but you can help them establish a study routine, figure out how to use their time wisely and organize their notes, papers and supplies. Show them how to break large tasks into smaller ones so they won’t be over­whelmed. And you can help them figure out how to research and get answers for themselves.

Advocate — You know your child better than anyone. If you see that your child is struggling — or isn’t challenged enough — you can talk with teachers and counselors to get the help or additional resources they need.

B Balance — Schoolwork is important, but it’s equally important that students learn how to lead a well-rounded and balanced life. Encourage your child

to join a club or sport, or participate in other extra-curricular activities. After-school activities can help their academic and personal development.

Be proactive — Getting involved early in the school year can help head off some potential problems. But if problems do arise, don’t wait to take action.

Initiate dialogue with your child and with the teacher or counselor so that together you can find the best solution.

Build relationships — Get to know the teachers and administrators at your child’s school.

Build relationships with other parents, and get involved on committees that affect the school. You can be a much stronger advocate for your child if you have relationships with the people involved in their education.

C Create space — Make sure your child has an appropriate place and environment in which to study. There needs to be room to spread out books, good lighting, and necessary tools such as diction­aries or calculators.

Some students need a very quiet environment while others do better with some back­ground noise. Suit the study space to your child.

Challenge — Don’t let your child settle into “cruise control” and do just enough to get by.

Find out what he or she is inter-

ested in and challenge them to stretch their minds in that subject. If your school doesn’t offer a subject your child would like to study, or if the classes aren’t sufficiently challenging, consider other options such as an online course for enrichment or extra credit. For example, K12 has a wide range of individual courses including foreign languages and college-level AP classes.

Communicate — Keep the lines of communication open with your student and your school. Make sure your child knows your expectations — and when you are proud of his or her efforts and achievements.

Stay on top of school communications tools such as newsletters and bulletins. Go to parent-teacher con­ ferences, and make sure you have contact informa­ tion for teachers and counselors at the school.

Other options to help your child succeed Traditional brick-and-mortar education isn’t always the best fit for every student. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that school districts across the country had an estimated 1,816,400 enrollments in online education courses for the 2009–2010 school year.

Whether it’s for a single course or full-time enrollment, there are several reasons parents choose online learning for their children: • The option to take AP and Honors courses.

• Filling an academic void with art, music or other vital subjects not offered locally.

• Resolving scheduling conflicts.

• Retaking courses to catch up with peers, build self-esteem, and graduate on time.

• Taking language classes not avail­able at the local school.

“I enrolled my children in Wisconsin Virtual Academy, an online learning school which offered a high-quality, personal­ized educa­tion program,” said Fernandez. “It had a rich mixture of online and offline teaching tools, inte­grated lesson plans, and assess­ments to make sure my children mastered a partic­ular area before moving on at their own pace.

It met the needs of my children, and made it easy for me to get and stay involved.” You can find out more about online learning at www.K12.com.

The bottom line for parents is that you can make a difference in your child’s education. From small dayto-day interactions to bigger decisions about where and how your child learns, you can be a champion for your child’s education — and they need you to take up the cause.

STOJ

NOVEMBER 23 - NOVEMBER 29, 2012

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA'S

finest

submitted for your approval

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.

mekyra d Aspiring singer and fashion model Mekyra Deona has been on the scene sharing her melodic voice with audiences since age 3. She has recently been featured in shows in Florida, Virginia and New York with plans to add the west coast to her list. Mekyra can be contacted at babiiboo208@gmail.com or facebook.com/mekyra.thomas.

Porn producers looking beyond Los Angeles after new condom law

“The bill will make it too complicated and too expensive to shoot in L.A.,” said director-producer Glenn King, owner of Encino-based MeanBitch Productions.

“We’re a small business just like anyone else. If we can’t exist under this new law, we’ll have to look at other options.”

Some porn producers have already threatened to move their businesses from the San Fernando Valley to other California counties, or to Las Vegas, Miami and even Budapest, Hungary — Europe’s porn production hub.

“These companies are not going to take a chance of losing sales for the sake of complying with Measure B, so they will undoubtedly up and leave,” said Alec Helmy, president and publisher of XBiz, a trade publication for the adult entertainment industry. “There’s no shortage of locations when it comes to shooting porn. It doesn’t take a lot of equipment and it’s not like shooting ‘Jurassic Park.’”

BY RICHARD VERRIER LOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)

Boom in 1980s

Los Angeles has been a fighting a tide of runaway production of big-budget movies and television dramas.

Now it may face an emigration of another homegrown industry — adult entertainment.

That’s the specter raised by some of the hundreds of pornography producers in L.A. after voters approved Measure B, which requires performers to wear condoms and establishes a new permitting system for adult entertainment shoots.

The law was advocated by AIDS activists who argued that it would protect performers from disease outbreaks. But the measure has been widely panned in the porn industry, which has argued that mandatory actor testing for HIV was already effective, and that the law’s real agenda is to put them out of business.

Although it remains unclear exactly how the new permit system will work, county officials have estimated that it will cost $300,000 a year to enforce. Industry executives and producers contend that will saddle them with high permit fees and force them to create entertainment for which there is no demand.

“People who enjoy adult films do not want to watch actors using condoms — period. So there’s no market for it,” said adult entertainment veteran Larry Flynt, whose Hustler publishing and adult video empire is based in Beverly Hills. “We won’t be doing anything in Los Angeles.”

Miami considered Flynt said he’s already making contingency plans to shift more production to Mexico, Arizona and Hawaii. Smaller companies may follow.

Christian Mann, general manager of Evil Angel Video, a Van Nuys distributor of adult entertainment, predicted that “a lot of the content we distribute will be shot in Europe or outside of Los Angeles.”

Steve Orenstein, president of Wicked Pictures, whose company has had a long-standing practice of requiring performers to use condoms, said Measure B puts a further squeeze on an already struggling industry.

“They are going to potentially charge thousands of dollars per shoot so they can manage what we’ve already been doing for 14 years,” he said. “This is a bad time to be doing this.”

Adult entertainment boomed after the advent of home video in the 1980s.

A decade ago, local economists estimated that the porn industry in the San Fernando Valley generated 10,000 to 20,000 jobs annually and had $4 billion in annual sales.

But declining DVD sales and the availability of free porn on the Internet have hammered the local industry. The number of porn producers in L.A. has fallen to about 300, down from 500 at its peak in 2005, Helmy said.

Although porn production accounts for less than 5 percent of all film permits in the county, the industry is an important player in the local entertainment economy.

In all, about 5,000 adult films are shot in Los Angeles County each year in warehouses and private homes, according to industry estimates. FilmL.A., the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the city and the county, issues about 500 permits a year for adult entertainment shoots.

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lamar Originally from Philadelphia, 30-year-old sailor Lamar is a member of the military and is proud to serve his country. He enjoys reading, writing, tactical planning and reasoning. Contact Lamar at ldf19150@yahoo.com.

NEW FILM FOR FOXX Jamie Foxx’ latest movie is DJango Unchained,” due out on Christmas Day. The actor will join Ne-Yo for a star-studded evening on “Saturday Night Live’’ on Dec. 8.

Obama’s photo with Olympic gymnast goes viral EURWEB.COM

You know you got it going on when President Obama asks YOU to pose in a photo with him doing that “face” thingy because he IS impressed with it.

That’s the situation Olympic gold medalist gymnast McKayla Maroney finds herself in after President Barack Obama took a photo with her doing that “I’m not impressed.”

The snapshot went viral on Nov. 17 after the White House posted it on Twitter.

The two took the picture on Nov. 15 when Maroney and her Fierce Five teammates visited the White House.

“He was the one who brought it up,” Maroney told The Associated Press. “We were about to leave and he said, ‘I want to talk to you one second about the face.’ He said, ‘I pretty much do that face at least once a day.’”

‘It’s everywhere’ Maroney was photographed making the half scowl with her nose scrunched up while

Denzel to daughter: Be like Viola Davis FROM WIRE REPORTS

Denzel Washington recently revealed at the Hollywood Reporter’s annual roundtable discussion that he wants his daughter Olivia to be like award-winning actress Viola Davis.

Olivia Washington is

PETE SOUZA/THE WHITE HOUSE

Gold medalist gymnast McKayla Maroney and President Obama make their “I’m not impressed’’ faces at the White House on Nov. 15. she was on the medals podium after winning silver on vault at the London Olympics. It spawned dozens of “McKayla Maroney is not impressed” memes – including one showing a photoshopped Maroney in the White House Situation Room on the night Osama Bin Laden was killed.

The “face” has become Maroney’s trademark. But it’s one thing for fans to ask her about it, quite another when the president does.

“I, like, freaked out,” Maroney said. “He said, ‘Let’s do it together.’ We took a picture and now it’s everywhere.”

studying the arts at New York University to become an actress. Daddy Denzel shared the same bit of advice with the audience that he shared with his little girl.

“You’re Black, you’re a woman, and you’re darkskinned at that,” he said.

“So you have to be a triple/ quadruple threat. You gotta learn how to act. You gotta learn how to dance, sing, move onstage.

“That’s the only place, in my humble opinion, you really learn how to act. Look at Viola Davis. That’s who you

want to be. Forget about the little pretty girls; if you’re relying on that, when you hit 40, you’re out the door. You better have some chops.”

Davis played the role of Aibileen Clark in the movie, “The Help,’’ in which she received numerous award nominations include a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award.

In 2012, Time Magazine listed Davis as one of the most influential people in the world. Davis has been selected to receive a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2013.

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FOOD

TOJ

NOVEMBER 23 – NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Dress It Up

From family Features

You want to bring out the best for your next holiday gathering, ensuring a memorable meal for family and friends. With a few simple tips and easier-than-you-think recipes, you can do just that.

Entertaining tips • Prep the night before — Save time by chopping vege­tables or prepping glazes the day before. For example, prepare the spread for Goat Cheese Bruschetta with Berry-Thyme Spread the night before. The day of the party, toast baguette slices 10 minutes before guests arrive, and the deli­cious appetizer will come together in minutes.

• Allow for creativity — Allow guests to put their own finish­ing touches on their dishes by setting out a variety of top­pings. Raspberry Almond Waffles provide a base for your friends and family

to get creative.

• Make it a group effort — Ask guests to bring their favorite holiday side dishes or desserts to complement the main course to encourage a wide variety. If you’re making Red Tart Cherry Glazed Ham as the centerpiece of the meal, let guests know so they can plan accordingly.

Each of these suggestions incorporates a delicious recipe using Smucker’s® Orchard’s Finest® Preserves, a gourmet line of pre­ serves made with the best fruit from the best places. The preserves contain only four ingredients, and add rich flavor to both sweet and savory holiday dishes. From classic Pacific Mountain Straw­berry Preserves to the new Lakeside Raspberry Cranberry Preserves, there’s a flavor that’s sure to be a hit with each guest.

These holiday recipes are wonderful options to share with family and friends at your next gathering because, during the holidays, only the finest will do.

For more recipes to round out your holiday menu, visit www. smuckers.com.

Red Tart Cherry Glazed Ham Makes: 16 servings Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 50 minutes 1 4 to 5-pound fully cooked boneless ham, sliced 1/4 inch thick 1 12-ounce jar Smucker’s Orchard’s Finest Michigan Red Tart Cherry Preserves 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg Dash ground cloves, if desired 2 tablespoons raisins, if desired Heat oven to 325°F. Overlap slices of ham in shallow baking pan; cover with aluminum foil. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 140°F. Combine preserves, vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a small microwave safe bowl. Micro­wave on high for 2 minutes.

Arrange ham slices on serving platter.

Spoon 1/4 cup glaze over center of ham.

Serve with remain­ing warm glaze.

Goat Cheese Bruschetta with Berry-Thyme Spread Makes: 12 slices Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 6 minutes 1/4 cup Smucker’s Orchard’s Finest Northwest Triple Berry Preserves 1 tablespoon minced shallot 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, plus additional for garnish 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 8-ounce baguette 1 tablespoon Crisco® 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil 4 ounces goat cheese Fresh thyme leaves (optional), for garnish Combine preserves, shallots, balsamic vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper in small bowl.

Slice baguette into 1/2-inch slices. Brush both sides of each slice lightly with olive oil. Heat skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Grill baguette slices, 4 at a time, 2 to 3 min­utes per side or until lightly browned.

Place on serving platter.

Spread about 2 teaspoons goat cheese over each baguette slice. Top each slice with 1 tea­spoon preserves mixture. Garnish with addi­tional fresh thyme, if desired.

Serve immediately.

Here are four delicious ways to dress up your holiday salads. Just start with this basic vinaigrette recipe, and mix in your favorite Smucker’s® Orchard’s Finest® Preserves flavor and one other simple ingredient.

Basic Vinaigrette — Mix 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon water, 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Whisk in 1/4 cup Crisco® Pure Canola Oil. Strawberry Basil Vinaigrette — Add 1/2 cup Smucker’s Orchard’s Finest Pacific Mountain Straw­berry Preserves and 2 teaspoons finely minced basil.

Raspberry Cranberry and Rosemary Vinaigrette — Add 1/2 cup Smucker’s Orchard’s Finest Lakeside Raspberry Cranberry Preserves and 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary.

Citrus Ginger Vinaigrette — Add 1/2 cup Smucker’s Orchard’s Finest Pacific Grove Orange Marmalade Medley and 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger root.

Apricot Ginger Vinaigrette — Add 1/2 cup Smucker’s Orchard’s Finest Coastal Valley Peach Apricot Preserves and 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger root.

Tip: Triple Berry-Thyme Spread can be pre­pared up to two days ahead. Cover and chill.

Raspberry Almond Waffles Makes: 10 (6-inch) waffles Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes WAFFLES 1 14-ounce can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk, divided 3 large eggs 2 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour 3/4 cup water 1/2 cup Crisco Pure Vegetable Oil 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 cup sliced almonds, chopped Crisco Original No-Stick Cooking Spray TOPPING 1 cup heavy cream 1/8 teaspoon almond extract 2/3 cup Smucker’s Orchard’s Finest Lakeside Raspberry Cranberry Preserves or 2/3 cup Smucker’s Red Raspberry Preserves 2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted* 30 fresh red raspberries For waffles: Coat waffle iron with no-stick cooking spray. Heat waffle iron according to manu­ facturer’s directions. Reserve 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk for topping.

Whisk eggs in large bowl until fluffy.

Blend in remaining sweetened condensed milk, flour, water, oil, baking powder, salt and almond extract just until batter is smooth. Stir in chopped almonds.

Pour a scant 2/3 cup of batter onto center of hot waffle iron and close lid. Bake about 3 to 4 minutes or until steaming stops. Use a fork to remove waffle. Repeat with remain­ing batter.

For topping: Beat cream in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Add reserved 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk and almond extract. Beat until smooth.

Spread each waffle with 1 tablespoon preserves. Top with whipped cream, toasted almonds and fresh raspberries. *To toast almonds: Place almonds in dry non­stick skillet. Cook over medium heat, shaking pan until nuts are lightly browned.

Remove from pan immediately to avoid over-browning.