Florida Courier - December 14, 2012

FC

EE FR

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

www.flcourier.com

Read us online Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/ flcourier

Sen. Chris Smith makes Florida history B1

Follow us on Twitter@flcourier

www.flcourier.com

DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20, 2012

VOLUME 20 NO. 50

IN THE 13th GRADE PART 2

BILL HOGAN/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/MCT

Cutting a tortilla into sections is one way teachers illustrate fractions, a concept some Florida high graduates still don’t understand.

Many of Florida’s high school graduates are unprepared for tougher college courses. More students than ever before struggle with math, including basic addition and subtraction.

Black employment: Up or down?

BY SARAH GONZALEZ, MC NELLY TORRES AND LYNN WADDELL FLORIDA CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

Wendy Pedroso has never liked math, but for most of elementary school and middle school she got B’s in the subject. It wasn’t until ninth grade at Miami Southwest Senior High School, when Pedroso took algebra, that she hit a wall. In particular, she struggled with understanding fractions.

“I kept getting stuck in the same place,” Pedroso, 20, recalled recently. She failed the class, and worried that she’d never get to go to college.

Pedroso sought help from tutors, took algebra again over the summer and passed. She went on to graduate from high school in 2011.

all of Florida’s community and state colleges, Miami Dade accepts anyone with a high school diploma or G.E.D. But students must take a placement test to assess their basic skills.

Pedroso’s struggles with math caught up with her again: She failed the math section of the test. It meant that she had to take a remedial math class. The course cost Pedroso $300 like any other class at Miami Dade College, but did not count as credit toward graduation.

Although she could take collegelevel courses in other subjects, Pedroso couldn’t begin taking college-level courses in math until she passed the remedial course.

Similar stories

Across Florida, remedial classes at community and state colleges are full of students like Pedroso. More Failed placement test Pedroso enrolled at Miami Dade than half of the high school graduSee GRADUATES, Page A2 College’s campus in Kendall. Like

CHRISTMAS 2012 / WASHINGTON, D.C.

Study says Florida in ‘bad shape’ COMPILED FROM WIRE AND STAFF REPORTS

Despite unresolved “fiscal cliff” negotiations between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, African-Americans should see signs of hope in a trend downward in the unemployment rate and an unexpected growth in jobs, says a Black economist and former member of the Obama administration.

That’s directly contrary to a Florida-based study, “The State Of Working Florida 2012,” released in September by the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy at Florida International University (FIU) that found Florida “in bad shape.”

“The (economic) Recovery has not been a single recovery for all workers in Florida. In reality, our data show that the Recovery has been experienced differently, especially by gender and race,” the report states.

“Florida seems to be headed into another decade of jobless recovery, wage and income stagnation, more low-wage jobs, less public services, and more disparities between demographic groups.”

Trend up?

Bill Spriggs was former assistant secretary for policy at the U. S. Department of Labor for four years. He recently returned to his former position

POOL PHOTO BY MOLLY RILEY/POLARIS VIA ABACA PRESS/MCT

First Family celebrates Christmas ‘Gangnam Style’ President and Mrs. Obama and their daughters Malia (right) and Sasha posed with Christmas elves as they attended the “Christmas in Washington” concert on Dec. 9. The concert, scheduled to be broadcast on TNT Dec. 21, featured ‘Gangnam Style’ rapper PSY. See story on page B5.

See STUDY, Page A2

Courier wins three Tampa Black Journalists’ awards FROM STAFF REPORTS

The Florida Courier took home three first-place trophies last month from the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists’ Griot Drum Awards & Scholarship Banquet held at the Nielsen headquarters in Oldsmar.

Journalists working at news agencies with circulations less than 100,000 and more than 100,000 were recognized at the Nov. 15 PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTWAN KEY/ TBABJ banquet for outstanding reporting and photography Dr. Valerie Cherry, right, accepts the firstin 2011 showcasing the life, place plaque for investigative reporting for times and stories of Blacks the Florida Courier from Camille Spencer, in Tampa Bay. The Florida president of the Tampa Bay Association of Courier competed in the print category for circulaBlack Journalists.

ALSO INSIDE

tions less than 100,000.

The Tampa Bay organization, which hands out the Griot Drum Awards annually, is an affiliate of the National Association of Black Journalists. It is made up of journalists from Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, Pasco, Polk and Manatee counties.

A griot is a West African storyteller whose duty is to keep an oral tradition and history of a village or family.

June through September 2011 titled “Crisis at B-CU.” The series detailed how Bethune-Cookman University, one of the state’s largest HBCUs, was slapped with 13 state and federal lawsuits and administrative complaints, including legal actions filed by longtime professors.

For his story in the Florida Courier on the hazing death of Florida A&M University’s drum major Robert Champion, a first-place B-CU series award went to freelancer Demorris Lee. The former recognized The Florida Courier staff reporter for the Tampa Bay won first place in the Inves- Times also wrote a numtigative Reporting category ber of stories in a series tiSee AWARDS, Page A2 for its series published from

SNAPSHOTS FLORIDA | A3

About 100 boys may have died at youth prison Haiti’s president touts improvements FLORIDA | A6

Gow Fields to lead Florida mayors group Best place for young workers?

COMMENTARY: CHARLES W. CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4 COMMENTARY: LUCIUS GANTT: WE MUST STOP KILLING OF BLACK TEENAGERS | A4

FINEST | B5

Meet Lillian

A2

FOCUS

DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20, 2012

Why the Supreme Court will legalize same-sex marriage It is no exaggeration to lament that I have received more hate mail in response to my commentaries on same-sex marriages than any other topic. Particularly disappointing is that the most hateful responses came from fellow Blacks upbraiding me for presuming common cause between the struggle for our civil rights and the struggle gays are now engaged in for theirs.

This is why I was so encouraged when the U.S. Supreme Court announced last week that it will finally rule on whether states have the right to ban same-sex marriages or whether homosexuals have the same right to marry as heterosexuals – thereby vindicat-

STUDY from A1 as an economics professor at Howard University.

“The issue is more the trend,” he explained in an interview with the Trice Edney Newswire. “There has been a steady trend downward. If you go back to July, if you compare last November to this November, the bigger trend is that it has been going down.”

Nationally, unemployment rate dropped from 8 percent to 7.7 percent last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the lowest since 2008. It dropped from 14.3 percent for African-Americans nationally down to 13.2 percent.

Still good news Although the jobless rate for African-Americans remains in double digits and consistently twice that of Whites, Spriggs says there’s good news.

That is although the Black unemployment rate has fluctuated between 13 and 14 percent all year, when compared to last year at this time, there is a clear trend downward. Last November’s jobless rate was 15.5 percent. This is a significant drop of 2.3 percent.

A different story “This has been an early recovery for Whites, a late recovery for Hispanics, and still no recovery for Black workers, the FIU report states.

“Unemployment rates for Whites stopped rising as early as in 2009, unemployment

GRADUATES from A1 ates who took the college placement test had to take at least one remedial class. And while many of those students struggle with basic reading and writing skills, the subject they’re most unprepared for in college is math.

In the 2010-11 school year, some 125,042 Florida college students needed to take a remedial math class, an investigation by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and StateImpact Florida has found. That number has grown over time, and is more than double the number requiring remedial classes in reading (54,489) or writing (50,906).

The math crisis is also acute among students coming to college straight out of high school.

Some 44 percent of high school graduates who took the Florida College System’s entrance exam failed the math section in 201011. Less than a third failed in reading and writing.

“I don’t know what happened with these people that come from high school,” said Isis Casanova de Franco, a remedial math professor at Miami Dade College.

Casanova de Franco said her granddaughter in second grade can add, but many of her college students cannot.

A national problem The situation in Florida is similar to what’s happening across the United States. A 2010 Columbia University study of 57 community colleges in seven states found that one in two incoming students needed to take remedial math courses.

Another study by Harvard Uni-

ANTHONY L. HALL, ESQ. FLORIDA COURIER COLUMNIST

ing my presumption.

Same principle Of course, legal and political pundits will be coming out of the woodwork now to tell you which way the court will rule. But all you need to know is that the same legal principle that compelled the court to rule in Loving v. Virginia (1967) that Blacks and Whites

have a fundamental right to marry each other, will compel it to rule that gays have that (equal) right too.

Note also that the court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas (2003) that gays have the right under the Fourteenth Amendment to engage in consensual sexual conduct “as part of the liberty protected” by the U.S. Constitution.

Clearly the right to engage in that conduct “within the bounds of holy matrimony” is the natural, logical, moral, historical, and cultural extension of that liberty.

Won’t defy logic The Constitution as well as the court’s own precedents should compel it to emulate the unanimous ruling in the Loving case in favor of same-sex marriages. Unfortunately, the political nature of this court is such that most pundits are predicting it could rule 5-4 either way depending on how the one purportedly centrist justice, Anthony Kennedy, casts his vote.

All the same, I predict the rul-

ing will be 7-2 in favor of samesex marriages. Why? After betraying overt political bias to grant George W. Bush the presidency in Bush v. Gore in 2000, at least two of the four conservative justices will be loath to defy legal reasoning again to further a political/religious agenda in this case.

What about DOMA? Far less controversial is how the court will rule on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This Act holds that states that ban same-sex marriages are not obligated to recognize such marriages even if entered into in states where they are legal, which clearly violates the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution.

Beyond this, based on the above, I predict the ruling will be 7-2 against it. Clearly, if the court rules that same-sex marriages are constitutionally protected, all states would be obligated not only to recognize them but also to accord them all of the marital rights, privileges and bene-

Despite the downward trend, Spriggs says President Obama and Boehner must take action to refocus on jobs rather than just the “fiscal cliff”, which means the possibility of yearend tax hikes combined with severe spending cuts.

“I think there needs to be a greater emphasis put by the president on at least transitioning the dialogue away from austerity – cutting the deficit while lowering spending – to how we are going to get jobs, said Spriggs, who also served for 16 years as director of the National Urban League’s Institute for Opportunity and Equality until 2004.

“The fiscal cliff is a debate about austerity. It’s a mis-

DOMA is so patently unconstitutional that former President Bill Clinton, who signed it into law for craven political reasons, has been in the vanguard of those calling for its repeal.

More importantly, President Obama has ordered his solicitor general to not even bother showing up at the Supreme Court to defend it. That means that the only people advocating for the court to uphold the DOMA are Christian mullahs and their political and legal hired guns.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next spring and announce its rulings next summer.

Anthony L. Hall is a Bahamian native with an international law practice in Washington, D.C. Read his columns and daily weblog at www.theipinionsjournal.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

from A1

‘Widespread joblessness’

Refocus on jobs

Clearly illegal

AWARDS

rates for Hispanics finally started to decline in 2011, but rates for Black workers have not yet begun to decline” as of September, when the report was issued.

Black unemployment in Florida last year was 17.1 percent. And even though unemployment rates have declined, “there still is widespread joblessness in Florida,” according to the FIU report.

“Approximately one out of ten workers (925,000) in the state’s workforce were unemployed in 2011 and the first half of 2012,” the report indicates.

Florida’s current unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent last month, reaching the lowest point in nearly four years. But it is still higher than the national average.

fits traditional marriages enjoy.

FLORIDA COURIER FILES

Young job seekers compare notes during a South Florida job fair in 2011. placed debate. No one seriously wants austerity. That’s why they’re all screaming and hollering…They are afraid that the president might not blink, stare them down and force them to go off the cliff.”

May not last Despite a clear trend downward for the jobless numbers, the good news is only tenuous unless more definitive action is taken, agrees at least one public policy think tank.

“Policy discussions now and beyond the fiscal showdown need to focus on accelerating job growth today and laying the foundation for a stronger economy built from the middle out for the long term,” states the Center for American Progress in a response to the new numbers that agrees with Spriggs’ analysis.

“Here’s why: If politicians do nothing to spur growth, prolonged job-market weakness will be in our future for some

versity researchers found that only 32 percent of U.S. high school students graduating in 2011 were proficient in math. Of 65 nations that participated in the Harvard survey, the U.S. ranked 32nd.

Bad system Vinton Gray Cerf, an Internet entrepreneur quoted in the Harvard report, said the U.S. is not producing enough innovators because of a deteriorating K-12 education system. He also blamed a national culture that doesn’t value engineering and science.

The culture problem is a deep one and won’t be easy to solve.

A number of Florida college students interviewed for this series, including Wendy Pedroso, quickly volunteered that they “hate” math.

Many of Florida’s public school students never master basic math skills early in their education, creating a deficiency that causes them to struggle with the subject throughout their educational career.

Starts in first grade Jakeisha Thompson, a math instructor at Miami Dade College’s downtown Miami campus, sees it every day.

“What I found with those students is that many of them have had a hatred for math for as long as they can remember,” Thompson said. “And it goes all the way back to elementary school.”

David Rock, dean of the school of education at the University of Mississippi and a former middle and high school math teacher, said cultural antagonism toward math also affects parents’ expectations.

“People don’t want to say ‘my child is illiterate,’ but they have no problem to saying ‘my child is not good at math,’” Rock said. “It

time. At the current threemonth job-growth trend seen in today’s jobs data, the U.S. economy will not recover to ‘full employment’ until June 2031.”

The FIU report is even more direct. “...We have seen how minority groups in Florida, particularly African-American and Hispanic workers, have been severely affected by the recession and have not been recovering equally,” it states.

“Policymakers should understand which communities are in the worst economic shape and make sure to target job creation and investment programs to these communities to make sure that Florida experiences a full recovery from the recession with opportunities for growth and prosperity available to all in the state.”

Information from the Trice Edney Newswire was used to compile this report.

has become socially acceptable, and we have to do something before it gets out of control.”

‘A creative discipline’ Many experts say one answer lies in re-thinking how math is taught in K-12 schools. Math is a challenging subject that requires critical-thinking skills.

Teaching techniques such as memorization and repetition have contributed to math’s reputation as a dreadful subject in the U.S., said Richard Rusczyk, founder of Art of Problem Solving. That’s a school in California that focuses on creating interactive educational opportunities for avid math students.

The use of calculators in classrooms is also part of the problem. Students are allowed to use calculators when taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT – the test they have to pass in order to graduate from high school.

“Calculators are good when you know how to do everything,” Casanova de Franco said. “But it shouldn’t be used to supplement thinking.”

A curriculum gap Another problem is that high school math programs are not geared toward college readiness.

The Florida Department of Education says a new test coming in a couple of years will be more aligned to college standards.

And up until now, students have been allowed to graduate high school without taking a math class higher than Algebra 1. This is the last year students will be allowed to graduate high school without taking more advanced classes. The hope is that requiring more advanced math classes will mean more students are prepared for college.

tled “Death of A Drum Major’’ relating to Champion’s death. At the banquet last month, Lee also received two more awards for stories he wrote for the Tampa Bay Times.

Courier photojournalist Kim Gibson also won first place in the sports features category for his photos covering collegiate and professional sports in Florida.

“Newspapers still matter, especially in the Black community,” Florida Courier Publisher Charles W. Cherry II said. “It’s a blessing for all of us to have the opportunity to inform, entertain, and intellectually challenge our thousands of readers statewide. They expect high-level professional journalism from a Black perspective.’’

“We have one of the best news staffs as well as van Emmerik Publication Design, one of the best graphic design teams in Florida. They make it all come together every week. Recognition from your peers – especially from Tampa Bay’s Black pro journalists, who themselves were NABJ’s Chapter of the Year in 2010 – makes getting an award that much sweeter.”

Other winners The only other Black media companies participating in the awards contest were the St. Petersburg-based Power Broker Magazine and the Tampa Bay online site, Blackinthebay.com. Keisha Pickett, an occasional contributor to the Courier, received first place for a sports feature in the Power Broker and a firstplace blog award for her Blackinthebay. com column.

Griot Drum Awards also went to journalists who work for Creative Loafing, Tampa Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, WFTS-TV/ABC Action News, WUSF Public Media, Food Nation Radio Network and WEDU-TV. For a complete list of other award winners, visit www.tbabj.com.

But high school teacher Katerine Santana says that alone won’t solve the problem. She teaches Algebra 2 at Miami Northwestern Senior High. Like professor Casanova de Franco, she said many of her students can’t add or subtract.

“Early on, if we instill that math is part of our daily life, I think that kids are going to have more of a positive attitude towards it,” Santana said. “Because in high school, when they’re juniors and are going to graduate next year, it’s very hard to convince them that this is an important subject.”

Who’s responsible?

Wendy Pedroso blames the K-12 public school system and her teachers for not preparing her for college.

“I needed to understand why and how things worked,” Pedroso said of one of her math teachers.

“But she didn’t take the time to explain things and moved onto the next subject even if we didn’t understand.”

‘Not perfect’ Maria P. de Armas is assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Miami Dade County Public Schools, where Pedroso was a student. According to de Armas, Miami schools have instituted programs to identify students who are struggling with math and other subjects.

But de Armas noted that meeting the needs of a diverse and economically depressed population – Miami is the sixth-poorest city in the United States – is challenging.

When asked if she thinks the public school system fails students, de Armas said: “I emphatically feel that we have not failed.

I feel that nothing is perfect, and there’s always room for improve-

ment.”

Shakira Lockett, another product of Miami schools, said the onus for learning math ultimately lies with students themselves.

Lockett, 22, recently graduated from Miami Dade College after taking seven remedial classes.

She blamed herself for not working hard enough at math while in high school.

“Sometimes I felt lost in math, but I feel that the teachers were OK in public schools,” Lockett said. “I was able to get the proper teaching in the schools. But I think it was up to me also to go home and study. I just hated math so much.”

Making progress After dropping out of her first remedial math class at Miami Dade College, Wendy Pedroso passed the lower-level remedial math class last spring among the top students in her class. The extra coursework taught her discipline and studying skills, she said. She has conquered her fears of fractions and doesn’t rely on a calculator anymore.

She acknowledged that her experience has given her the confidence to consider choosing a field of study that requires math.

“I’m not as scared at looking at other areas as I was before,” Pedroso said. “I’ve got a lot of more options.”

The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting is a nonprofit news organization supported by foundations and individual contributions. For more information, visit fcir. org. StateImpact Florida is an educating reporting project of NPR, WUSF in Tampa and WLRN in Miami. For more information, visit http://stateimpact.npr.org.

DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20, 2012

FLORIDA

A3

More disturbing news about Florida’s youth prison Report indicates about 100 boys may have died at Dozier school in Panhandle

BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER THE MIAMI HERALD (MCT)

MIAMI — About100 boys may have died between 1900 and the 1970s at a controversial youth prison in the Florida Panhandle, including seven boys who perished after escape attempts, according to a new report that raises troubling questions about the nowshuttered Dozier School for Boys.

As state juvenile justice administrators seek to sell the Arthur G. Dozier property in rural Marianna, archaeologists and anthropologists with the University of South Florida are conducting an exhaustive archeological and historical analysis of the site in an effort to locate the burial grounds of scores of children.

In a 114-page report released Monday, researchers concluded that a minimum of 98 children died at Dozier between 1911 and 1973. The largest gravesite is on the north side of the prison camp, next to a garbage dump on what, for years, was called Dozier’s “colored” section. Though the cemetery holds 31 graves marked with PVC pipe crosses, the report said the markers did not correspond to the actual interments, and that it was likely that an additional 20 children were buried there.

Closed last year Dozier, which opened as the Florida State Reform School on Jan. 1, 1900, remained in continuous operation until June 30, 2011, when the state Department of Juvenile Justice shut it down amid a yearslong controversy over the physical and sexual abuse of children.

Operating with a permit issued by the state Division of Historical Resources, the

USF team has only until the end of January to complete its project.

In early January, USF researchers will return to Dozier’s south parcel, which housed White children and contains the prison’s administrative buildings. Because Dozier remained segregated for much of its existence, researchers believe they will find additional gravesites when they look more closely.

‘White House Boys’ Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Wansley Walters said in a statement Monday that her agency would continue to cooperate with the university research team.

“I am profoundly aware of the historical significance” of Dozier, Walters said. “One of the decisions I am most proud of is that this administration closed (it) in 2011.”

In the fall of 2008, a dozen middle-aged men from throughout the state came forward and said they were raped or mercilessly beaten — or both — at the Marianna campus. The “White House Boys,” as some of the men dubbed themselves after the squat, whitewashed cottage where they were whipped, have since spawned at least two books and a movement to extract some type of compensation from the Florida Legislature.

Men who were incarcerated there described being whipped with a metallined leather strap, sometimes until they were unconscious. Some said they were taken to the “rape room,” where, they said, officers sodomized the boys of their choosing.

Unequal treatment of Black bodies In October 2008, about a half-dozen of the men returned to Dozier. There, Department of Juvenile Justice administrators and the Dozier staff dedicated a plaque to them and planted a young crepe myrtle tree alongside the now-decrepit White House building.

EMILY MICHOT/MIAMI HERALD/MCT

A photo taken in 2008 show crosses made of metal pipes marking the graves of 32 unidentified bodies in a small, hidden graveyard near the former Florida School for Boys in Marianna.

Some of the men sobbed as they toured the interior of the cottage, where they described brutal beatings to a small gathering of reporters.

Dozier records reviewed

by USF show that more than 50 children were buried on the grounds, and the bodies of 31 were shipped elsewhere for burial.

School administrators did not record the burial locations for 22 other children.

Even in death, the Black children at Dozier received unequal treatment: African-American children were three times more likely to be buried in an unspecified location than were their White peers, the report said.

Prison records suggest administrators minimized the number of deaths that

occurred there in reports to the state — especially when it came to White children.

Biennial reports to state lawmakers early in the 20th century “often listed fewer deaths than what is listed in the school ledgers,” the report said. In a July 1926 report, for example, the school superintendent told lawmakers that four children had died in 1925 and 1926 — all of them Black.

But school ledgers showed six children had died during that time, including two White boys.

One of the boys whose death was not listed in 1926 was a child named Thomas Curry, a White boy who died of blunt trauma to the head, according to a death certificate. Records said Curry died away from the

prison campus after he escaped.

Horrific deaths Records suggest those who escaped from the North Florida prison sometimes met a violent death: Two boys who escaped died of blunt trauma, and two died of gunshot wounds to the head or chest.

Erin H. Kimmerle, an associate professor and forensic anthropologist who led the project, said it did not surprise her that some escapees were treated harshly. Decades ago, she said, rural prisoners were largely treated as a captive labor pool for local agriculture and industry, and records suggest Dozier’s children may have served a similar purpose.

said. “But before we even ask for anything, I thought it was very important that we come here to not just tell them what we do, but also show them.”

Life after earthquake Among the progress, he said: 1.2 million children in school under a tuition waiver program; 329 rebuilt schools following the devastating January 2010 earthquake; a rebuilt airport in Portau-Prince and the filling of vacancies on the country’s highest court.

“Haiti has changed a lot” because it has a government that cares, said Martelly, who fired back at his critics, saying he will complete his term.

“When I was campaigning, I told the people if nothing happens under my mandate it will still be a positive thing because my mandate will be used as a rupture between the past and the future,” Martelly said. “When you put more than a million kids in school, you take a plane today and go to Haiti, you cannot see the results. You will see the results in 30 years when you see a different type of Haitian.”

Draws protesters PATRICK FARRELL/MIAMI HERALD/MCT

Haitian President Michel Martelly, left, receives the key to the city of North Miami Beach on Monday from City Councilman Philippe Derose, center, and Miami Mayor George Vallejo.

Martelly: ‘Haiti has changed a lot’ Haitian president cites progress during forum in Miami

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES AND NADEGE GREEN THE MIAMI HERALD (MCT)

MIAMI — Haitian President Michel Martelly said Monday he plans to introduce an amendment in parliament giving mil-

lions of Haitians living in the diaspora, including Florida, the right to vote in future elections.

“Of course it will be up to the parliament to decide if it goes through,” Martelly said during a press conference Monday after an all-day invitation-only diaspora forum with members of the Haitian-American community at the North Miami Beach Library.

Martelly arrived in Miami over

the weekend after a tour of Japan.

He said he proposed the South Florida visit and the meeting with the Haitian community “to first of all thank the diaspora for their support” during his historical 2011 presidential victory and “to inform them on the progress in Haiti and finally to find a way to engage them to help us really develop Haiti.”

“I believe there is more that can be done by the diaspora,” he

North Miami Beach officials estimated that 1,500 Haitians came to hear Martelly give what his government called “A State of the Country” address at the Gwen Margolis Amphitheater.

He was joined by six government ministers, including Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. Secretary of State for Public Security Reginald Delva, presidential adviser and former Senate President Joseph Lambert, and first lady Sophia Martelly also attended.

About a block from the venue, a small group of protesters held up signs denouncing Martelly. Their major criticism was the lack of transparency over a surcharge on Haiti-bound wire transfers and phone calls that are supposed to fund Martelly’s free school initiative.

“Our message is that not ev-

Changes in state law and policy that allowed “incorrigible” children and even orphans to be sent to the reform school, and required longer sentences for inmates, suggest “that financial incentives were underlying motivating factors” for the youth prison’s operation, the report said.

In 1906, for example, a superintendent complained he lacked enough prisoners to harvest the corn crop.

Children put out to work were overseen by local labor bosses, who were given broad authority to punish the children as they saw fit, said Kimmerle.

“I do think that, at the time, it was lawful for them to shoot those who ran away,” Kimmerle said.

eryone is happy with how he is governing the country,” said protester Jose Davilmar of Fort Lauderdale. “We have a lot of questions about the tax that have not been answered. Who has control of that money? How much money is there? How is it being spent?

We need transparency.”

Martelly said $16 million has been raised since the tax was introduced in May 2011, and “we haven’t touched one penny of it.”

Tough presidency Inside the venue, others were more willing to give the president a chance, welcoming the news of his proposed constitutional change.

“We should be able to vote in Haiti even if we are naturalized U.S. citizens,” said Alkebul Amen-Ra, 60, who has lived half of his life in the United States.

The president, he said, wasn’t perfect and was more musician than politician.

Martelly has not had an easy time during his 19 months in office. His administration has been plagued by monthly protests over rising food prices and a protected electoral crisis over the installation of a permanent elections council to oversee elections.

The government also has been hit with corruption charges and scandals.

Last month, the government announced a state of emergency after Superstorm Sandy created $104 million in agriculture damage in the country and left up to 1.5 million Haitians facing hunger. Meanwhile, the growth projection was recently lowered from 8 percent to 2 percent by international economic forecasters and the United Nations independent human rights expert blasted the government for poor governance, saying despite leaders’ statement that the country is open for business Haiti still has a long way to go when it comes to rule of law.

EDITORIAL

A4

DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20, 2012

Hotels failing in minority hiring There is a missing component to the national discussion concerning how to strengthen and rebuild the American economy. It is true that high unemployment, a weak national infrastructure, the need for stronger public education, the concentration of wealth and the deficit are all challenges to the nation’s economy but being left out of the discussion is the continued economic marginalization of racial and ethnic minorities.

The American economy has always been strongest when it’s kept the middle class within reach for most Americans. But with White households holding nearly 20 times the wealth of Black or Latino households, and with rising disparities

Blacks paid lowest BEN JEALOUS TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

in unemployment, poverty, and income, the future of the middle class has never looked more uncertain.

As the country rapidly becomes majority-minority the nation’s economic wellbeing is increasingly tied to overcoming racial economic inequality.

The economic challenges that people of color face is reflected in the recently released NAACP Opportunity and Diversity Report Card which analyzes the hotel and lodging industry.

Mediocre grades among the five leading hotels we examined — Hyatt, Starwood, Wyndham, Marriott and Hilton — reveal the widespread lack of investment in minority suppliers, the over representation of people of color in the lowest paying entry level positions, the under representation in the more highly paid career track positions and finally a lack of commitment to collecting basic diversity data that could be used to strengthen inclusion efforts.

Our report shows that Black-owned businesses, which comprise 7 percent of all businesses in the U.S. Collect diversity data make up only 0.9 percent of The NAACP is calling for all vendors receipts – a trou- these corporations to colbling red flag that signals lect the diversity data al-

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: TAX CUTS

Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News

Random thoughts of a free Black mind, v. 161 “My name is Kunta Kinte” – To folks descended from Africa, names are important and meaningful, even when the names are manufactured or borrowed. (Check the attendance roll of any public school with more than a handful of Black kids for ‘manufactured’ names.) Maybe that’s the reason that when members of the DEMOCRATIC Party consistently allow Republicans to condescendingly call them the “DEMOCRAT Party,” it gets under my skin; and I’m not a Democrat!

A quick grammatical lesson. “Democrat” is a noun, as in “Mom is a Democrat.”

“Democratic” is an adjective. The “Democratic Party” is an established brand name that could be considered a proper noun.

The term “Democrat Party” is a slur used by right-wingers who utter the words with pure contempt – and Democrats don’t even respond when they are “called out of their name,” as Black folks say.

There’s an African proverb: “It’s not what you call me; it’s what I answer to.” When a Fox News anchor introduced “the Democrat senator from New York” before an interview I saw, the senator, Chuck Schumer, should have immediately stopped and corrected him.

In Black America, the refusal to correct the pronunciation of your name – man-

quick takes from #2: straight, no chaser

Charles W. Cherry II, Esq. PUBLISHER

ufactured or not – is considered a sign of personal weakness. And if Democrats won’t even stand up for their own names, how can you depend on them to stand up in the midst of “challenge and controversy,” as MLK wrote?

GOP election ‘autopsy’ – National Republicans are trying to figure out why Bro. Prez and Dems cleaned their clocks. Here’s why. Mitt Romney (bad candidate, but alternatives were worse); running an allWhite male campaign (no Latino/Hispanic/Black/female outreach); getting in grown folks’ business (gay marriage, contraception, abortion); committing fiscal malpractice (supporting unfunded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan); deficit hypocrisy (cutting human services while increasing defense funding). Need more advice, GOP? Pay me...

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.

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

W W W.FLCOURIER.COM Central Florida Communications Group, LLC, P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, FL 33646, publishes the Florida Courier on Fridays. Phone: 877-3524455, toll-free. For all sales inquiries, call 877352-4455; e-mail sales@flcourier.com.

Subscriptions to the print version are $59 per year. Mail check to P.O. Box 48857 Tampa, FL 33646, or log on to www.flcourier.com; click on ‘Subscribe’.

SUBMISSIONS POLICY SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS TO NEWS@FLCOURIER.COM. Deadline for submitting news and pictures is 5 p.m. the Monday before the Friday publication date. You may submit articles at any time.

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.

how far corporate America has to go in their supplier diversity outreach. And while people of color are 36 percent of the population, only 13 percent of the governing bodies in the hotel and lodging industry consists of people of color.

One of the most disconcerting findings of our report card is that all of the top 5 hotel and lodging corporations do not collect diversity data from their franchise properties. This means for four out of five of these leading corporations no data is collected for the majority of their individual hotels. This is unacceptable.

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

ready mandated by the government through EEO1 reports. We are also asking for planners of major events to request EEO1 reports from any individual hotel they are considering for their event so they can make diversity and inclusion part of their assessment as to which hotel is worthy of their business.

The National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners has already voiced support for this action and we will be working with our community and civil rights partners as well as local bureaus of tourism to make widespread the use of EEO1 data as an important and widely used factor for determining which hotels qualify to hold major events.

The EEO1 survey is a primary means that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission uses to advance its mission derived from the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Disparities still exist Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act focused on prohibiting racial discrimination in employment and almost 60 years later we still find great racial and ethnic disparities in business and its workforce.

We at the NAACP have always seen racial inequality as a grave threat to the country and in the next few decades if serious action isn’t taken to bridge this divide the entire nation will see the economic results of this inequality.

Benjamin Todd Jealous is the National NAACP President and CEO and this is a Special column to the NNPA from the North Dallas Gazette. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

We must stop killing of Black teens It’s December 2012, around Christmas time and there is no peace in The Middle East and the joy ain’t great in the Sunshine State.

Design, coincidence or perhaps both, somehow keeps Florida in the state, national and international news.

Most news stories are people stories. The actions, thoughts, feelings and behavior of people are what news reports are about.

Murder in Florida is the lead broadcast story and is on the front pages of newspapers far and wide.

It seems like you can come to Florida and murder a Black person any time you want to. To get away from punishment all you have to do is say that you “felt threatened.” What if everybody felt threatened? Will the law allow us all to go around and kill each other?

Racism behind killings Now, I pretty much stay in my own lane and don’t venture into unfamiliar neighborhoods but I believe that more White people threaten White people than Black teenagers. Common sense can tell you that but why are unarmed Black kids being shot down in broad daylight time after time?

Well, it is obvious that the shooters had racial motivations in mind when they decided to kill. But there’s more.

homeless more and stereotyped more than Black people?

Lucius OK, who gets dragged in Gantt the streets more, who gets called derogatory names THE GANTT REPORT more, who has more churches bombed and who gets One of the reasons that shot more by people they racists, segregationists and don’t know in broad daywhite supremacists believe light than Black people? that it is OK to shoot a Black child is because the Black No time for parents, the Black siblings, forgiveness the Black family and the No disrespect but Florida Black community are afraid Blacks should not need out to do something to stop the of state preachers to come shootings of Black youth. here and weaken our efforts The old Sambos, Uncle by calming a people that Toms, Jezebels and Aunt should be fired up! We don’t Jemimas in Black commuwant God to forgive our ennities will never do anything emies, we want God to give because they are historicalus a smooth stone or the jaw ly scared of their own shadbone of an ass and let us go ows. to work!

My Florida friends and Young Blacks rise up neighbors, if you are afraid However, young peo- to stand up for yourself, ple aren’t afraid to fight for you should not be scared to their family, for their com- stand up for Black children munity and for their cause. just like Blacks before you Young African-Americans stood up for you. should rise up and demand If the police and court systhat these unprovoked, un- tem can’t stop these shootwarranted and devious at- ings of Black teens in Floritacks on Black teens must da, Black Floridians in Florstop immediately because ida have to put a stop to the if Blacks kids are not safe no killings ourselves. kid will be safe!

Lucius Gantt’s latest Now let’s go back to book is “Beast Too: Dead “threatened” a little bit.

You tell me, who in Amer- Man Writing.” It’s availica should feel more threat- able at bookstores and onened than African-Amer- line at www.allworldconicans? Who gets charged sultants.net. Click on this more, arrested more, jailed story at www.flcourier. more, brutalized more, fired com to write your own remore, divorced more, made sponse.

Violence against women needs attention By now, it’s old news that Kasandra Perkins was murdered by Kansas City Chiefs football player Jovan Belcher, who was her boyfriend and the father of her daughter.

By now we’ve read about how great a teammate Belcher was, how dedicated to his girlfriend and daughter. We’ve read his hardscrabble story of moving from the University of Maine, hardly a football powerhouse, to a coveted slot in the NFL. Belcher has been humanized, even enshrined, as his friends have talked about him not having a violent bone in his body.

Who was Kasandra?

What do we know about Kasandra Perkins? The 22-year-old woman from Texas aspired to be a teacher and was studying at a local community college. She had a 3-month-old child, Zoey. She made friends easily and worked with other wives and girlfriends of Chiefs players. She enjoyed going out with friends. There is surely lots more to her story, but it has been scantily reported.

Levels of violence Too often, men beat and even kill women when they step outside their sphere of control. Women are beaten or killed because they didn’t cook dinner, because they raised their voice, because they chose to spend time with friends or family, because, because. This violence does not know race, class or gender, though different groups have different levels of violence. While 1.5 million women experience domestic violence annually, African American women are 35 percent more likely than White women to be battered.

This type of violence is such an epidemic that the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was passed in 1994. The act established an office in the Department of Justice works

DR. JULIANNE MALVEAUX TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM

to prevent violence, and allocated $1.6 billion to work on violence against women issues, including strengthening existing state laws and raising awareness of this issue.

Protect all women Now the law is up for reauthorization, and some Republicans are holding it up because they do not agree with protections for Native American women, immigrant women, and people in same-sex couples. We know that VAWA is effective.

Since its passage, intimate partner violence has dropped by about 60 percent, but it didn’t save Kasandra Perkins. If nothing else, her brutal murder reminds us why this act is so important.

Kasandra Perkins isn’t the only woman who has been murdered by a husband or boyfriend. According to the Department of Justice, three women are killed by spouses or partners every day.

I don’t want to hear about the tragedy of football player Jovan Belcher. I want to mourn Kasandra and the many women like her. And in her name, and in the name of others, we must all fight to get the Violence Against Women Act renewed.

Julianne Malveaux is a Washington, D.C.-based economist and writer. She is President Emerita of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20, 2012

EDITORIAL

Level of corruption overseas on steroids Most people think of corruption belonging exclusively to the Third World. Actually, corruption is everywhere. Sometimes it is rampant and sometimes it is subtle and, by definition, very hard to detect. Let me tell you about corruption that I have experienced.

First, let’s look at the United States. When I started doing advocacy work in Indiana, I made a pledge to myself to not get stuck in any funny corruption stuff. I would help businesses make new-found millions of dollars and would not accept a fee or kickback.

Free trips, cash, sex and everything else you can think of was offered to me and I rejected them all – except once. I opened some doors for a personal friend. In fact, this new opportunity became history for Black- owned business in Indiana.

Subsequent to the victory, he asked me for a ride to some destination and I obliged. As he was leaving the car he stated that he put an envelope on my back seat and I should “read” what was in it when I have time. When I opened the envelope I found 10, hundreddollar bills.

HARRY C. ALFORD NNPA COLUMNIST

get over the fact that I put those hundred dollar bills in my pocket.

I lost no sleep but resolved to never jump off that “slippery slope” again. I vowed to never tolerate such action again, even if me or my family needed the money.

Quid pro quo is a matter of business. Procurement agents who get along and do favors for major vendors find themselves with high paying corporate positions the instant they retire. You will find buyers for state and city governments laughing it up at football and basketball games. Research the seats they were sitting in and establish the owner of them.

Unfair punishment

The majority of contractual activity within the Federal Highway Administration system is believed to have some form, major or minor, of corrupt activity. The U.S. Department of Defense had the AdSlippery slope ministrator of the Office of Small That act tarnished our friend- and Disadvantaged Business (a ship but somehow I managed to Black male) selling Mentor/Proté-

A5

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: JOY RIDE

gé contracts to Black-owned firms.

The culprit finally got busted via an investigation of the chair of the House Small Business Committee (late 1990s). This activity was somehow reported to the committee and they persuaded the FBI to investigate. In the end, this guy and his assistant got a 28-year rap in a maximum federal prison – his neighbor was the infamous John Gotti.

The former Congressman Bill Jefferson got a 13-year prison rap for doing something funny with $90,000 and Nigerians. At the same time corporate giant Halliburton was busted over a half billion dollars of funny stuff with Nigerians.

They got no jail time but paid a very high fine. It’s kind of funny in this nation that when a Black commits corruption, his punishment is infinitely more severe than a White counterpart.

Now, let’s leave the U.S. and go international. Levels of corruption are evident in our nation but overseas they are on steroids.

Cost of corruption In fact, in many nations it is considered straight up business. Recently, we have had a West African consultant tell us that the way to deal with bribes and pay offs is to enter it into your budget. That

Eric Allie, Caglecartoons.com

money is a “cost of sales”.

When doing business in South America and Africa, Europeans/ Asians completely understand this game and play along with it. Please don’t think that Europe and Asia are exempt of these games themselves. We, Americans should not deal with it and ride out this era of corruption until, one day, straight up business will be the norm and not the exception.

The fact is that the cost of these practices will eventually be reflected in the price of the product or services being provided. Yes, the end user – the consumer – will pay for them. How do we police this?

Corporations and government buying officers should monitor the lifestyles and net worth of their

employees and officials. The Defense guy I mentioned above gave himself away by buying a fancy car, taking lavish vacations, wearing expensive jewelry and, as they found out in the investigation, he had a bank account in the nation of Lichtenstein.

Imagine, a brother from D.C. having a bank account in this enclave of central Europe. It is time for corruption to end.

Harry Alford is the co-founder, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Website: www.nationalbcc.org. Email: halford@nationalbcc.org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Word and numbers game played in fiscal showdown It should be embarrassing enough that President Obama and House Republicans postponed making tough fiscal decisions by kicking the can down the road to New Year’s Day – when certain automatic budget cuts will go into effect unless they act to avoid what is called a fiscal cliff.

Instead of moving quickly to solve their self-created problems, both sides continue to misrepresent basic facts.

For example, House Speaker John Boehner [D-Ohio] has criticized the Obama administration for refusing to give list of specific cuts. He said the administration “put $400 billion worth of unspecified cuts that they’d be willing to talk about.”

FactCheck.org stated flatly: “Boehner is wrong.” It explained, “The president’s deficit-reduction plan, as proposed to Congress in September 2011, itemizes ‘nearly $580 billion in cuts and reforms to mandatory programs, of which $320 billion is savings from Federal health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.’

George E. Curry NNPA COLUMNIST

Those proposals are also listed in the president’s fiscal 2013 budget proposal in a section, beginning on page 23, titled ‘Cutting Waste, Reducing the Deficit.’

“The Medicare proposals, for example, are a mix of reduced payments to certain providers, including teaching hospitals and post-acute care facilities – as well as the higher premiums and new fees for certain beneficiaries…”

GOP math FactCheck.org, an organization that holds public officials accountable, also noted that Republicans are running a numbers game.

“In a Dec. 3 letter to the president outlining the GOP counterproposal for deficit reduction, Boehner and other GOP leaders

said there is ‘four times as much tax revenue as spending cuts’ in the president’s proposal,” the organization recalled.

“The GOP math works like this: Obama’s proposal includes $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue and roughly $400 billion in spending cuts. In an email to us, Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said that ‘when Sec. Geithner made his proposal to us, the number he used – repeatedly – was $400 billion.’ However, as we mentioned earlier, on several Sunday talk shows, Geithner said the total savings comes to $600 billion over 10 years.”

Both Republicans and Democrats are playing being selective in their choice of words.

“In part, the discrepancy is a matter of language. Republicans are saying ‘spending cuts’ while Democrats are saying ‘savings,’ ‘reforms’ and ‘spending cuts.’ But the more substantial difference between the Democrats’ and Republicans’ spending cuts-to-tax hike ratios is that Republicans do not count the $1 trillion in discre-

To whom we give money, we give power plu·toc·ra·cy/plootäkrese/ • n. (pl. -cies) an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth. Government by the wealthy.

Before the 2012 presidential campaign, how many of us were familiar with the names Charles, David or William Koch; Sheldon Adelson, Richard DeVos, Alice Walton, Harold Simmons, Foster Friess, Bob Perry, Frank Vandersloot, Bill or Richard Marriott; John Schnatter or any of the other wealthiest Republican donors?

Most of us know the connection between John Schnatter and Papa John’s Pizza; few of us know the others and what they mean to our future. This lack of knowledge could be costly to us.

United by wealth These individuals have pursued varied careers, but are united by their condition of great wealth. They’re also united with the common purpose of creating a political environment that will protect their great wealth and shape public and political opinion regarding social issues they wish to promote.

Common to their value system is the belief that their money and socio-economic position give them the right and authority to greater influence over shaping the direction of the country for us all.

While most of us were indignant at the 47 percent comments of Mitt Romney,

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

the “makers vs. takers” comments of Paul Ryan or the general disdain of the Republican Party for “the common person,” similar sentiments were reflected in the words and deeds of these wealthy Republican donors.

The words of Foster Friess, which gave public voice to the Republican “War on Women,” was a glaring example. In an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Friess offered a Republican alternative to health insurance provided “birth control.” He said that, in his day, women held aspirin between their knees to prevent pregnancy!

As a spokesperson and campaign donor of over $1 million, he demonstrated his goal of defining the Republican agenda in words and deeds.

Friendship donations There are reasons of friendship that motivate some of the large donations made by individuals on my list. For example, there is a greater likelihood that donations of the Marriott brothers to the Romney campaign were based on friendship rather than another motivation.

We can’t, however, discount the fact that, for these men, friendship and finan-

cial interest are held in common. The Marriott brothers are reported to have spent $1.5 million in campaign donations.

On the other hand, the multi-million dollar donations of billionaire casino magnate, Sheldon Adelson, were nearly triple the previous highest amount donated by an individual.

In early disclosures filed with the FEC, Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp, and his wife contributed millions of dollars, mostly to Super PACs backing Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and party peers running for seats in the Senate and House.

More scrutiny Giving greater scrutiny to the motives of some of the wealthy attempting to reshape the U.S. into their own image, we can’t discount more insidious motives for their generosity.

A thorough discussion of their motives cannot be accomplished in a single column. In future columns, I will revisit the motives and impact of these U.S. plutocrats. As for us, never forget that to whom we give our money, we also give our power—so spend it wisely.

Dr. E. Faye Williams is Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, www.nationalcongressbw.org. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

tionary spending cuts agreed to in the Budget Control Act of 2011,” FactCheck.org states.

“The White House argues those are part of the ongoing negotiations to resolve a deficit crisis. Nor does the GOP include the $800 billion ‘saved’ from ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

What public wants Amid the word and numbers games, the public is clear about what should be done, even if Washington isn’t.

A Gallup poll in November found 45 percent of Americans now say they favor reducing the federal budget deficit with an equal balance of tax increases and spending cuts, up from 32 percent last year.

At the same time, the percentage favoring an emphasis on spending cuts is now 40 percent down from 50 percent last year, while the percentage in favor of reducing the deficit primarily through tax increases is un-

changed at 11 percent.

A Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll conducted Nov. 29-Dec. 2 found that a majority of Americans –53 percent – would blame Republicans in Congress if Washington fails to reach a deal in deficit talks to avoid the fiscal cliff.

The survey found that only 27 percent would fault President Obama would if negotiations between the executive and legislative branches of government fail, 12 percent would split the blame equally between the two sides and 2 percent have no opinion.

Like Ronald Regan, this could be Obama’s “make my day” moment.

George E. Curry is editorin-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA.). Curry can be reached through at www.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at www.twitter. com/currygeorge. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Nothing ‘balanced’ about cuts for vulnerable Americans The pressure is growing in the face-off over the so-called “fiscal cliff” in Washington.

The president put his plan on the table.

Republican Speaker John Boehner rejected it out of hand. Republicans refused to make a counteroffer.

They are apparently waiting for the president to make another offer. Obama made that mistake before and got nothing in return. He is not likely to make the same mistake again.

Republicans are demanding that to get any increase in revenue to bring down deficits, Democrats have to agree to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Balanced agreement Why is it “balanced” to cut programs for the most vulnerable Americans in exchange for closing some loopholes in the tax code? (Republicans still object to raising tax rates on the rich. They might agree to more revenue, but only by going after tax deductions).

We have the most extreme inequality since the Gilded Age. The richest 1 percent have as much wealth as 90 percent of Americans. Top tax rates have been coming down since Reagan.

On the other hand, Social Security is the nation’s most successful poverty program. It puts a floor under seniors at the end of a long life of work that ensures they can live out their days with a minimum of security. Medicaid helps the poor, the disabled and most of us in the last months of life.

Older workers will find it extremely expensive to get health care at 65 and 66.

These are cuts that will endanger lives, not whether a rich person can afford a bigger boat or a larger beach house.

Ham, egg justice This is a classic case of what we used to call “ham-and-egg justice.” The chicken and the sow are asked to contribute to breakfast. The hen lays an egg and keeps

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

on moving. But the sow is forced to give up a leg. That isn’t balanced, and it isn’t just.

Underneath these high-profile issues are real concerns that are getting too little attention.

First, pay attention to what is not on the table. More than 20 million people are still in need of full-time work. The president has asked for $50 billion for an infrastructure bank to help rebuild America.

Republicans treat this as a joke.

Second, pay attention to what the lobbies are pushing in the back rooms. For example, a group of CEOs has joined in a campaign to “Fix the Debt.”

Shameless sacrifice They say they want to reduce deficits and call for more revenue (but not higher top-tax rates) and cuts in Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. But they are also lobbying in the back rooms to slip in a new tax break for multinationals that would exempt all profits reported abroad from U.S. taxes.

This would be a multibillion-dollar bonanza for companies, encouraging them to move jobs or report profits abroad. It is a simple outrage that at the same time they are asking the most vulnerable seniors to “share in the sacrifice,” they are angling to get the biggest companies in the world another tax loophole.

That isn’t shared sacrifice; that’s just shameless.

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.

FLORIDA

TOj A6

DECEMBER 14 – DECEMBER 20, 2012

Lakeland mayor elected president of Florida organization SPECIAL TO THE COURIER

Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields has been elected president of the Florida League of Mayors for the 2012-13 term. Fields, who was first elected to the Lakeland City Commission in 1992, became mayor in 2010. (He is Lakeland’s first Black mayor.)

“I’m proud to serve as president of the Florida League of Mayors,” Fields said. “City governments are the government closest to the people. Mayors are keenly aware of the challenges our communities and state face and are uniquely Gow positioned Fields to help craft real solutions and effectively implement them as a full partner with the State of Florida.”

The Florida League of Mayors also elected new members to its 21-member Board of Directors, responsible for governing the organization. The new members of the Board are Mayor Adam Berringer, City of New Smyrna Beach; Mayor Randall Henderson, City of Fort Myers; and Mayor Rocky Randels, City of Cape Canaveral.

USF graduate The Florida League of Mayors is a leadership organization developed by

Tallahassee best place for young workers

BY MIKE SCHNEIDER ASSOCIATED PRESS

The best place for younger workers to find jobs in Florida is in the Tallahassee-area ZIP code of 32312, where the unemployment rate for residents between ages 25 and 44 was 1.1 percent, according to U.S. Census data released last week.

The worst among ZIP codes with at least 20,000 residents was in the Jacksonville ZIP code of 32209, according to the data.

The best place for Black workers was the Hialeah ZIP code of 33018, where the unemployment rate for African-American residents last year was just 0.4 percent. Black residents, though, make up only 2.8 percent of the population; by comparison, 15.8 percent of residents statewide are Black.

mayors for mayors. The league provides members with the ability to explore areas of mutual concern and opportunity. For more information, visit the Florida League of Mayors web-

site at www.floridamayors. org.

Fields is a small-business owner and owns Fields & Company, Inc. He sits as a member of a number of organizations including the

Lakeland Area Mass Transit District Board, Lakeland Vision, the Transportation Planning Organization and the Polk Transit Authority Board.

He serves on the Board of

Directors of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, the Lakeland Economic Development Council and the Tampa Bay Partnership, and is a member of the MyRegion.org Region-

al Board of Advisors.

Fields graduated from the University of South Florida and holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University.

Extra shopping hours!

Fri, dec. 14: 8am-11pm • Sat, dec. 15: 7am-11pm HOURS MAY VARY BY STORE. VISIT MACYS.COM AND CLICK ON STORES FOR LOCAL INFORMATION

don’t MiSS SPectacUlar morning spECiaLs 8am-1Pm Fri, dec. 14 & 7am-1Pm Sat, dec. 15

super saturday Preview day today!

USe tHe $1o off† pass fri ‘tiL 1pm or sat ‘tiL 1pm

takE an Extra 2o% or 15% off Fri-Mon wHen yoU

or

†

USe yoUr Macy’S card or PaSS wOw! pass

wOw! $1o oFF

all Sale & clearance aPParel and Select HoMe iteMS Fri ‘til 1PM or Sat ‘til 1PM

extra SavingS on all Sale & clearance aPParel (excePt SPecialS & SUPer bUyS)

yoUr PUrcHaSe oF $25 or More.

Select Sale & clearance aPParel For HiM, Her & kidS, PlUS Fine & FaSHion jewelry Extra 15% off aLL saLE & CLEaranCE

1o oFF

$

valid 12/14 ‘til 1PM or 12/15/12 ‘til 1PM. liMit one Per cUStoMer. cannot be USed on SPecialS or SUPer bUyS Excludes: Everyday Values (EDV), specials, super buys, furniture, mattresses, floor coverings, rugs, electrics/electronics, cosmetics/fragrances, gift cards, jewelry trunk shows, previous purchases, special orders, selected licensed depts., special purchases, services, macys.com.

Cannot be combined with any savings pass/coupon, extra discount or credit offer, except opening a new Macy’s account. Dollar savings are allocated as discounts off each eligible item, as shown on receipt. When you return an item, you forfeit the savings allocated to that item. This coupon has no cash value and may not be redeemed for cash, used to purchase gift cards or applied as payment or credit to your account. Purchase must be $25 or more, exclusive of tax and delivery fees.

extra 2o

%

oFF

watcHeS and Select HoMe iteMS Excludes: Everyday Values (EDV), specials, super buys, furniture, mattresses, floor coverings, rugs, electrics/electronics, cosmetics/fragrances, gift cards, jewelry trunk shows, previous purchases, special orders, selected licensed depts., special purchases, services, macys.com. Cannot be combined with any savings pass/ coupon, extra discount or credit offer except opening a new Macy’s account.

EXTRA SAVINGS % APPLIED TO REDUCED PRICES.

OR TExT “CpN” TO MACYS (62297) vaLid 12/14-12/17/2012

Naples the worst The place with the highest unemployment rate for Black residents was the 34667 ZIP code in Hudson, north of Tampa, although African-Americans make up less than 1 percent of residents there.

The best place for workers with a college education was the 32205 ZIP code in Jacksonville, where more than a third of residents are in professional or management jobs, according to the Census’ American Community Survey five-year estimates.

The worst was the 34112 ZIP code in Naples, which has a higher share of retirees than the rest of the state.

†ExCLUSIONS AppLY; SEE SAVINgS pASSES

FREE ONLINE SHIppINg EVERY DAY + ExTRA 2O% OR 15% OFF!

Free shipping with $99 purchase Use promo code: gift for extra savings; offer valid 12/13-12/17/2012.

Exclusions apply; see macys.com for details.

SuPer Saturday SaLe PrICeS IN eFFeCt 12/14-12/15/2012. merCHaNdISe WILL Be ON SaLe at tHeSe aNd OtHer SaLe PrICeS NOW tHrOuGH 1/1/13, eXCePt aS NOted.

Macy’s Holiday Gift card Always the perfect fit. Always the perfect gift. Valid at every Macy’s across America and at macys.com. Available in store, online or call 1-800-45MACYS. macys.com/believe

HEALTH FOOD || HEALTH TRAVEL | |MONEY SCIENCE | BOOKS | MOVIES | TV | AUTOS LIFE | FAITH | EVENTS | CLASSIFIEDS | ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | FOOD December 14 - December 20, 2012 How to

IFE/FAITH

pop up some holiday fun See page B4

SHARING BLACK LIFE, STATEWIDE

SUN COAST / TAMPA BAY

Gospel duo pondering solo careers See page B5

|

SECTION

www.flcourier.com

B

Major role as minority leader

Florida Senator Chris Smith makes history this year as state’s top elected Democrat

Former State Sen. Nan Rich applauds as Smith is unanimously elected Democratic minority leader.

BY STARLA VAUGHNS CHERIN SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

F

our years ago, Democrat Christopher “Chris’’ Smith of Fort Lauderdale was elected to the Florida Senate, one of a small number of African-Americans in Florida’s most exclusive legislative body. In just a few years, he has moved up the ranks due to his planning, patience and preparation.

This year, Smith was elected unanimously by Democrats in the Florida Senate as the Senate “minority leader” – because the Democrats are the “minority” party, since Florida Republicans control the Senate.

Political duo Smith is one-half of a historical political duo in the Florida Legislature’s 2012-2014 legislative term.

State Rep. Perry Thurston, also of Broward County, is the Democratic leader of the Florida House of Representatives.

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, and the first time either party’s top legislative leaders have all been educated at historically Black colleges or universities – Smith at Johnson C. Smith University and Thurston at Morehouse College, respectively.

(If Democrats controlled the Florida Legislature, Smith would have been the first African-American Senate president and Thurston would have been the first African-American House speaker in Florida history.)

Both Smith and Thurston are lawyers.

State Senators Oscar Braynon II, Arthenia Joyner and Audrey Gibson pose with Smith immediately after he assumed leadership of Senate Democrats.

Coach and mentor

SULE JOHNSON AND CHARLES W. CHERRY II / FLORIDA COURIER

Members of Chris Smith’s immediate and extended family attended the historic occasion.

Jobs, crime Smith moved up through the ranks of the Senate after winning a seat for District 31 in 2008. He cut his teeth in the Florida House from 1998 to 2006, where he was the Democratic leader from 2004-2006.

Over the years, he sponsored legislation such as the “Jim King Keep Florida Working” Act in 2011. It prohibits state agencies from denying an application for a license, permit, certificate or employment based solely on a person’s lack of civil rights.

This year, Smith took on Florida Gov. Rick Scott and urged him to review the state’s controversial “stand your ground” self-defense law that George Zimmerman is using to defend killing Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager, in Sanford.

Gearing up for the upcoming session, Smith refiled his “American Jobs” legislation this month. The bill requires that all state contracts worth at least $35,000 that use call-center services must use services staffed by persons located

(A “whip” makes sure that the party votes together on various issues.)

Deeming the Caucus as “the conscience of the Capitol,” Smith adds, “With an unemployment rate that continues to remain stubbornly high, job creation and economic development will remain top priorities. So will criminal justice and elections reform.”

He adds, “There is no lack of talent in the Florida Senate to conquer these issues once policy takes precedence over partisanship. And I believe those lessons were driven home earlier this year when moderate Republicans joined united Democrats in the Senate to defeat legislation that was all about partisanship over policy.”

within the United States. Subcontractors are included in the proposed law.

“American tax dollars, along with Floridians’ tax dollars, should go to rebuild our own economies – not China’s or India’s or some other foreign countries,” Smith said after filing the bill. “This is an effective way to put the power of our money to work creating American jobs on American soil.”

Smith introduced a similar jobs bill last year that passed on the Senate floor with strong bipartisan support.

‘Time to work’ As Senate minority leader, one of his duties is to corral bipartisan support for important Democratic legislation and to be the voice for Democratic legislative priorities in the 2012-2014 term.

Smith’s legislative priorities include economic development and jobs, education, insurance and election reform and Florida’s implementation

of the federal Patient Protect and Affordable Care Act popularly known as “Obamacare.”

About 3,000 bills are expected to be introduced in the Senate; approximately 10 percent may actually be approved.

“The campaign is over; it’s time to work,” Smith said.

Tea Party drama During last week’s Senate committee hearings in Tallahassee on Obamacare, Smith faced loud opposition from Tea Party members from across Florida who attended the sessions. Smith noted the bipartisan group of senators discussing the upcoming legislation held to their bipartisanship.

“In the audience of the special select committee to implement Obamacare was a cadre of opponents, primarily Tea Party members, who felt compelled to boo and hiss at senators with no agenda other than to carry out their constitutional obligations in service to the people of Florida. The commit-

tee, by the way, consisted of a broad spectrum of senators all appointed by Senate President Don Gaetz, a conservative Republican, and no fan of the new health care law,” Smith explained “Despite the disruptions and to their credit, committee members – many of whom I know had also opposed Obamacare – held to the bipartisanship promised by President Gaetz...they, too, recognized the duty inherent in the oath of office they each took last month and the mission with which they were now tasked.”

Legislative priorities Smith and his Democratic team will play a critical role during the upcoming legislative sessions. Additional members of the leadership team elected last month include Caucus Whip Oscar Braynon of Miami Gardens, Deputy Whip Darren Soto of Orlando, Policy Chair Bill Montford of Tallahassee.

Smith’s legislative committee experience includes banking and insurance, criminal justice, criminal and civil justice appropriations, communication, energy and public utilities, transportation/tourism, economic development, appropriations, and a select committee on protecting Florida’s children. He currently is vice chair of the Criminal Justice and Rules Committees.

Raised in Broward County, Smith received his bachelor’s degree from Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina.

He then went to Florida State University’s College of Law and worked for a private firm after graduating.

His leadership abilities started in Fort Lauderdale in his community and church. Growing up in Fort Lauderdale and playing at Carter Park in a predominantly Black neighborhood, he gives back as a football coach, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity member, NAACP Youth mentor, community leader, and family man.

He is married to Desorae Giles-Smith and has two children, Christopher and Christian.

Supports youth sports As an attorney, his interest in criminal justice extends to understanding the importance of sports and enrichment activities that has help youth stay focused on success.

At one time, Little League teams in Central Broward County had no annual comprehensive championship game.

In 2003, Smith started the annual Chris Smith All-Star Football Classic held at Dillard High School. Since then, the Chris Smith Classic has expanded to the Lauderhill Sports Complex.

T

CALENDAR

B2

DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20, 2012

TOJ

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR

SINBAD

Funny man Sinbad will perform at the Hollywood Hard Rock Live Jan. 13 for a 7 p.m. show.

Ocoee: The City of Ocoee’s historic Withers-Maguire House will host Jolly Old Saint Nicholas Dec. 21 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at 16 East Oakland Ave., next to Bill Breeze Park. Santa’s visit will be held during the City’s Food Truck and Movie in the Park events where residents can grab a bite to eat and check out the movie “Arthur Christmas.’’

More information: 407-9053180, 407-877-5803 or www.ocoee.org.

BERES HAMMOND

Beres Hammond will be at Hollywood Hard Rock Live Dec. 14 for an 8 p.m. show.

Tampa: Champions for Children (formerly Child Abuse Council) will host its annual Holiday Gift Store at 3108 W. Azeele St. Volunteers are needed to help client parents pick out toys or wrapping on Dec. 17-20.

More information: 813-6734646, ext. 1113 or jduchene@cfctb.org.

Tampa: A meeting on the future of West Tampa to include the redevelopment of North Boulevard Homes, the Main Street Business District, the West River Front Project and the Amory Project will be held at 11 a.m. on Dec. 15 at the West Tampa Library, 2312 W. Union St. More information: 813-956-4360.

Tampa: The American Brain Tumor Association hosts its inaugural Breakthrough for Brain Tumors Tampa 5K Run & Walk on Feb. 9 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Proceeds from the event support the ABTA’s support services and programs for brain tumor patients and their families and vital funding of brain tumor research. More information or registration: www.breakthroughforbraintumors.

Tampa: The National Association of Black Accountants Tampa chapter is hosting a toy drive.

Donations can be dropped off at 3108 W. Azeele St. More information: Adunni Browne-Marke, adunnibm@ yahoo.com.

Orlando: Comedian Bruce Bruce joins Sheryl Underwood and Tony Rock at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre on Feb. 1 for an 8 p.m. show.

St. Petersburg: Artz4Life presents the 15th annual “Chocolate Nutcracker’’ Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. and

ROCKAPELLA

Singing sensation group Rockapella is hosting a Rockapella Holiday at the Tampa Theatre Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m. at the Progress Energy Center for the Arts Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. Tickets range from $17-$37.

Tampa: The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus will be at the Tampa Bay Times Forum Jan. 2-Jan. 6 for various show times. More information: www.ringling.com.

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.

St. Petersburg: First Fridays are held in downtown St. Petersburg at 250 Central Ave. between Second and Third Avenues from 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

More information: 727-3933597.

Miami: Santa’s Enchanted

Forest, featuring rides, lights, food and entertainment, takes place through Jan. 5. Address: 7900 Bird Road. More information: 305-559-9689.

Miami: Celebrate Kwanzaa with stories and more Dec 26 at 7 p.m. at South Dade Regional in Miami, 10750 SW 211th St. Hollywood: Antonio Carmona will be live in concert at the Artspark at Young Circle in Downtown Hollywood Dec. 16 at 6 p.m.

Free. More information: visithollywoodfl.org.

Hollywood: Christmas near the beach is a variety show with singers, dancers, musicians, and performance artists, all celebrating the Christmas Spirit at the ARtspark at Young Circle in Downtown Hollywood on Dec. 15, 5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

MiamiJazzSociety.com.

Miami: The Miami Jazz Society presents a free weekly film series and a free monthly jazz series at the Miami Tower, 100 SE Second St., in downtown Miami. A schedule is online at www.miamijazzsociety. com. More information: Keith Clarke, 305-684-4564.

Fort Lauderdale: Live jazz, blues, pop and everything in between along Hollywood’s signature 2.5 mile

Wash your hands often.

2

Stay warm.

3

Manage stress.

4

Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps you can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Wash your hands with soap and clean running water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based product.

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

Hollywood: Gladys Knight

‘‘

will perform at Hard Rock Hollywood Live Dec. 28 and 29 for nightly shows at 8 p.m.

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

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

Honest an d

hilarious.

‘‘ ‘‘

Drew McW eeny,

’’

Judd Apat best film y ow’s et!

Miami: 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. Free.

Scott Foun das,

There are

’’

laughs you so many ’ll miss other laugh s.

Holiday Health and Safety Tips 1

Broadwalk is every Friday of every month. More information: 954-924-2980.

Germain Lussier,

The holidays are a time to celebrate, give thanks, and reflect. They are also a time to pay special attention to your health. Give the gift of health and safety to yourself and others by following these holiday tips.

’’

Cold temperatures can cause serious health problems, especially in infants and older adults. Stay dry, and dress warmly in several layers of loose-fitting, tightly woven clothing. Check on children, the elderly and pets.

The holidays don’t need to take a toll on your health. Keep a check on over-commitment and over-spending.

Balance work, home, and play. Get support from family and friends. Keep a relaxed and positive outlook. Get enough sleep.

Travel safely.

Whether you’re traveling across town or around the world, help ensure your trip is safe. Don’t drink and drive, and don’t let someone else drink and drive. Wear a seat belt every time you drive or ride in a motor vehicle. Always buckle your child in the car using a child safety seat, booster seat, or seat belt according to his/ her height, weight, and age. Get vaccinations if traveling out of the country.

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS AN JON BRION PRODUCBYEDJUDD APAPATATOW PRODUCTION A JUDD APATOW FILM PAUL RUDD LE OW CLAYTON TOWNSEND BA RRY MENDEL BASED ONSLCHCRIEAREATMACANEDTERNS “THIS IS 40” JOHNWRLIITTTHGOW MEGAN FOX AND ALBE

BY JUDD AP RT BROOKS EN AND A UNIVERSAL PICTUREATOW DIRECTED BY JUDD APATOW

MUSIC BY

SOUNDTRACK ALB CAPITOL RECORDUM ON S

© 2012

UNIVERS

AL STUD IOS

STARTS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21 CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES

OJ

DECEMBER 14 – DECEMBER 20, 2012

Consider these options for a Christmas tree that lasts well after New Year’s

HOLIDAYS

B3

By Neil Sperry McClatchy Newspapers

Many families like the option of buying a living tree from the nursery for their Christmas tree, so they can plant it into the landscape instead of sending it off after the holidays. But that might not be a good idea, depending on the species of tree, among other things.

You see, just because a tree has roots and seems to be growing well at a nursery doesn’t guarantee its long-term success in your region. Let’s examine some facts.

Living Christmas trees, depending on the species, often grow to be full-size evergreen trees — 30 to 40 feet tall and almost as wide. Before you buy a tree based on how it’s going to look in your home, think, too, about how it’s going to look in your landscape.

If it’s not a match for both of those places, it’s not a match as your living Christmas tree.

University research has shown that living Christmas trees’ rate of survival after planting is inversely proportionate to the number of days a tree stays indoors. Ideally, you’ll not have it inside more than 10 or 12 days.

Warm, dry and dark indoor conditions just don’t bode well for evergreens. Keep it as cool as you can (away from hot drafts, the fireplace, etc.) and moist. Buy it early if you need to, but keep it in the patio “staging area,” awaiting its trip indoors. After the holiday, keep an eye on the weather, and when you can see three or four days of nonextreme weather coming up, get it planted and watered. It will have become acclimated to the warmth, so you don’t want to set it out when temperatures are forecast to drop into the 20s.

WHAT TYPES ARE BEST? • Hollies. Nellie R. Stevens, Willowleaf (zones 6 to 8) and Oakland (*zones 6 to 9) hollies trained in pyramidal form are the most dependable. Of all the types, Oakland hollies are the most commonly found trained in Christmas-tree size and shape. Note your soil type and climate as well. Savannah (zones 6 to 9), Foster (zones 6 to 9), East Palatka (zones 7 to 9) and all American holly hybrids (zones vary) need acidic soils and high humidity.

• Arizona cypress (zones 7 to 9). We’ve grown this soft-textured Southwestern native for decades here in Texas, and through that time, it has almost gone overlooked as a good tree for use at this season. Buy one of the grafted “blue” types for the best color. It must have good drainage and ample room (35 feet tall and 30 feet wide).

• Eastern red cedar (zones 2 to 9) and other junipers.

Know the type’s mature size before you buy it. Make sure you have the space it will require. Your nurseryman can advise you.

THREE SPECIAL TYPES • Trimmed rosemary (zones 7 to 10). This wonderful herb, right, grows quite well in many conditions. You’ll find the plants sold, perhaps even pre-decorated with bows and balls, as trimmed little tabletop trees. They’re great plants, and they can certainly be set out into herb beds in the landscape, but it’s difficult to maintain that shape. If you choose to buy one, plant it into the landscape after the holidays and let it grow on its own.

• Norfolk Island pine (zones 10, 11). This is a fabulous tabletop Christmas tree, with its gracefully arching branches and its soft-textured needles. If you have really bright light, you can even grow it as a potted tropical — for a while. What most of us were horrified to learn, after growing these beauties for several years, is that their mature height in nature is 50 or 60 feet or taller. They’re huge JAMES F. trees! And, since they’re QUINN/ rigidly symmetrical, there CHICAGO TRIBUNE/mct is nothing you can do to keep them pruned back. They won’t tolerate freezing weath- This fresh er, either. So, if you opt for one, know going in that it will break rosemary bush your heart at some point when shaped into a holiday tree, you’re forced to discard it.

• Alberta spruce (zones 3 to brings scent and 7). This dwarf conifer makes substance to the a wonderful tabletop tree, but it won’t tolerate weather ex- kitchen. You can tremes — heat or cold. Use it find a similar like you would a long-last- version, 20 to 28 ing flower arrangement. inches tall, for When it begins to wither, $78.95 from Jackallow yourself the liberson & Perkins. ty of discarding it.

TREES WITH TROUBLES • Eldarica (also referred to as Afghan or Mondell) pines (zones 6 to 10) were introduced into the United States landscaping industry 35 years ago. They made sense: They were native to arid areas of Afghanistan, so they had to be tolerant of drought. But they’ve cropped up with disease issues we didn’t anticipate, and they can’t handle waterlogged soils. They’re not good choices for dry areas that get deluged at times.

• Colorado blue spruces (zones 2 to 7). There’s a reason they’re named for that mountainous state, where they can thrive at 8,000 feet and 80-degree summer days. They’ll live for a while in hotter regions, but they won’t be happy, and neither will you.

• Leyland cypress (zones 6 to 10). We all loved it when they were first planted into landscapes. However, Seiridium canker has devastated the once-lovely conifer. They’ve been toasted (literally), and there is no control.

• According to the Arbor Day Foundation, plant hardiness zones divide the United States and Canada into 11 areas, based on 10-degree differences in the average annual minimum temperature. By knowing what zone you’re in, you can find a tree or perennial that can survive in your area. To find your zone, check out www.arborday.org/treeinfo/zonelookup.cfm.

Ron T. Ennis/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT

TOj B4

FOOD

toj

december 14 – DECEMBER 20, 2012 FROM Family Features

This year, pop up some holiday fun by making these clever — and delicious — popcorn treats. With these recipes it’s easy to create edible décor, gifts for friends and neighbors, and munchable snacks for the whole family. You can find more creative holiday recipes at www.popcorn.org.

Popcorn Trio Yield: Varies Cheesy Popcorn 6 cups popped popcorn 1 tablespoon melted butter, optional 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast or brewer’s yeast (found at health food stores) 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, optional Caramel Popcorn 6 cups popped popcorn 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon light or dark corn syrup 1 tablespoon water 2 tablespoons butter 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract Plain Popcorn Cover bottom of 3 to 4-quart pan with thin layer of vegetable oil.

Place 3 kernels of popcorn in pan; cover with a loose lid that allows steam to escape, and heat.

When kernels pop, pour in enough popcorn to cover bottom of pan, one kernel deep; cover pan and shake to evenly spread oil.

Shake as popcorn continues to pop.

When popping begins to slow to a few seconds apart, remove pan from stovetop. The heated oil will still pop remaining kernels.

Sprinkle lightly with popcorn salt, if desired, and store in an airtight container.

Cheesy Popcorn Follow instructions for making Plain Popcorn.

When you remove popcorn from heat, transfer popcorn to serving bowl. Pour butter over popcorn and toss. Sprinkle yeast and curry powder, if desired, over popcorn and toss to distribute evenly.

Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

Caramel Popcorn Line large baking sheet with lightly buttered foil.

In medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and water and bring to a boil.

Cook syrup over medium heat, without stirring, until amber in color; about 6 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter, salt and vanilla until blended.

Stir in popcorn until coated. Spread caramel corn in a single layer onto but­tered foil.

Allow to cool before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container until serving time.

Holiday Popcorn Snowman Yield: 10 balls, 5 snowmen (2 balls each) 1 1-pound package large marshmallows 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 10 cups popped popcorn Decorations: sprinkles, licorice, gum drops, cinnamon candies, cookies, etc.

Melt marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Let stand for 5 minutes.

Pour over popcorn and stir.

Butter hands well and form popcorn into balls.

Decorate as desired.

Festive Popcorn Trees Yield: 10 trees 10 cups air-popped popcorn 1 10-ounce bag miniature marshmallows 2 tablespoons butter 1teaspoon vanilla extract Decorating sugar (green, blue)* 1 tube of white frosting (with decorating tip) Assorted small colorful candies, such as sprinkles and miniature silver dragées Place popcorn in large bowl.

Place marshmallows and butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth.

Remove from heat.

Stir in vanilla extract.

Pour mixture over popcorn in bowl. Toss well to coat popcorn evenly.

Line baking sheet with foil.

Spray hands with nonstick cooking spray, then scoop up about 1 cup of popcorn mixture.

Shape mixture into a cone shape, keeping the base flat. This forms the tree.

Sprinkle tree with decorating sugar; place tree on baking sheet. Make the rest of the trees.

Pipe frosting on trees to make a gar­land, then decorate them with colorful candies.

Serving suggestion: Place each tree on a sugar or gingerbread cookie, and dec­orate your serving tray with shredded coconut to resemble snow.

Notes: It’s important that this recipe starts with unflavored white popcorn for best color and flavor. *Make your own colored sugar by ad­ding food coloring to sugar, stirring in a bowl or shaking vigorously in a sealed container. Add more food coloring for more intense tones.

Holiday Wreath Popcorn Treats Yield: 8 5-inch wreaths 3 quarts popped popcorn 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or margarine 3 cups miniature marshmallows 3 tablespoons (1/2 of a 3-ounce box) lime gelatin dessert mix Decorations: small red candies, jellybeans, red fruit leather, etc.

Spray large mixing bowl lightly with cooking spray and place popcorn inside.

In medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat.

Stir in marshmallows and gel­atin dessert powder until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour over popcorn and mix well until coated.

Spray hands with cooking spray and press firmly to form into 9-inch logs and then bend to form wreaths.

Place wreaths on wax paper. Press candy decorations onto wreath to decorate. Add a ribbon cut from fruit leather.

Serve immediately, or wrap individually in plastic wrap for storage.

Gingersnap Popcorn Snack Mix Yield: 2 quarts 2 quarts popped popcorn Butter flavored cooking spray 1/3 cup granulated sugar substitute 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black or white pepper Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread popcorn on baking sheet and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Combine remaining ingredients in small bowl, and sprinkle evenly over popcorn.

Spray again with cooking spray and toss to coat evenly.

Bake 7 minutes and serve warm.

STOJ

DECEMBER 14 - DECEMBER 20, 2012

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA'S

finest

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Lillian Raven has become known as one of the top Black pinup models around. With a background and degree in TV and film as well as an extensive knowledge of music and entertainment from the ’50s and ’60s, she produces work that is reminiscent of pinup models of the past. In her spare time, she likes to rock out at metal concerts, work out at the gym and spend time with animals and volunteering.

Contact Lillian at: facebook.com/ LillianRavenPinup or Lillianraven13@ gmail.com.

submitted for your approval

B5

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest?

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

lillian kam

Kareem McMichael is an actor, model and recording artist. The ambitious Macon, Ga., native has been featured in many films and stage plays, including “Macbeth’’ and “The Amen Corner.’’ He plans to continue building his brand stating, “I am a man of many skills and love every skill I do. I am thankful to everyone that has taught me and encouraged me.

I have been blessed with various talents and I want to share all that I can with the world.”

Contact Kareem at: facebook.com/karmackam or karmacent@yahoo.com.

Credit: Ama Lea

Credit: Image by Carlos

LAPD apologizes to family of B.I.G. for autopsy release The Los Angeles Police Department has issued an apology to the family of The Notorious B.I.G., after it made the late rapper’s autopsy public without letting his relatives know ahead of time.

Police said the records relating to the March 1997 slaying of the rapper, whose real name was Christopher George Latore Wallace, were released prematurely on Dec. 7, “due to an administrative error,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Robbery-Homicide Division detectives had intended to notify Mr. Wallace’s family prior to releasing the report,” the LAPD said in a statement.

“Our detectives personally spoke with the Wallace family [Friday, Dec. 7] night, and apologized for not notifying them prior to the

Mary Mary thinking about solo careers EURWEB.COM

Gospel sisters Mary Mary is considering a break up. This isn’t the first time the singing siblings publicly discussed going their separate ways after 12 years of making hit records. But Erica and Tina Campbell are seriously thinking of breaking the duo up so each can go on her own way to begin solo careers, according to their interview with the Huffington Post.

“Now that we’re evolving as women, we feel like we’ve made a pretty substantial mark with Mary Mary,” said Tina. “It’s part natural. It’s part being prepared for

release” said Capt.

Billy Hayes, who heads the Robbery-Homicide Division.

“Obviously this has been a challenging case for us to solve. We hope that witnesses or Christopher other people with Wallace information will come forward and give us the clues we need to solve this case.”

New information A lawyer for the Wallace family had criticized the way the autopsy was released.

The 23-page document the LAPD unsealed last Friday revealed new information about the slaying of the Brooklyn rapper. According to the Times, police hoped it would generate new leads for the unsolved drive-by shooting that occurred as Biggie sat in an SUV on Wilshire Boulevard.

The autopsy revealed the gunshot that killed Wallace entered his right hip, cut through his colon, liver, heart and part of his lung, before coming to rest in the area of his right shoulder. He was struck by an additional three bullets, though the report revealed officials could not determine the order in which the bullets hit him.

Doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center performed emergency surgery on Wallace after the shooting, but to no avail. He was 24 at the time of his death. the next phase in life. We may just need to take some time to reassess, to pray and seek God and find out what we can individually offer to the world.”

Erica followed up, “If Mary Mary is not meant to be together… it’ll be a smooth transition into whatever the next phase is. It definitely won’t be a contentious, selfish decision. It’ll be something that our passions and what we feel our spirit is telling us to do.”

Each sister has plenty to juggle on their own with growing families and multiple roles as women, wives and mothers. However, they say family has never gotten in the way of making a career work.

“That’s not the motivation for either of us. It is 12 years – time to reassess, reevaluate, take a moment, breathe, inhale, exhale, all of that.”

POOL PHOTO BY MOLLY RILEY/POLARIS VIA ABACA PRESS/MCT

President Barack Obama shakes hands with South Korean rapper PSY, next to host Conan O’Brien (left) and performer Scotty McCreery during the “Christmas in Washington” concert at the National Building Museum in Washington on Dec. 9.

Popular rapper PSY entertains president

BY BRIAN BENNETT TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU/MCT

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and his family saw “Gangnam Style” rapper PSY perform at a charity concert on Dec. 9, days after the South Korean pop star and Internet sensation apologized for a song in 2004 that called for killing “Yankees” in Iraq.

Park Jae-sang, who performs as PSY, issued a statement on Dec. 7 saying he was “deeply sorry” after reports surfaced that he had performed a song eight years ago during protests against the war in Iraq that called for killing “Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives.”

PSY’s “Gangnam Style” music video, with its distinctive horse trot dance move, exploded in popularity after it was posted online last July, launching the obscure rapper to international stardom in five months. In November, PSY’s video surpassed Justin Bieber’s “Baby” to become the most watched video in YouTube history, with more than 900 million hits.

Regretted language Before becoming a global celebrity, PSY was active in his country’s antiwar movement, which chiefly protested the large U.S. military presence in South Korea.

At a concert in 2004, he performed “Dear American,” a song written by the South Korean rock band N.E.X.T. that calls for killing Yankees involved in torture. The rapper added, “Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers, kill them all slowly and painfully.”

PSY, 34, said he deeply regrets the “inflammatory and inappropriate language” that he used, and he said it was part of a “deeply emotional” reaction to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He has recently performed in front of U.S. service members and has praised their sacrifice.

“I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused by those words,” he wrote. “While I’m grateful for the freedom to express one’s self, I’ve learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I’m deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted.”

The concert, which was filmed to be broadcast on TNT on Dec. 21, raises money for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington.

It was the fourth time the Obama family has attended the benefit.

At the end of the performance, Obama made a brief speech to the crowd about the holiday season and the charity. He did not mention PSY. Obama called the concert “the chance to share with some very brave people. … And it gives them hope, not just through the holiday, but all year round.”

TOj B6

DECEMBER 14 – DECEMBER 20, 2012

STOJ