Daily Challenge 8-22-11

NYC FOOD STAMP SODA BAN REJECTED - PG. 2 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

THE NATION’S ONLY BLACK DAILY 35 Cents

Final

OBAMA WILL BE JUDGED IN 2012 OVER ECONOMY President Barack Obama said he the American economy, which he expects to be judged in the 2012 said was still not growing fast election over his governance of enough.

SEE PAGE 3.

NY-NJ PORT AUTHORITY OKS LOWER FARE/TOLL HIKES

Tolls on major New York City crossings and commuter sey, but increases will be smaller than first proposed by train fares will rise starting in September under a plan the agency. approved by the Port Authority of New York and New JerSEE PAGE 2.

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DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

NJ gas prices NY-NJ Port Authority OKs lower fare/toll hikes down sharply Tolls on major New York City crossings and commuter train fares will rise starting in September under a plan approved on Friday by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, but increases will be smaller than first proposed by the agency.

Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who oversee the agency that also is rebuilding the World Trade Center complex, demanded on Thursday that the bi-state agency’s board lower the fare and toll hikes it originally planned.

As a result, motorists with electronic E-Z Pass transponders will pay an extra $1.50, not the $4 hike the Port Authority had proposed in early August, which would have raised the fares to $12 from $8 in peak hours.

The toll will rise 75 cents a year each December from 2012 to 2015.

Drivers who pay in cash would be hit with a $2 penalty — plus the same increase.

The $1.75 base fare on the PATH train that links New Jersey and Manhattan will rise 25 cents a year for four years. The Port Authority had proposed hiking it by $1.

“We recognize the proposed increases come at a time when other economic pressures are being felt by our commuters,” Port Authority Chairman David Samson said. Not raising fares and tolls would mean the loss of thousands of jobs, the halting of hundreds of construction projects, and the loss of billions of dollars in economic activity, he said.

Democrat Cuomo and Christie, a Republican, demanded that the agency, stung by scathing criticism of excess overtime, overly rich compensation and pension benefits and huge cost-overruns at some projects, including the World Trade Center, conduct a thorough audit.

The decision to lower the increases by Christie, a possible GOP presidential contender, and Cuomo, a first-term governor who analysts say likely will seek higher office, broke a long local tradition of sniping between the two states over which one receives more money for projects.

Lowering the fare and toll increases forced the agency to cut its capital plan by $5 billion to a 10-year total of $25.1 billion, from the $33 billion it had sought. That could set the stage for future squabbles between the two governors, which in the past have partly paralyzed the agency.

The list of projects cut includes a garage for Manhattan’s midtown bus terminal, which might be financed with a public-private partnership; and replacing the Central Terminal Building at LaGuardia Airport and Terminal A at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, a Port Authority spokesman said.

With about $14 billion of debt outstanding, the Port Authority is one of the nation’s most prominent issuers of bonds in the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market.

Samson said Port Authority spending will include $6 billion to finish the World Trade Center and $1 billion to raise the Bayonne Bridge’s roadway so the next generation of bigger ships can sail under it. The 1931 bridge connects Bayonne, New Jersey, to New York’s Staten Island.

Another $1.5 billion will be spent to rebuild the 1928 Goethals Bridge, which links Elizabeth, New Jersey, with Staten Island, and $700 million will be spent to replace suspension cables on the 80-year old George Washington Bridge, the world’s busiest crossing, Another $100 million will go to fix the 1937 Lincoln Tunnel helix, which funnels motorists into this crossing.

Recent unemployment figures contain grim news: Joblessness among Blacks has reached Depression-era levels. The Black unemployment rate is 16.2 percent, close to double the national average of 9.1 percent and comparable to rates of joblessness during the Great Depression.

Besides today’s high unemployment, another ominous sign for Blacks and the nation as a whole is the disappearance of family-supporting jobs. Middle-income jobs have been replaced by low-wage work, which now makes up 41 percent of total employment, according to the New America Foundation.

Considering the magnitude of this employment crisis, the solution isn’t just to create more jobs, said David R. Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Service Society (CSS).

“More jobs won’t end this vicious cycle of unemployment,” Jones said.

“We need to be able to give young people in our communities the chance to gain skills and training that allow them to get good jobs— jobs with family-sustaining wages, affordable healthcare and benefits, and opportunities for career advancement.”

In New York City, one industry with an increasing number of jobs that meet these standards is private security, Jones said. Thanks largely to the efforts of one union, 32BJ SEIU, this once almost exclusively low-wage industry has become increasingly professional.

The city has more than 60,000 security officers, most of them Black.

For years, security officers were underpaid, and received little or nothing in the way of health cover-

age or other benefits. Median pay hovered around $8 to $10 per hour; training was rare; and turnover was, understandably, high - reaching 300 percent nationwide, according to a CSS report.

Then 32BJ, the nation’s largest building services union, launched its “Stand for Security” organizing campaign in 2005. It began with 1,000 private security officers joining the union. That number has since grown tenfold.

“In New York City, more than 10,000 private security officers have raised standards by forming a union with 32BJ,” said Mike Fishman, President of 32BJ. “But this fight isn’t only about raising wages and benefits for security officers. It’s about giving tens of thousands of working families a shot at the middle class, and rebuilding our economy.”

The union has moved pay levels for security officers from as low as $8 per hour to the city’s prevailing wage standard of over $14 an hour, with family healthcare benefits for thousands of officers, union officials said. 32BJ also offers a state-of-theart security training program that was commissioned by the Mayor and city Police Commissioner in 2005.

Jones said the advanced training done through this program not only helps officers keep us all safer, but helps to advance their careers. “Gaining specialized skills is the key to getting jobs that keep young people out of poverty,” he said.

Advanced training, higher wages, better benefits - these have caught the attention of officers not yet in the union. In the last three years alone, thousands of private security officers who work across New York City - at city-owned buildings and land-

marks; public and private universities; stadiums; and financial houses have joined 32BJ. Security officer Anne Davis protects a City of New York government building. She is among more than 2,500 officers at city-contracted owned buildings who won a 32BJ contract in 2008. Before, Davis earned close to minimum wage, and couldn’t afford healthcare for her family. Now she earns more than $14 an hour and has family health coverage, paid days off, and an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan.

“My colleagues and I work hard at protecting some of the city’s most sensitive sites,” Davis said. “All we wanted in return was job security, affordable family health care and wage increases so we could protect our families. 32BJ gave us that.”

Still, the fight is far from over, Fishman said.

This year, amid the city’s budget crisis, 32BJ is working against all odds to prevent layoffs for hundreds of city-contracted officers. Next year, all 10,000 of 32BJ security officers in the city will mount a campaign for a new contract with employers.

“In a post 9/11 world, the need for professional and well-trained private security officers is clear,” Fishman said. “Employers need to offer jobs with good pay and meaningful benefits so that we can continue to raise professional standards in the industry.”

Jones said 32BJ’s successful efforts in the private security industry provide a model for what needs to be done in other service industries around the country. “We must turn low-wage jobs into family-sustaining professions,” he said.

By JOAN GRALLA

TRENTON, N.J. — Motorists are still seeing sharply lower prices at the pumps in New Jersey.

AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of regular gasoline in New Jersey on Friday was $3.53, down 5 cents from last week.

That marks the third straight week that gas prices have fallen in New Jersey. But the current cost is still much higher than it was a year ago, when motorists were paying $2.58.

Meanwhile, the national average price fell by 2 cents to $3.59. But that’s also much higher than the national average from a year ago, which was $2.73.

Analysts say the sharp price decreases are mostly due to the ongoing economic volatility spurred by concerns about the national and global economies, which has affected the price of crude oil.

NYC food stamp soda ban rejected Union helping workers secure their future The U.S. Agriculture Department rejected a plan to use New York as a test for banning the purchase of sugary drinks with food stamps.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a two-year pilot program to see if the ban would reduce obesity rates among food stamp recipients.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the department wants to work with Bloomberg, but an official called a citywide ban “too large and complex” to be a good test of the plan.

“We think our innovative pilot would have done more to protect people from the crippling effects of preventable illnesses like diabetes and obesity than anything else being proposed elsewhere in this country — and at little or no cost to taxpayers,” Bloomberg said. “We’re disappointed that the federal government didn’t agree, and sorry that families and children may suffer from their unwillingness to explore our proposal. New York City will continue to pursue new and unconventional ways to combat the health problems that hurt New Yorkers and Americans from coast to coast.”

Bloomberg’s health measures have included smoking bans, most recently in public parks, and efforts to make restaurant meals more healthy by requiring nutritional and calorie information and banning transfats.

Sugary sodas, sports drinks and fruit drinks are believed to be a major contributor to obesity.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

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Obama says will be judged in 2012 over economy VINEYARD HAVEN, Massachusetts — President Barack Obama said on Sunday he expects to be judged in the 2012 election over his governance of the American economy, which he said was still not growing fast enough.

“For me to argue, look, we’ve actually made the right decisions, things would have been much worse has we not made those decisions — that’s not that satisfying if you don’t have a job right now,” Obama told CBS in an interview taped last week and aired during his annual vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, an island near Boston.

“I understand that and I expect to be judged a year from now on whether or not things have continued to get better,” he said.

The unemployment rate has been stuck above 9 percent and growth was very weak in the first half of 2011, causing many Americans to question whether Obama’s stimulus and bailout measures following the financial crisis worked.

Asked about the past month’s

stock market drop, Obama said concerns about the U.S. recovery were contributing to investor jitters, along with “headwinds” from Europe’s debt crisis, high gas prices

and knock-on effects from Japan’s earthquake.

In excerpts of the CBS interview aired last week, Obama said he did not see a danger of another reces-

sion, but thought there was danger of having a recovery that is not fast enough to deal with “a genuine unemployment crisis.”

Obama is expected to spend much of his nine-day vacation working on a program meant to jump-start the economy and find budget savings that surpass the $1.5 trillion goal of a new congressional deficit-cutting committee.

Extending a payroll tax cut — a measure the White House has said would encourage business to increase hiring but that economists say is likely to make little difference — will be included in the program that Obama will unveil next month, senior Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod said on Sunday.

“That is absolutely something we need to do,” Axelrod told CNN’s “State of the Union” program. Axelrod added that some “modest adjustments” to government-run entitlement programs would have to be made and that Obama would address that issue in a speech outlining the program.

Federal judge won’t issue interim order in Carl Lewis election case

By SOPHIA PEARSON A federal judge declined to issue an interim ruling on a decision by New Jersey’s top election official not to certify former Olympian Carl Lewis (left) for the state’s general election ballot in November.

While Secretary of State Kimberly Guadagno’s Aug. 15 decision may seem inconsistent with an interpretation of a federal appeals court ruling, it was something “she felt was her statutory obligation,” U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman said during a hearing today in Camden, New Jersey.

He also denied Lewis’s request to depose Guadagno on her initial finding that he was not qualified to run for senate in the state’s 8th Legislative District.

“I’m not convinced that the decision of the secretary of state calls for my immediate response,” Hillman said. “I make no ruling or findings as it relates to any violation of the court’s order.”

Lewis, a 49-year-old Democrat, per-

suaded the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to stay an April 26 ruling

by Guadagno that found him ineligible to run for office because of residency requirements. The ruling temporarily allowed Lewis’s name on the ballot for the June 7 primary election until Hillman could decide the constitutionality of the state’s residency provision as it was applied to the former athlete.

Lawyers for Lewis, who secured the Democratic nomination in the uncontested primary, asked Hillman to address Guadagno’s latest action and clarify that the status quo remains in the case.

“The voters are entitled to a clear message,” William Tambussi, an attorney for Lewis, said. “The voters are entitled to some understanding of where we stand.”

Lewis, who grew up in New Jersey before moving to Texas and California, is fighting to represent a district that has traditionally elected Republicans.

Incumbent Dawn Marie Addiego, a Republican, was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Phil Haines, who was

tapped for a judgeship.

The nine-time Olympic gold medalist argued that he bought a home in New Jersey in 2005, which made him a state resident. He got a state driver’s license in 2006 and became a volunteer assistant track coach at Willingboro High School, his alma mater, in 2007.

Guadagno, a Republican who is also the lieutenant governor, said the record showed Lewis didn’t buy his current home until Nov. 16, 2007, eight days after the cutoff. She also argued that Lewis certified he was a California resident each time he voted there in three elections in 2008 and one in 2009.

“There is no immediate harm to Mr. Lewis,” Donna Kelly, an assistant attorney general said during the hearing. “We’re not at a point of no return for this November election.”

Information on candidates for the November election must be submitted

by Sept. 8 in time for printing the ballots by Sept. 18, James T. Dugan, assistant county counsel for Atlantic County, said after the hearing.

Report: Prosecutor to drop Strauss-Kahn case

By JOSEPH AX Prosecutors will ask a judge to dismiss all charges in the sexual assault case against former IMF director Dominique Strauss-Kahn at a court hearing tomorrow, according to a report.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office will file a motion recommending the case be dropped and laying out the chronology of events that led to that point, according to the report.

Strauss-Kahn, who has denied the allegations, was once seen as a leading contender to be president of France until a maid, Nafissatou Diallo, accused him of sexual assault

on May 14 at New York’s Sofitel Hotel. He was arrested and forced to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund a few days later.

The case has teetered since late June when prosecutors disclosed that Diallo, a 32-year-old Guinean immigrant, had lied on her U.S. asylum application and about other aspects of her past.

That revelation threatened her credibility as a witness and led prosecutors to agree to release StraussKahn, 62, from house arrest, though he remains barred from leaving the country. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

The report states that the prosecutors’ motion would detail concerns about Diallo’s credibility and make it

clear they do not believe they can prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Erin Duggan, the spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, declined to comment, as did Chief Assistant District Attorney Daniel Alonso, the office’s top deputy.

Douglas Wigdor, one of Diallo’s lawyers, said he could not confirm the report.

“If the district attorney drops this important case, it will be a major setback for all women who are victims of sexual crimes and no doubt deter others from coming forward,” he said in an email from Paris, where he plans to hold a press conference tomorrow following the court hearing in New York.

Benjamin Brafman, Strauss-Kahn’s attorney, declined to comment Sunday on the report.

Speculation that the charges would be dropped intensified on Saturday, when Diallo’s lawyers said she had been summoned for a meeting with prosecutors on Monday and suggested that it could be a sign that prosecutors were preparing to dismiss.

Even if the charges are dismissed, Strauss-Kahn faces a civil suit filed

by Diallo two weeks ago and a complaint filed in France by journalist and writer Tristane Banon, who has alleged that he tried to rape her in 2002. Authorities in Paris are considering whether to press charges in that case.

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DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

FORUM

West and Smiley impact on Obama voters: Real or fleeting?

THOMAS H. WATKINS

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Special to the NNPA from the AFRO-American newspapers Although Princeton professor Cornel West supported President Barack Obama in 2008, his recent criticism of the nation’s first Black president may be trouble for 2012. Radio personality Tavis Smiley has also joined in the Black chorus of public dissatisfaction of Obama.

It is unclear whether calling the president “Black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs,” and publicly denouncing the policies of Obama in a majority of recent interviews will hurt the Obama’s election next year. But Rev. Otis Moss III, pastor of Obama’s former church in Chicago, said the intellectual’s remarks could increase African Americans’ trust of Congress.

“The negative discussion Dr. West is having can only put more apathy in the hearts of African Americans and could ultimately cause them to lose more faith in the entire political process,” Moss told Newsweek.

“Where will that leave us?”

Buddies West and Smiley

have teamed to launch a twoweek “Poverty Tour,” which will take the duo to different cities as they encourage the president to “wake up.” The purpose of the tour is supposed to be to help America refocus on the “least among us,” according to Newsweek.

But recently citizens have started to fight back. In Detroit, when the “Call to Conscience” bus pulled up in August, a group of people met the two outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center to protest.

“We will not stand silent as Smiley and West criticize the man who brought us health-care reform, one of the greatest accomplishments for the poor in this country’s history,” a spokesperson for Detroiters for Better Government told Newsweek.

The West and Smiley approach may or may not have an impact on Black voters. Obama’s approval rate is slowly dwindling. In 2008, 96 percent of African Americans voted for Obama. In March, Black Entertainment Television (BET) con-

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ducted a poll, where 85 percent of people supported the president. But in a recent Washington Post/CBS poll, African American support dropped sharply— from 77 percent in October 2010 to nearly half of that this month, according to Newsweek.

Steve Harvey disagreed with the tour and said Smiley should let go of the grudge he had when Obama did not make it to his town hall meeting.

“You don’t have any real basis behind your dislike for this man...you keep masking it saying it’s not about hate. Then what is it about? Poverty existed before January 20, 2008.

Where was your damn bus then?” Steve Harvey said, according to the St. Louis American.

He continued: “Who in the hell got 2-3 days for your [expletive]? I ain’t got time to sit down with your monkey behind for two, three days, let alone the President of the United States.

We got three wars going on, the economy crashing and we going to sit down with Tavis [expletive] for three days?”

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DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

American consumers lower personal debt

By CHARLENE CROWELL On August 15, the New York Federal Reserve released an analysis of consumer household debt and credit.

A few days earlier the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics announced updated unemployment figures. While each report is informative, comparing both reports reveals a more complete picture of how consumers are financially holding on in this lingering recession.

The quarterly household debt and credit report includes data on per capita debt levels, installment loans, foreclosures and more. The report is based on data from the New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel that also draws upon random sampling from Equifax credit report data.

The good news is that despite high unemployment, more Americans are finding ways to pay down their debts: New foreclosures fell 22.8 percent

from the first quarter; Bankruptcies were down 23.8 percent compared to the second quarter of 2010; Both delinquent and seriously delinquent credit balances were down 15 percent compared to last year; and Non-real estate indebtedness fell by $10 billion – 9.5 percent below its fourth quarter 2008 peak.

Although a drop in new foreclosures sounds encouraging, at least part of this decrease is due to a slowdown on foreclosure actions. Since lenders were accused of “robo-signing” and other illegal foreclosure practices, there has been a slow-down in foreclosure actions as mortgage companies try harder to abide by the law. More information on this specific mortgage issue is available on the Center for Responsible Lending’s web at: http://rspnsb.li/ls1oEg. The real ‘news’ of these and related developments is that small and incre-

mental credit improvements have occurred despite 13.9 million people officially unemployed. If ‘discouraged workers’ – people who have stopped actively seeking employment- were to be added to official numbers, unemployment figures would be higher.

And among the unemployed, African Americans still shoulder a disproportionate burden.

Black unemployment – now 15.9 percent outpaces that of the nation at 9.1 percent. Within the Black community, teenage unemployment of 39.2 percent represents the highest level of all measured groups.

Some economists say that the nation’s economic turnaround will occur when consumer spending increases. Yet with nagging and widespread unemployment and the month of June’s new jobs being the weakest created in nine months, it appears doubtful that consumer spending will speed up anytime soon.

Amid all these disturbing economic trends, somehow the resiliency of America’s people continues to defy data points. While some lawmakers

will continue to debate the nation’s debt, elsewhere people are seizing their futures and charting their own economic recovery course in these uneasy times.

In the words of our own Maya Angelou,

“Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise.”

— Charlene Crowell is the Center for Responsible Lending’s communications manager for state policy and outreach. She can be reached at: Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.

Jay-Z and Kanye West: Hip-hop empowerment

By DR. BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR. This is a well-deserved salute to two global icons of hip-hop culture.

Two successful Black men who transcend race and social division have attained the pinnacle of worldwide impact with their artistic genius and empowerment consciousness. Jay-Z and Kanye West, with the release of their latest album, “Watch the Throne,” are revealing the sustainable power of hip-hop not only in America, but also throughout the world.

At a time when the prevailing commentary about Black people in America, Africa, the Caribbean, and throughout the Pan African world is too often focused almost solely on the pathology and the negative statistics and realities about our socioeconomic plight, it is refreshing to witness two brothers from different neighborhoods in the United States work together to produce the next level of music and international consciousness. But their recent achievement, in my view, goes way beyond the success of selling millions of music albums.

Jay-Z and Kanye West together represent an evolving genre of new entrepreneurial giants that are helping to sustain a new economy and philanthropy for our communities that pushes the envelope on advancing African American economic development.

Knowing and affirming one’s own self-worth is a fundamental key to career success. Everyone is blessed with different skills, talent and opportunities. I am not encour-

aging everyone to try to be a rapper or poet. But I am encouraging that we all should strive to identify what are your skills and special talents or interests. It is good to a have a career goal and the self-determination, dedication and proper education to attain and fulfill your life goal. The inventiveness and creativity within the hip-hip community continues to be outstanding for those who know the benefit of hard work, study, practice, preparation and diligence. Jay-Z and Kanye West are still on their grind and their productivity is inspiring a younger generations of poets, rappers and other performing artists, designers, videographers, producers, financial managers, entrepreneurs, and developers to take full advantage of all the opportunities at hand.

Jon Caramanica in The New York Times characterized Jay-Z and Kanye West as “two titans” that “share the seat of power.” Caramanica observed, “Making relevant socially themed songs in an age of financial and political unrest is a challenge these two artists at least pay lip service to. Like a charitable donation, it’s a combination of maturity and duty.” Jay-Z and Kanye West have become “brothers in the struggle” for freedom, justice, equality and empowerment.

Their artistic grind gives rise to a generation of young people throughout the world who are impatient with poverty and injustice, but who have the audacity to speak out and speak up with a bold creativity that will be welcomed by a billion youth across the globe.

Empowerment first takes place in your mind and consciousness.

Hip-Hop is about not only having high aspirations or goals and objectives; it is also about having the courage, work-ethic, and the capacity to attain to fulfill your dreams and aspirations. Jay-Z and Kanye West know firsthand what overcoming poverty is all about from the streets of the hood to the corporate suites of power without losing your soul, spirit and sense of selfworth. In this unique collaboration, there is a certain cultural dignity and integrity that penetrates and lifts up all people who cry out for a better quality of life. “Watch the Throne” is an album that shatters the complacency and hopelessness that is currently undergirding the worldwide cynicism of those who prefer to acquiesce to the status-quo of do-nothingness and apathy.

I personally know these two young men. They represent the

best of hip-hop and will encourage others to continue to bring to the forefront more gems of creativity as they both “take back responsibility” to give back to their respective communities the best gift of all: transcendent hope and self-empowerment. As we prepare to mobilized the largest youth vote in history for the 2012 elections next year, “Watch the Throne” will help all of us to “Watch the White House” again with massive voter registration, turnout, and civic revitalization. As an OG, I am grateful to Jay-Z and Kanye West for paying the path for generations to come.

— Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is Senior Advisor to the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) and President of Education Online Services Corporation and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.

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DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

Chicago youth center offers refuge from violence

By MARY WISNIEWSKI CHICAGO — On a sweltering summer day on the South Side of Chicago, a group of teenage boys hauled rocks and pulled weeds in a vacant lot. They were working for free — and being hollered at by a woman they call “Ms. Diane.”

“Pull your pants up!” Diane Latiker yelled at one teen, who quickly hiked his trousers. “Ain’t no party!” she scolded others, who were talking instead of working. They got busy.

“I love you, too,” she added, as if anyone had forgotten.

The teens were repairing a memorial for victims of violence aged 24 and under in Chicago since 2007. It consists of 226 names inked on paving stones arrayed on blue wooden shelves.

The display sits inside a covered wooden pavilion, so it’s protected from the weather but can still be seen from the street. The memorial had been vandalized — a cross and flowers were stolen, stones were broken — so it needed to be fixed up.

It’s also incomplete — 177 more names need to be added.

The memorial is in a neighborhood called Roseland, where in 2009, in a video that went viral worldwide over the Internet, a high school student was seen being beaten to death by a mob.

The memorial spotlights a national problem. Homicide is the leading cause of death for African Americans aged 10 to 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many of the kids working on the memorial knew someone who had been murdered.

So does Latiker, 54, a mother of eight and former hair stylist who in 2003 opened her home to help neighborhood teens escape violence. She calls the program “Kids Off the Block.”

It started with taking her youngest child, Aisha, then 13, and her friends out for swimming and skating excursions.

Diane’s mother, evangelist Ruth

Jackson, saw how the kids respected her and urged her daughter to start an after-school program. Latiker said no.

“I figured in five years Aisha would be off to college and I’d be free,” she said in an interview.

But Jackson kept pushing, and Latiker began welcoming neighborhood kids into her small living room to work on music and other projects after school or during the summer.

Latiker said she learned that the kids wanted to be doctors and lawyers and singers and basketball players.

Meanwhile they wanted something to do instead of hanging out on the streets.

Some came from troubled homes, with mothers on drugs or fathers in jail. Some had dropped out of school to care for younger siblings, or were scared to go to school.

Above all, Latiker was disturbed by the amount of violence the teens saw — both in the media and in their real lives.

“When you give a kid who’s impressionable this much violence when they’re growing up, they think, ‘Hey, that’s the way it is,’” Latiker said.

“When you lose a friend or a family member to violence, you begin to feel hopeless, powerless, that there’s nothing you can do.”

The number of boys and girls hanging out around Latiker’s home every day or calling to talk in the middle of the night began to grow. The number swelled to 75 kids, at which point Latiker’s husband James, a mild-mannered car mechanic on disability, had to say that was enough.

A group of retired businessmen saw how crowded her house was. With Latiker, they set up Kids Off The Block, or KOB, in 2010 in a nearby storefront. The memorial is across the street.

Working with seven volunteers, including Latiker’s mother, sister-inlaw and daughter, the kids clean up vacant lots, do art projects, play basketball, and compose and sing “positive raps,” using KOB’s tiny music room.

Kilpatrick says he took no bribes DETROIT — Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, now awaiting trial on federal corruption charges, denies ever taking bribes or kickbacks.

In an interview with The New York Times published Saturday on the newspaper’s Web site, Kilpatrick called the federal charges “absolutely untrue.”

“I’ve never accepted a bribe. I’ve never got a kickback. I’ve never steered a contract,” he said. “It’s all ridiculous. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.”

The former mayor said he has no plans to get back into Detroit politics even though he believes he could win if he ran again.

“But it wouldn’t be the best thing for the people there,” he said. “They need a new person who can come in

and inspire.”

Kilpatrick was released Aug. 2 after serving a 14-month state sentence for violation of probation. His parole has been transferred to Texas, where he is living with his wife Carlita.

His legal troubles began with the release of sexually explicit text messages exchanged with his chief of staff, Christine Beatty. He said he had a pager instead of a cellphone because he believed that protected him from wiretapping.

“The FBI investigated Mayor Coleman Young, and they had all of these tapes of his phone calls,” Kilpatrick said. “So, my thing was: ‘Hey, I’m doing this new texting thing. They can’t listen to this.’ But now they can print it out and read it for all eternity.”

They get food, tutoring and mentoring. They have also traveled to other cities, including Washington, D.C., where they participated in a jobs and education rally.

“She’s like another mother,” said Dawon Brewer, 18, of Latiker. He wants to do construction but his school doesn’t offer wood shop. So KOB projects give him a chance to learn.

Over the years, KOB has gotten donations and some government funding, though this has been a lean year, Latiker said. A community development grant keeps the lights on.

“We dig in our pockets when we can,” said Latiker.

Asked why he comes to KOB, Dante Gaines, 18, said: “She’s giving us something to do.”

Thin and soft-spoken, Gaines wore a T-shirt screened with a picture of his friend C.J. Cortez, 19, who died of a gunshot wound in July.

Asked if he was worried something might happen to him, too, Gaines said: “Anything could happen. People gotta start caring.”

Jermel Barlow, 22, team leader for KOB’s music program, said gunshots in the area are so common “it’s kind of like a doorbell.”

“You hope no one close to you got shot, you call around and make sure everybody’s OK,” said Barlow. “That’s pretty much routine around here.”

Aisha Latiker, 21, who volunteers at KOB while studying psychology in college, said violence has gotten worse since she was in high school.

“I’ve lost over 12 friends in the last two years due to gun violence,” she said. “The attitude is if someone looks at you wrong, if someone says something wrong to you about your clothes or your shoes, you’re ready to pick up a gun.”

She said violence in the neighborhood seemed to decrease in 2010, when a government program provided some part-time jobs. But when the program ended, the violence got worse again. KOB volunteers said neighborhood gangs make it difficult for the group to venture outside of it for events.

Diane Latiker grew up in a tough neighborhood but said the gangs then

Diane Latiker gives direction to teens passing around paving stones painted with the names of kids killed by violence as they repair a memorial for the victims of violence in Chicago. didn’t target seniors, or little kids.

“Nowadays, it’s like who cares? The young people — it’s like out of the movies now...” she said, her voice rising in anger. “The guns need to come off the street, at least in my neighborhood. They serve no purpose. What purpose does a gun serve in urban America?”

Latiker hopes to finish expanding the memorial by the end of August.

But the list of young people killed won’t stop growing.

Five children under age 18 were shot and killed in Chicago in the last month, including a 17-year-old pregnant girl whose premature son was saved; a 13-year-old boy playing basketball in a park; and a six-year-old girl sleeping on a couch in her grandmother’s house.

The first name on the KOB memorial, and its inspiration, is that of Blair Holt, 16, the son of a Chicago police officer. Blair was killed by another teen in May 2007, as he shielded a classmate from gunfire on a bus.

Asked if she ever wants to give up, Diane Latiker answers, “Every day.”

“The violence just sucks all the energy out of me when I hear about another young person getting killed, and it was another young person that did it,” she said.

She said she gets her hope back by talking to kids who come to see her.

“I can’t function if I don’t have hope,” Latiker said. “If I give up, hundreds of young people give up.”

D.C. mayor wants end to flash mob thefts WASHINGTON — The mayor of Washington, D.C., has denounced flash mob shoplifting after two instances of the mass thievery at convenience stores.

The two stores were taken for mostly snack food, The Washington Post reported Friday.

On Aug. 12 a 7-Eleven was robbed by about 25 people of about $450 worth of products. On Thursday, a Ship Express in Northeast Washington was hit by about 10 women who made off with $70 worth of candy, snacks and drinks, police say.

“We have shoplifters nearly every day, but they take one item,”

The Shop Express manager, Muhammad Butt, said Friday. “Not this grabbing by a group.”

“Both morality and the law are quite clear: It is wrong to steal from others,” District Mayor Vincent C. Gray said in a press release Friday, pledging to “pursue criminal charges against those involved.”

Meanwhile, police detectives have identified 16 of the 25 involved in the 7-Eleven case, most of whom are juveniles.

Prosecutors say they will be discussing charging the young thieves with disorderly conduct, theft and, if any of them threatened store employees, robbery.

DAILY D CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

INTERNATIONAL

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India graft activist leaves jail to huge cheers

By RAJESH KUMAR SINGH & PAUL DE BENDERN NEW DELHI - A vast and jubilant crowd cheered as Gandhian activist Anna Hazare walked out of jail in New Delhi on Friday to carry on a hunger strike in public, the latest act in a drama of popular fury over corruption that has put India’s government in a bind.

Fumbling as support for the anti-corruption crusader surged across the country, the government first jailed Hazare on Tuesday, then ordered his release and finally - when he refused to leave - granted him permission to stage his fast for 15 days.

There was a deafening roar of celebration as Hazare emerged from Delhi’s Tihar jail into a throng of fans undeterred by monsoon rains. Live TV images broadcast across the country showed people perched on electric poles and even traffic lights to catch a glimpse of him, and many chanted “Anna we are with you”.

Just past the gates he addressed the crowd.

Raising his hand, he shouted “Victory to

Mother India” and “A fight for freedom has begun” before slowly winding his way in a truck decorated with flags through the crush of supporters.

Dressed in his trademark white cap, kurta and spectacles, the slight 74-year-old has evoked memories of the ascetic independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, who is revered as the father of the nation.

“There was a revolution and British left.

But corruption and mismanagement did not. Now this is a second fight for freedom, a second revolution,” Hazare later told a crowd of around 2,500 at the open ground where he is to fast.

A NEW MIDDLE CLASS Several scandals, including a telecoms bribery scandal that may have cost the government up to $39 billion, led to Hazare demanding anti-corruption measures. But the government bill creating an anti-graft ombudsman was criticized as too weak.

Hazare’s initial demands then mushroomed to catch the imagination of millions of Indians, especially a new middle class angry at constant bribes, from getting a driving

license to winning a university place.

“We have not seen this kind of thing in the last 60 years in India,” said S.K. Sharma, 48, a company executive, outside the jail as he waited for Hazare. “If this carries on in this way for the next four days, you will see a new changed India.”

A blundering official response has led the Congress party-led government to face one of the most serious protest movements in India since the 1970s, just the latest in a series of setbacks for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s second term that have paralyzed policy making and economic reforms.

One banner outside the jail read “Wake up Manmohan Singh.”

Many critics say Hazare’s arrest only inflamed passions and galvanized thousands.

However, some commentators said his campaign may peter out now he is out of from jail and, indeed, crowds were smaller than expected at the site of his public fast, an open ground caked in mud from the rains.

A medical team was on standby to monitor Hazare’s health as he began his hunger strike in jail. A sharp deterioration in his con-

dition could further worsen the crisis for the government, although his supporters say it is not a fastto-death.

A weak political opposition means that the government should still survive the crisis, but it could further dim the prospect for economic reforms and hurt the Congress party in key state polls in 2012 that will pave the way for a general election in 2014.

The protests across cities in India, fanned by social networks, have not only rocked the ruling Congress party, they have sent shockwaves through the political class as a whole.

Hazare is not some out-of-the-blue phenomenon, however. Deepseated change has been underway for years in India as its once-statist economy globalizes, bolstered by a widely used freedom of information act, aggressive private media and the election of state politicians who have rejected traditional caste-support bases to win on governance issues.

“Anna Hazare is just a catalyst who happens to chime with the middle class mood today,” wrote commentator Swagato Ganguly in The Times of India.

Veteran Indian social activist Anna Hazare comes out from Tihar jail in New Delhi.

Students, lawyers, sages of where and teachers, executives when to protest. and civil servants have Singh, 78, who is taken to streets in cities widely criticized as out and remote villages of touch with his peostretching to the south- ple, has dismissed the ern end of the country. fast by Hazare as “totalSOCIAL NETWORKS ly misconceived” and In the financial capi- undermining the partal, Mumbai, the city’s liamentary democracy. iconic lunch carriers, Hazare became the known as Dabbawallas, unlikely thorn in the went on strike in sym- side of the government pathy with Hazare. On when he went on Friday, some 5,000 peo- hunger strike in April. ple took part in a pro- He called off that fast Hazare rally in the city, after the government local TV reported. promised to introduce a One Facebook fan bill creating an antipage for Hazare has corruption ombudsmore than 300,000 fol- man. lowers, while the India The so-called Lokpal Against Corruption legislation was presentpage on Facebook has ed in early August, but more than 370,000 fol- activists slammed the lowers where links and draft version as toothmessages of support less because the prime are posted. Several minister and judges Twitter accounts have were exempt from been set up by support- probes. ers to send out mes-

Isra el-Gaza at tacks stoke tension with C air o

By NIDAL ALMUGHRAB GAZA (Reuters) Israel struck militants in Gaza and Palestinians fired rockets back Friday following deadly gun attacks along the desert border with Egypt that have raised tensions between Israel and the new rulers in Cairo.

Egypt formally protested and demanded Israel investigate the deaths of three of its security men, who, it

said, where killed when Israeli forces hunted for the gunmen behind Thursday’s roadside ambushes. In all, more than 20 people have been killed.

Eight Israelis perished in Thursday’s assault along the Egyptian border, and at least seven of the attackers also died as Israeli forces tracked them down along the largely open frontier with Egypt.

Israel swiftly pinned the blame on a Palestinian group that is independent of the Hamas Islamist movement which governs Gaza, and struck back

with two days of air strikes killing 10 militants and two civilians, children aged 2 and 13.

An airstrike killed the faction’s leadership Thursday and there were numerous other strikes throughout Friday. Huge crowds gathered for the funerals, chanting anti-Israeli slogans and vowing revenge.

Israel, stunned by an assault along a long quiet border, threatened further attacks.

“We have a policy of exacting a very heavy price of anyone who attacks us and this policy is being implemented,” Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday while visiting wounded compatriots in hospital.

Hamas Islamists in control of Gaza also cautioned they would respond. “We will not allow the enemy to escalate its aggression without getting punished,” the group’s armed wing said.

Militants in the tiny coastal Gaza enclave fired 22 rockets at southern Israeli cities Friday, the Israeli military said. Two rockets targeting the city of Ashdod hit a synagogue and a school, injuring two people, one of them seriously.

Israel struck back by launching more than a dozen aerial attacks, the latest of them killing two gunmen in the central Gaza Strip after darkness fell, Palestinian medics said.

Israel said Thursday’s attackers had slipped out of Gaza and into Egypt’s Sinai desert, and then headed south before infiltrating Israel close to the Red Sea resort of Eilat.

Israeli forces had been on high alert for a possible attack and was swift to blame the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) armed faction. [nL5E7JI43Z] The

group denied involvement in Thursday’s ambushes, but did claim responsibility for some of Friday’s rocket fire.

The PRC said its commander, Kamal alNairab, his deputy, Immad Hammad, and three other members were killed in Thursday’s air strike on a home in Rafah, by the Gaza border with Egypt.

Israeli leaders accused Egypt’s new military leaders of losing their grip on the Sinai peninsula. Cairo rejected the charge, but Israel fears its once sleepy southern flank is rapidly becoming a major security threat.

AFRICAN SCENE

88

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

AFRICAN SCENE

Accused Mozambican trafficker says he was framed

By DONNA BRYSON

f 3 police, 1 civilian killed in Nigeria’s northeast MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Police say three policemen and a civilian were shot and killed at a residence in northeastern Nigeria by suspected members of a radical Muslim sect.

Police chief Simeone Midenda said Friday that the men were watching TV when gunmen burst into the room and shot them. He said the bodies have been taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

Midenda blamed the attack on a group known locally as Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sacrilege” in the local Hausa language. The group is responsible for a rash of killings targeting security officers, local leaders and clerics in the area over the last year. They also claimed responsibility for a bombing at national police headquarters that killed two in June.

Boko Haram seeks the strict implementation of Shariah law in northern Nigeria.

Ivory Coast’s ex-president charged with theft ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - An official says Ivory Coast’s former strongman has been charged with economic crimes including aggravated theft and embezzlement of public funds.

Public prosecutor Simplice Kouadio Koffi said former leader Laurent Gbagbo is being held in the northern town of Korhogo. These are the first charges since Gbagbo’s April arrest by forces loyal to President Alassane Ouattara.

Gbagbo’s refusal to concede defeat in November plunged the nation into postelection violence that killed thousands.

Koffi said former first lady Simone Gbagbo was also charged with economic crimes. Trial dates have not been set.

Last week Gbagbo’s son and 11 others were charged over postelection activities. No member of Ouattara’s group has been charged.

Surveillance drone crashes in Somali capital MOGADISHU, Somalia - A surveillance drone has crashed in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

An Associated Press reporter saw pieces of the drone, which was shaped like a small plane, before it was removed by African Union soldiers.

It had crashed into a house in the city center.

It was not immediately known who was operating the downed drone, but the U.S. is known to fly surveillance craft over Somalia, where Islamist rebels are battling the weak U.N.-backed government. The rebels pulled out of their bases in the capital last week but are still believed to have fighters in the city in disguise.

Somalia has not had a functioning government for more than 20 years.

MAPUTO, Mozambique There are no bars on the windows of his luxurious home, no heavily armed guards in sight. Yet Mohamed Bachir Suleman is, according to the U.S. government, an international drug trafficker.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, the former orphan street vendor who is now one of Mozambique’s richest men insists he’s no kingpin.

Last year, President Barack Obama put Suleman on a list of specially designated narcotics traffickers and barred Americans from doing business with him.

U.S. authorities fear this former Portuguese colony could become Africa’s next narco-state. The U.S. says Suleman, who runs a chain of grocery stores and owns a glitzy mall, is capitalizing on Mozambique’s corruption and porous borders to transit drugs to Europe.

The balding, mustachioed 53year-old is a very wealthy man in a very poor country, and claims his business successes created enemies vicious enough to lie to U.S. authorities to get him blacklisted. Washington has not elaborated publicly on the evidence that led it to place Suleman on the so-called kingpin list. Suleman has hired American lawyers to fight his blacklisting, a move that few of those who land on the list bother with. None has succeeded

from having his or her name expunged from Washington’s kingpin list.

Relatives say it’s not unusual to find the soft-spoken and slight Suleman loading goods at the grocery story that anchors his mall.

In the interview at his Maputo home, Suleman insisted he never spends more than $100 a night on a hotel on his rare overseas business trips.

“Is this how a drug lord lives?” he asked.

Mozambican authorities say they have launched their own investigation into the allegations against Suleman.

Annette Huebschle, an organized crime researcher with South Africa’s Institute for Defense Studies, says traffickers are turning to Mozambique, located in southeastern Africa along the Indian Ocean, since U.S. and European authorities clamped down on West African transit points for cocaine bound for Europe.

“Mozambique most definitely is one of those areas that is a growing concern,” Huebschle said.

Cocaine from Brazil, also a former Portuguese colony, is arriving in Mozambique, Huebschle wrote in a recent review of organized crime across southern Africa.

Suleman denies having anything to do with narcotics.

“I want to prove my innocence,” Suleman said. “And I want people to believe in me.”

Since designations were first made a decade ago, 101 alleged

kingpins have been listed.

Suleman could not substantiate his claims he had been framed, other than to say his suspicions had been raised when he read WikiLeaks accounts of fellow businessmen complaining about him to U.S. Embassy officials in Mozambique.

Mozambicans have questioned how Suleman raised the money for a six-story, marble-and-steel mall he opened in 2007. There, designer clothes and even governing political party souvenirs are for sale. But Suleman said the mall succeeded, like all his businesses, because of patience, prudence and foresight. He said the government gave him the land for the mall in 1997 in exchange for nominal transfer fees and a pledge to develop what was then an abandoned area.

He has given generously over the years to the governing Frelimo party, which has been accused of overseeing an increasingly corrupt state.

To build the mall, Suleman said he borrowed from banks and saved his own money over the next 10 years.

The mall has been a popular site for gatherings, including a concert and an education fair organized by the U.S. Embassy in 2009. He showed the AP photographs of himself with the thenhead of the U.S. diplomatic mission.

“How can they say in 2009 we are good friends, and just a few months after, I am a drug kingpin?” Suleman asked.

Uganda: Opposition MPs Ready to Face Museveni Over Mabira Opposition Members of Parliament have resolved that President Museveni backs off what they called his “weird and unrealistic” proposal to give away part of Mabira forest to an investor to grow sugarcane. The legislators also raised a red- flag over President Museveni’s Tuesday remarks that he is ready for war on sugar as they drew battle lines.

Addressing journalists at Parliament, the opposition Shadow Minister for Environment John Ken Lukyamuzi (Lubaga South) and that of Oil and Energy, Ms Beatrice Anywar (Kitgum) while

communicating the shadow Cabinet’s position said they are ready to reiterate in whichever form the President brings his fight.

“We wish to inform you Mr President, that we are equally ready for war in defence of Mabira.

The laws empower us to be ready to fight for Mabira’s protection. We can’t be intimidated” Mr Lukyamuzi said in a joint opposition statement he read out to journalists at Parliament yesterday. He adds” It is not correct to say that part of Mabira is degraded. Even if it was degraded, the degradation is man-made and

can be rectified. The population is prepared to pay any price,”.

Article 237(2)(b) of the Constitution says that the government and the local government must protect in public trust all the land in Uganda. Flanked by Ms Anywar, Mr Lukyamuzi argued that Mabira is the only remaining portion of the tropical forest land which historically used to stretch from Uganda to the Democratic Republic of Congo. “It is a unique forest cover which we cannot afford to lose,” he tells Saturday Monitor.

Hosting the Kampala City traders’ association

leaders and the Kwagalana group of wealthy city businessmen, who went to lobby him to halt the process, the President reportedly, said that he is ready for the war.

The President reportedly said: “Let us fight this war once and for all.

Am not ready to listen to anybody who is saying that I save Mabira,”. His plan to sell off 7100 hectares of land to Mehta Group of Companies had attracted wide condemnation from the NRM MPs, the opposition and environmentalists who argue in the direction of protecting the environment.

- MERCY NALUGO

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

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CARIBBEAN NEWS DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

Traditional agriculture must change, says Guyana minister GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud has urged farmers to change their approach to agricultural practices if they are to adapt to the new and emerging challenges in the sector.

He was at the time speaking at the relaunch the 2nd phase of the Grow More Food Campaign on Wednesday.

“We cannot do agriculture in a manner we have done traditionally if we have new and emerging constraints,” Persaud said, making reference to climate change and its impacts, changes in the global trade environment that resulted in Guyana losing revenue in sugar exports and the near collapse in the rice industry.

The re-launch came with an encouraging

message for farmers to Grow More Food in a climate smart way and follows the thriving implementation of the 2008/2009 grow more food campaign.

Emphasis is placed on climate adaptation farming methods such as drip irrigation, high ground planting and rearing, and shade houses.

Under this phase various components of support will be provided including fertilizer seeds, other planting materials, breeding animals and feed. Persaud said that fertilizer has been accessed at a better price.

“Every single farmer will receive a quantity of fertilizer, be it urea, be it 15/15 or even resources,” Persaud said.

Persaud stated the concept of a Grow More Food campaign emerged out of the challenges by countries throughout the world to access food even if they were equipped

with the financial means.

It sought to protect Guyana by securing a stock of food at a scale that was enough, not only for its own consumption but, also have enough to export.

“In Guyana whilst we were assured and confident that we would be able to feed our people and assured that our people have access to affordable food, we also wanted to provide additional focus and support so that we maintain our own food security situation but at the same time we convert that food crisis into an opportunity for farmers.” Persaud said.

He noted that, at the national level, government has been injecting much more resources in dealing with the critical constraints that affect sustainable and viable agriculture.

Persaud further noted that one of the constraints is dealing with the issue of climate change and in the

second phase of the Grow More Food Campaign the need for a climate smart approach to food production will be highlighted.

“We cannot do agriculture in the way and the manner we have done it traditionally if we have new and emerging constraints,” Persaud said.

With the government’s investment in the agriculture sector, coupled with the low carbon development Persaud strategy, believes the stage has been set for the survival of agriculture.

The second phase was touted as a comprehensive programme that will continue across the country with more than 100 meetings of this kind in all regions particularly in the hinterland, coastal and intermediate areas.

Presidential candidate and adviser Donald Ramotar, who was also part of Wednesday’s activity, remarked that food security is one of the major issues all over the world.

“We in Guyana, we are fortunate, we have

the land, dedicated farmers and we have a Government that is willing to support the efforts of the people who are willing to go to the land and to produce food.”

With that, he said, Guyana can take advantage of the markets right here in the region (Caribbean).

M e a n w h i l e , Bharrat President Jagdeo said that Guyana’s reputation as a net exporter of food and the most robust in terms of security is due to the keen interest of local farmers, who have for years been dedicating their time and energy to the sector which other countries seem to be treating with neglect.

Delivering his remarks to the farmers, the head of state assured that the agriculture sector will continue to benefit from government’s support as it has been doing over the years given its vitality to the local economy.

“Agriculture cannot operate without adequate infrastructure and that’s growing.

Large government investments have been made in that sector and we will make sure that the policy environment and the incentives are constantly aligned to encourage production,” Jagdeo said.

He told the farmers that the circumstances in Guyana are contrary to that of the Caribbean Community’s.

CARICOM has a food import bill of US$3 billion and seems only to generate interest in agriculture when the issue of a food deficit has reached an alarming level globally.

“I’ve been pushing this agricultural initiative in CARICOM for many years, we have identified a regional strategy, the policies that we need to accomplish the goals of the strategy, we have identified the constraints to agriculture, how we can fix those and we have identified what incentives need to be given to agriculture and what government investments need to be made... very few countries have gone along that route,” Jagdeo said.

Scope of dengue outbreak in Bahamas remains unclear Crime reduction in Nevis NASSAU, Bahamas — The scope of the dengue fever outbreak in The Bahamas remains unclear, as the Ministry of Health has not released any new numbers on reported cases over the last week.

In recent days there have been claims that the scale of the outbreak has been downplayed.

Observers claim that health officials have not reported the true number of people with the vector-born virus.

Minister of Health Dr Hubert Minnis said that the last count was about 1,500 cases. That was more than a week ago.

When The Nassau Guardian contacted Minnis on Wednesday, he said he was out of the country and had yet to receive a recent report. But he said the

Ministry of Health is not downplaying the outbreak.

The Nassau Guardian also attempted to contact several other officials at the Ministry of Health, but calls were not returned up to press time on Wednesday.

Meantime, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Travelers’ Health website posted the United States Embassy’s ‘warning about dengue in The Bahamas’ on its site earlier this week.

The purpose of the CDC Travelers’ Health website is “to provide information, based on scientific studies, disease surveillance, and best practices, to assist travelers and their health care providers in deciding the vaccines, medications, and other measures neces-

sary to prevent illness and injury during international travel.”

As previously reported, the US Embassy issued an emergency email message about more than a week ago warning potential visitors about the outbreak of dengue fever in The Bahamas.

“US citizens should be aware of the recent dengue fever outbreak in The Bahamas,” said the email.

“In the past few weeks, over 200 cases have been reported and almost 1,000 cases have been reported of individuals suffering from symptoms that match dengue [at the time].”

The embassy also reported in its message that The Bahamas had begun mitigation efforts to control the spread of the disease.

- Krystel Rolle

high on premier’s agenda CHARLESTOWN , Nevis — Nevis Premier Joseph Parry, outlined several initiatives taken by the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) to confront the many challenges related to crime on Nevis. He was at the time speaking on the weekly radio talk show “In Touch With the Premier” on Tuesday.

He said the Administration was playing its part to ensure that the number of police officers, police vehicles and accommodations had increased

Joseph Parry over the years and at the insistence of the premier and his ministry, officers had been outfitted with modern and comfortable barracks and police stations.

According to the premier, his administration has pushed for heightened mobility, which has shortened the response time and

allowed the police to maintain a visible presence in the community.

Parry expressed the hope that the ongoing improvements to the barracks and the police stations would build morale and more effective law enforcement personnel stationed in the Nevis Police Division.

He also spoke of the NIA’s future plans for the Nevis Division.

“The Nevis Island Cabinet has been discussing the idea of a police station in St John’s Parish. There is a need for an additional police station as there is no other police station between Charlestown to Gingerland,” the premier said.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

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NATIONAL

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight against housing discrimination recalled as national memorial is dedicated

By CAMI REISTER As a Realtor, Pat Vredevoogd Combs credits Martin Luther King Jr. with sparking the changes that led to laws against housing discrimination.

“There were so many things that were wrong with the system before he stood up and gave his speech and brought people to the forefront of saying the housing situation is wrong,” Combs said.

In the mid 1970s, when she started in the industry, she had to operate in a system that protected discrimination.

“There were a lot of covenants in subdivisions that prohibited people of color from purchasing in that subdivision, or people of different nationalities,” said Combs, who works with Coldwell Banker AJSSchmidt.

“It was a little bit scary being an agent before those covenants were removed because you were supposed to uphold the law, and they were wrong, but they were the law.”

That is why Combs is honored to be headed to Washington D.C. next week for the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Pat Vredevoogd Combs, the 2007 president of the National Association of Realtors, presents a $1 million

donation from the NAR to help build the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

In 2007 when Combs served as president of the National Association of Realtors, she presented a $1 million donation the association contributed toward the building of the memorial. Now she will be part of the contingent representing the association at the unveiling ceremonies.

The week-long event starts Monday, but

With the Washington Monument in the background, a sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. is surrounded by scaffolding during a media tour of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial last December. The completed memorial will be dedicated soon.

Combs arrives on will receive an acknowl- uled to attend.

Saturday to attend a edgment of its donation, “I think it’s going to prayer breakfast at Combs said. be a real moving time,” which former President She also will be there she said. “But also a cool Bill Clinton will speak. Sunday for the official celebration of how far That is followed by a VIP dedication ceremony folks have come, the difreception and an that includes a concert ference in the marketevening black-tie gala by Aretha Franklin. The place from when I startwhere the National president and Michelle ed is incredible.”

Association of Realtors Obama also are sched-

SCLC names Isaac Farris, nephew of Martin Luther King Jr., as new president ATLANTA , Georgia — The Southern Christian L e a d e r s h i p Conference has named Isaac Newton Farris Jr., nephew of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., as president.

King founded the civil rights organization in 1957. Farris is the son of King’s only surviving sibling, Christine King Farris.

The Rev. Howard Creecy, who had been president of the SCLC, died of an apparent heart attack on July 28.

Creecy, 57, was a native

of Mobile. [Read a profile of Creecy from February 2011.]

Creecy had taken the leadership mantle at the SCLC after King’s youngest daughter, Bernice King, declined the top post. Following months of internal upheaval over leadership and finances, Creecy was seen as a stabilizing force who could put the 54-yearold organization on sounder footing.

The SCLC, under King, advocated nonviolent protest as it worked to bring equality to blacks, particularly in the South. The group played a major role in

the March on Washington and civil rights campaigns in the South. The group’s efforts helped lead to the end of segregation and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The SCLC also spoke out against poverty, racism and war.

SCLC officials also announced that Bernard LaFayette Jr., co-founder of the Student Non-Violent C o o r d i n a t i n g Committee, has been named national board chairman. He replaces Sylica Tucker, who resigned.

Isaac Newton Farris, left, talks to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., while attending the funeral for Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Howard Creecy, held at the Jackson Memorial Baptist Church, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011, in Atlanta. Creecy died July 28 of a suspected heart attack and Farris, nephew of SCLC co-founder Martin Luther King Jr., has been named president.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

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DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

Kelly Rowland ‘The Help’ beats four new films to win box office says firing Mathew Knowles ‘was like a funeral’

By LISA RICHWINE

LOS ANGELES — Southern society drama “The Help” overtook four new releases to take the top spot at the domestic weekend box office, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters on Sunday.

“The Help,” in its second weekend in theaters, rang up $20.5 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales, distributor Walt Disney Co said.

Sci-fi movie “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” took second place with $16.3 million during its third weekend. New family film “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,” the fourth installment in the franchise, finished third with $12.0 million.

“The Help” was produced by DreamWorks. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.

Dimension Films, a unit of the closely held Weinstein Co, released the fourth “Spy Kids” movie.

Cast member Viola Davis poses at the premiere of the movie “The Help” at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills, California.

Will Smith reportedly eyes music return; ‘Fantastic Voyage’ film In her new interview with Vibe magazine, Kelly Rowland says she was filled with sadness after firing Mathew Knowles as her manager, insisting it was “like a funeral” when she decided to cut ties with Beyonce’s dad.

The former Destiny’s Child singer ended her professional relationship with Knowles in early 2009 after more than a decade and she admits she felt a little lost after the split, despite feeling the need to “start fresh.”

“I felt like, ‘Oh my God, what have I done?’ I stayed in the house for two days. I was sad. It was like a funeral,” she told Vibe. “I had to deaden that situation in order to start fresh. That’s a very long time to have the same manager and the same label (Columbia Records).”

She insists the parting of ways was an amicable one, although she is coy when asked if she still speaks to Knowles.

Dodging the question, she tells the publication, “Mathew sent me flowers for my birthday…! I respect him above anything.

“This man made me a millionaire at the age of 18. Taught us how to make money in the industry. I can never, ever forget that.”

Rowland was the first Destiny’s Child member to quit Knowles’ Music World Entertainment management – Michelle Williams followed in 2010 and Beyonce took charge of her own career earlier this year.

Word has it that Will Smith, currently in New York filming the third “Men in Black” film, is headed back to the music studio to record what would be his first album since 2005’s “Lost and Found.”

“We’re working on Will Smith, bringing him back. That’s actually him on the other line right now,” producer Lamar “Mars” Edwards told XXL Magazine in a story that ran Thursday.

Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter says Smith is being courted to lead director Shawn Levy’s remake of the 1966 sci-fi adventure movie, “Fantastic Voyage.” But there is drama surrounding Levy’s actual commitment to the project.

Sources tell THR that momentum on the film has slowed a bit because finding the right cast has proven

tough, and Levy has begun to look at other projects. The situation could work itself out, but sources close to ‘Voyage,” which is not greenlighted, say it’s more likely than not that Levy will move on.

Voyage revolves around a team of scientists who are shrunk to atomic size and sent in a miniature submarine inside the body of a scientist to save his life.

Levy is said to want an A-list star to star, and Fox is not necessarily wedded to the idea of a huge name (and huge salary). A source says Levy has set a meeting with Will Smith in the next couple weeks. If the actor agrees to sign on, Levy would almost certainly stay with “Voyage,” and Fox likely would not flinch at casting one of the few proven box office draws. If Smith

passes (or Fox can’t make a deal), and another mutually-agreeable star can’t be found quickly, sources say Levy would be inclined make another film his next directing project.

Steve Harvey developing talk show for 2012

By TIM KENNEALLY LOS ANGELES — Steve Harvey is tossing his hat into the talk-show arena.

The “Family Feud” host and former “Steve Harvey Show” star is developing a syndicated talk show for a 2012 premiere, with Endemol North America producing and NBC Universal Television Distribution distributing. The show will focus on Harvey’s comedy, as he discusses relationship issues.

Barry Wallach, president of NBC Universal Domestic TV Distribution, called Harvey “a multitalented enter-

tainer” and “a proven ratings winner,” adding that the company is “excited” to work on the new project.

In addition to his ongoing “Feud” gig, Harvey also has a radio pro-

gram, “Steve Harvey Morning Show,” in syndication. The show will be taped in Atlanta, where he also tapes his radio show and “Family Feud.”

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

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Women who take vitamins have fewer preemies Women who take multivitamins regularly around the time they get pregnant appear to have a lower risk of going into labor prematurely or having a smallerthan-normal baby.

That’s according to a study of nearly 36,000 pregnant Danish women, who were asked about their diet, weight and vitamin use, among other things.

Poor nutrition is thought to play a role in pregnancy complications, such as preterm births and poor growth rates within the womb.

The new study strengthens that link, but it doesn’t prove that taking multivitamins is a good idea for women who plan to get pregnant or already are, researchers warn in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In fact, U.S. health officials advise expectant mothers against taking regular vitamins, which might harm the baby. But they do recommend supplementing the diet with folic acid, which cuts the chance of certain birth defects.

The new work looked at multivitamin use around the time of conception — four weeks before and eight weeks after a woman’s last period — which hasn’t been studied much.

Among women who said they had taken multivitamins at least eight out of the 12 weeks, there were 4.3 percent preterm births (before 37 weeks). For those who didn’t take the supplements, the number was 5.3 percent.

The vitamin-popping women were also less likely to have a smaller-than-normal baby.

Those links held even after accounting for differences between the two groups — such as diet and smoking — but only in normal-weight women. The reasons aren’t clear, but could be linked to problems in absorbing the nutrients, suggest Janet M. Catov, of the University of Pittsburgh, and her colleagues.

Still, they stop short of recommending that women start taking multivitamins when trying to get pregnant.

First, women who took the supplements appeared to be healthier in the first place, and there is no perfect way to prevent that from muddying the findings.

And second, there is a dearth of studies to test the effects of vitamins on babies’ health.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

Celiac disease on the rise in U.S.

By DENNIS THOMPSON Complaints of celiac disease are on the rise in the United States, with more and more people growing ill from exposure to products containing gluten.

Nearly five times as many people have celiac disease today than did during the 1950s, according to one recent study. Another report found that the rate of celiac disease has doubled every 15 years since 1974 and is now believed to affect one in every 133 U.S. residents.

“It’s quite widespread,” said Dr. Alessio Fasano, director of the Center for Celiac Research and the Mucosal Biology Research Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “We thought there were regional differences in the past, but now we know it’s everywhere.”

That increased incidence rate has left researchers scrambling to figure out why more people are developing the chronic digestive disorder. Doctors still can’t explain the trend, but they are making some headway testing a number of hypotheses.

“There are many theories out there, not all independent of each other and not all of them true,” Fasano said.

Celiac disease is an inherited autoimmune disorder that causes the body’s immune system to attack the small intestine, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center. The attack is prompted by exposure to gluten, a protein found in such grains as wheat, rye and barley.

The disease interferes with proper digestion and, in children, prompts symptoms that include bloating, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. Adults with celiac disease are less likely to show digestive symptoms but will develop problems such as anemia, fatigue, osteoporosis or arthritis as

the disorder robs their bodies of vital nutrients.

Awareness of celiac disease has grown in recent years, evidenced by the growing number of gluten-free foods on the market. However, medical experts don’t believe that the increase in celiac disease incidence can be chalked up simply to folks becoming more aware of the chronic digestive disorder or to improvements in diagnostic techniques.

Rather, the most popular potential explanations for the increase in celiac disease rates involve improvements in sanitation and hygiene in civilization overall, said Fasano and Carol McCarthy Shilson, executive director of the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center.

According to the “hygiene hypothesis,” Shilson said, people in industrialized countries are more at risk for celiac disease because their bodies have not had to fight off as many diseases.

“We’re just too clean a society, so our immune systems aren’t as developed as they should be,” she said.

Another version of the hypothesis holds that the cleanliness of industrialized society has caused a fundamental change in the composition of the digestive bacteria contained within the gut, Fasano said.

“It’s because this increase occurs primarily in industrialized countries, where things are cleaner,” Fasano said. “We abuse antibiotics, we wash our hands too often, we are vaccinated more often.”

Other potential explanations for the rise in celiac disease rates, according to Fasano, include: An increase in the amount of gluten found in grains. “We eat grains that are much more rich in glutens than they were 70 or 80 years ago,” he said.

Children being exposed to gluten from an early age. “We know for sure if we introduce grains too early, peo-

ple at risk for developing celiac disease are more likely to contract it,” he said.

Too few women breast-feeding their children. “There are theories out there that say breast-feeding will protect you, or prevent celiac disease,” Fasano said.

It’s possible, experts say, that each of these theories is correct to a degree and that a combination of factors will ultimately be found to contribute to celiac disease. “It may well be in one person, one plays a stronger role than another,” Fasano said.

But while experts try to find a cause — and then, they hope, a cure — advocates urge people who are at risk for developing celiac disease to undergo screening for the disorder.

Researchers have shown a genetic predisposition for celiac disease, with about 30 percent of the population carrying genes that make them vulnerable, Shilson said.

But because adults with celiac disease often don’t suffer the digestive symptoms associated with gluten intolerance, many people are unaware they have it or could pass it on. “About two-thirds of people with the active disease have no symptoms at all,” Shilson said.

Studies also have found that the earlier people find out they have celiac disease, the better able they are to head off the disorder’s more debilitating effects.

“There’s not much you can do to prevent it, but you can be aware of it and catch it,” Shilson said. “Early intervention is key.”

However, people who suspect they have celiac disease should not go gluten-free before being tested. Doing that can interfere with the accuracy of the screening.

“It’s very important that you don’t change your diet before you are screened for celiac disease,” Shilson said.

Paper money worldwide tainted with BPA Paper money worldwide is contaminated with the potentially toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA), according to a new study.

BPA is used to make some plastics and consumer products such as water bottles, household electronics and sports equipment. Research suggests that BPA is an endocrine disruptor, which means that it acts like the hormone estrogen, and may be linked to a number of health problems.

Researchers analyzed 156 pieces of paper money from 21 countries and found that all of the bills contained traces of BPA. Paper money from Brazil, the Czech Republic and Australia had the highest BPA levels, while bills from the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam had the lowest levels. U.S. notes had average levels, the study authors said in a news release from the American Chemical Society.

Thermal paper used for cash register receipts is the most likely source of the BPA contamination on the money, according to the researchers, Kurunthachalam Kannan and Chunyang Liao of the Wadsworth Center at the New York State Department of Health, and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New

York at Albany. Thermal paper is so named because it contains a chemical that changes color when exposed to heat.

The investigators also noted that while the amounts of the chemical on paper money are higher than what’s found in house dust, human intake of BPA from paper money is at least 10 times lower than intake from house dust.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

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CDC urging all Americans to get flu shots

By JULIE STEENHUYSEN CHICAGO — For the second year in a row, health experts are urging all Americans to get a flu shot, even though the circulating strains of flu have not changed since the 20102011 flu season.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday the recommendation applied to everyone over 6 months of age — even those who got flu shots last year against the same flu strains.

This year’s vaccine protects against H1N1 swine flu and two other flu strains called H3N2 and influenza B. The CDC said it was possible that immunity provided from last year’s flu shots — which included the H1N1 pandemic flu strain — may

have faded.

The new recommendations from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which were published in the agency’s weekly report on death and disease, also cover Sanofi’s newly approved Fluzone Intradermal vaccine for adults aged 18 to 64.

The vaccine, which uses a short needle and delivers the vaccine into the skin rather than the muscle, can be used as an alternative to traditional vaccines.

Eventually this season, the CDC officials said, the five companies that make flu vaccine for the U.S. market expect to provide 166 million doses of vaccine. That compares with 157 million doses distributed last year.

In addition to Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, AstraZeneca unit MedImmune, and CSL make flu vaccine for the U.S. market.

“There is plenty of vaccine for anyone who wants to get vaccinated this year,” Dr. Carolyn Bridges of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said in a telephone briefing.

Children aged 6 months to age 8 who are getting a flu shot for the first time will need two flu shots — given at least a month apart — to build up immunity, according to the CDC recommendations.

But children in that age group who were vaccinated last year will need only one flu shot.

Separately, the CDC released data on two studies looking at vaccination rates among healthcare personnel and pregnant women that suggested the CDC had more work ahead convincing people to get flu shots.

In one study, conducted by the CDC and the RAND Corporation, researchers saw only a slight

increase in the immunization rates of healthcare personnel to 63.5 percent in the 2010-2011 flu season from 62 percent the prior season.

Doctors and hospital workers had the highest vaccination rates, and mandates made a difference. Among the 13 percent of those surveyed who said their employers required them to get a flu shot, 98 percent had been vaccinated.

A second study of vaccination rates among pregnant women found 49 percent had been vaccinated during the past flu season, about the same rate as during the 2009 flu pandemic.

Pregnant women and their babies are at higher risk of severe flu complications. While the study showed no gains over the prior year, researchers were pleased the same level of coverage was achieved after fears of pandemic flu had subsided.

Vision problems common after glaucoma surgery

By GENEVRA PITTMAN More than half of people getting a certain type of glaucoma surgery may suffer from temporary, sometimes severe vision loss afterwards, suggests a new study. A smaller proportion — about 8 in every 100 — could have some degree of permanent vision loss, researchers found.

Patients should be aware of the possible harms of the procedure, called trabeculectomy, which involves draining fluid from the eye, they said.

But even more importantly, older adults at risk of glaucoma should

make sure to get their eyes checked.

That’s because if the condition is caught early, when it’s less advanced, patients aren’t as likely to need the surgery, said Dr. Brian Francis of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, one of the study’s authors.

Between 2 million and 4 million people in the U.S. have glaucoma, which can cause blindness by damaging the optic nerve.

Trabeculectomy is typically reserved for patients with severe glaucoma who don’t get better with standard medication or laser thera-

py, Francis said.

“We found a pretty high number of (people with) mild to moderate vision loss after trabeculectomy, but the majority of them recovered over time,” he told Reuters Health.

“The surprising thing was that we found the time to recovery could be quite lengthy,” he added.

The procedure, also called glaucoma filtration surgery, is done to reduce pressure that builds up inside the eye. Doctors make a small hole toward the front of the eye to drain out extra fluid, which is filtered through a “bleb” - a blisterlike bulge — and eventually absorbed by the

Overloaded backpacks can injure children Overstuffed backpacks can injure schoolchildren, says an expert, who asks parents to make sure their kids aren’t lugging around “unnecessary items.”

Dr. Joshua Hyman, director of orthopedic surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, said in a statement millions of children will be at risk of injury when they return to school this fall because of overweight backpacks.

“Parents should inspect their child’s backpack from time to time,” Hyman said. “They often carry much more than they should, with extra shoes, toys, electronic devices and other unnecessary items.”

Hyman, also an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, said a backpack shouldn’t weigh more than 15 percent of a child’s weight, or approximately seven pounds for a child weighing 50 pounds.

“If it is textbooks that are making the bag too heavy, parents should

speak with the teacher. Sometimes, these books can be left at school,” he said.

Also, to guard against injury, children should wear a backpack correctly over both shoulders so the weight is spread evenly, Hyman said. As an alternative, they could consider a backpack on wheels.

If a child experiences persistent pain, Hyman said, parents should consult their pediatrician, who may recommend physical therapy to strengthen back muscles.

A backpack may be too heavy if a child’s posture changes when putting it on or if the child suffers pain or has tingling or red marks.

blood stream.

Francis estimated that only about 5 to 10 percent of patients will have glaucoma that’s serious enough to warrant the surgery — but they will sometimes need it multiple times.

He and his colleagues looked back at the medical records of 262 patients who had a trabeculectomy between 1999 and 2003 on a total of 301 eyes. They followed the patients, and their reports of post-surgery vision, for up to two years.

Temporary vision loss occurred in 170 eyes, or about 57 percent, after the procedure. Whether mild or severe, vision loss typically took an average of two to three months to get better in those patients, the researchers reported in Archives of Ophthalmology. In some cases, temporary vision problems took up to two years to resolve.

But in 24 eyes, or 8 percent, vision loss was permanent. It was mild or moderate in 13 of the patients, and severe in the other 11.

Francis said that doctors think the surgery could add stress to an already ailing eye. In people with mild or moderate glaucoma, he said, there’s less of a risk of vision loss from any pressure-reducing procedure.

With glaucoma, “the earlier you catch the disease and start treating it, the better your prognosis is going to be,” he said.

For those with severe glaucoma who may need the surgery, however, the findings provide “reassurance that this is a small percentage” with permanent vision loss, Francis said.

“But it is a risk factor that has to be discussed with the surgeon.”

And for some patients who have had the surgery in the last year or so and are suffering from decreased vision, they can be hopeful that those problems could still improve, he added.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

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Investors seeing gold in farmland, infrastructure

By CHRISTINE STEBBINS CHICAGO — The overall economy may be struggling against a double-dip recession but in farm country the boom times have rarely been better.

Farmland prices are setting records and farmer incomes have been buoyed by exports and biofuels, easing the pain of some rough summer weather from drought, floods and fires.

Amid China’s voracious appetite for grains and worries about climate hurting crops and food supplies in many countries, U.S. agriculture’s attraction as the world’s breadbasket has become a beacon for Wall Street.

Firms like Omahabased Gavilon, owned

by Ospraie, a hedge fund associated with George Soros and Canada-listed Ceres Global Ag have been buying up grain elevators from Wyoming to Toronto.

That is unusual: investors owning grain silos. But analysts say it’s not what it seems.

No one wants to hold corn as a long-term asset, like gold bullion.

But storing and moving grain for others has now become a very profitable business.

William Wilson, a consultant and professor at North Dakota State University, said that 10 years ago you could store grain at elevators 2-1/2 to 3 cents per bushel per month.

Now costs can be 8-10 cents a month depending on location or grain.

“We’ve seen a lot of big new entrants into the agricultural commodity industry including White Box, Gavilon and others who are expanding,” Wilson said, referring to Minnesota-based hedge fund White Box Advisers, once an owner of grain storage.

“One reason has been the shift to ethanol having a bigger part of the market, where they demand quick access to

Large fields of corn growing in fields in Otisco, Indiana. corn on a 12-month basis,” Wilson said.

“Most of the time when you hear of private capital moving into agriculture they are talking about buying farms. But storage is a logistical function of the marketplace,” he added.

Wilson said special market factors, such as changes to the Chicago Board of Trade wheat contract, have also had the cumulative effect of raising prices for grain storage.

“It’s very important that in the last five years the market price

of storage has increased,” Wilson said.

“That has provided incentives to construct storage and has provided incentive for new players to enter into this world.”

Don Grambsch, president of Riverland Ag Corp, a Minnesota firm owned by Ceres, operates 14 grain facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wyoming, New York and Ontario with capacity to store 50 million bushels of grain.

He said they don’t have investors storing grain as long-term holdings.

“I have not heard of

them wanting to buy physicals,” he said. “We are a conventional grain company and store for third party users ...

They are not financial people, they are processors, beverage companies and so on.”

Wall Street investors and hedge funds also continue to push money into speculative vehicles like grain-related indexes and funds that trade grain derivatives. Corn gains in the last five years look almost as impressive as gold’s.

But the traditional asset play on agriculture by Wall Street — farmland — has also pushed to dizzying heights.

The Chicago Federal Reserve Bank on Wednesday said farmland prices in the Midwest in the second quarter were up 17 percent from a year ago — the biggest jump in 34 years.

Most of the 226 bankers questioned in its quarterly survey said they expect prices to level off in the next

three months — but a third also said they expected even more gains.

“Demand for farmland remained strong from both farmers and investors,” the Chicago Fed said.

It is the same story in the Plains. The Kansas City Fed on Monday released its own banker survey showing similar results with farmland values up more than 20 percent from a year ago.

University of Illinois economist Gary Schnitkey attributes the soaring value of farmland to the sluggish economy and the inability of the United States, the European Union and other sovereign debtors to come to grips with fiscal imbalances.

“The threat of longrun instability places a premium on real assets over financial assets.

This suggests that a more stable general economic outlook would lead to less aggressive growth in farmland prices,” Schnitkey said.

USPS hopes Congress delivers overhaul package

By EMILY STEPHENSON WASHINGTON — In just a few weeks, the U.S. Postal Service expects to be insolvent, barring intervention by a divided Congress bogged down by partisan sniping.

The quasi-independent agency, which delivers almost half the world’s mail and employs more than half a million Americans, lost $3.1 billion in its most recent quarter and expects to default next month on a massive health benefits payment after reaching its $15 billion borrowing limit.

The Postal Service, which receives no taxpayer funds to pay for operating costs and relies on sales of postage and other products, has struggled with a precipitous decline in mail volumes as consumers increasingly use e-mail and pay bills online. The drop-off was exacerbated by the economic

recession.

The mail carrier has asked Congress to approve major structural changes, including the elimination of Saturday mail delivery, as well as relief from its immediate cash crisis.

It has proposed cutting 220,000 jobs, or more than a third of its full-time staff, by 2015, and is studying about 3,650 of its 32,000 offices for potential closure.

But Congress is in recess until September 6, and the Democraticled Senate and Republican-led House of Representatives have fought bitterly on policy issues from health reform to raising the national debt ceiling.

At a time when lawmakers face another deficit-reduction fight and the 2012 election campaign is heating up, analysts say a drastic postal overhaul is unlikely any time soon.

“Something really needs to happen, but I just don’t quite see the

dynamics falling in place to make it happen,” said Gene Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce, which represents businesses and groups that use the mail.

“I do not yet see the temperament that’s needed to be able to say, ‘I may have to hold my nose and come to some compromises in order to keep the system alive.’”

If Congress does not step in, it is unclear what will happen. More billion dollar-plus obligations are nearly due.

Congressional staffers, postal experts and agency officials could not say with certainty when the cash will run dry.

The Postal Service said in its most recent financial report it was unlikely lawmakers would allow it to close.

Louis Giuliano, chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors, said at a recent meeting that educating lawmakers on the agency’s financial challenges had

become “a full-time job” due to “the environment in Congress.”

The debt ceiling stalemate trumped all other issues for weeks, and consensus on postal reforms seems a long way off.

Analysts say a bill from House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, a Republican, is probably the starting point for postal legislation. It would end Saturday mail delivery and set up groups to guide post office closings and overhaul the agency if it defaults, including renegotiating labor agreements.

The agency says fiveday delivery would save $3 billion a year. But some prominent lawmakers have not signed on.

Susan Collins, ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, contends cutting Saturday mail would disproportionately hurt rural communities.

A Democratic staffer said laying off workers and breaking collective bargaining agreements would face resistance from union members.

Efforts to close offices often draw fire from lawmakers seeking to protect jobs in their districts.

While Congress considers overhauling the Postal Service’s infrastructure, the agency expects to default on a $5.5 billion health benefit prepayment next month. Congress let the agency defer that annual payment once, in 2009, but is unlikely to do so again.

Several lawmakers from both parties have proposed allowing the agency to access money it says it overpaid to a federal retirement fund.

But Issa opposes that fix.

His office says the surplus was a temporary projection that could turn to deficit, and letting the Postal Service off the hook for the health prepayment

could lead to a taxpayer bailout in several years if the agency cannot afford to cover benefits.

His bill would let the Postal Service borrow an extra $10 billion, with its property as collateral.

“If I had to say who’s really got most of the cards in his hand, it’s Issa,” Del Polito said.

“He says, ‘No,’ things come to a screeching halt.”

The Postal Service has been introducing some of its own solutions, including a proposal to take over running its health and retirement programs. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has said that could save $400 million annually.

Congressional staffers said they needed more details to determine if the proposal could be feasible.

Donahoe told Reuters last week he hoped for a deal in Congress by the end of September to give the mail agency more control over its finances and payrolls.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

19

Uncertainty means more stock swings

By RYAN VLASTELICA The historic swings in the U.S. stock market over the past two weeks have investors struggling to figure out where equities may be headed next. Only one thing seems clear: The volatility is far from over.

A lack of progress on some of the economy’s biggest issues — from Europe’s sovereign debt to increasing signs the U.S. economy is in danger of slipping back into recession — will drive more uncertainty and moves from one extreme to another.

However, with the S&P 500 down 17.6 percent from its 2011 high, many investors say a bottom could be near, and bargain hunters could trigger at least a momentary bout of buying.

“We’re not even close to the end of volatility, but given a decline of almost 17 percent in 13 days, we could see a rise from these levels,” said Mike Gibbs, chief market strategist at Morgan Keegan in Memphis, Tennessee.

“If there’s something major with the European situation, that could be a catalyst for value investors to come back in.”

The situation in Europe has been dictating much of the market’s recent movement.

Last week, shares fell on Tuesday after a meeting between the heads of France and Germany failed to squelch fears about euro-zone leaders’ ability to contain the region’s debt issues, which could impact global growth and the profit outlooks of U.S. banks.

Market participants will also look ahead to comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at the central bank’s annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.

The Fed pledged this month to keep interest rates “exceptionally low ... at least through mid2013,” news that sparked a short-lived rally, suggesting that there may be little new information coming out of the Jackson Hole meeting that could move markets.

“There’s nothing Bernanke can do that’s

likely that will help stocks,” said Matt McCormick, a money manager at Cincinnatibased Bahl & Gaynor Inc, which has $3.2 billion in assets under management.

“If you see potential bank problems out of Europe before then, he might have some ammo for another round of quantitative easing, but absent that, investors hoping for an August surprise will likely be disappointed.”

The S&P 500 fell 4.7 percent last week, extending losses of 12.4 percent over the previous three weeks, its worst streak of that length in 2-1/2 years.

The CBOE Volatility Index, also known as the VIX, rose about 20 percent last week.

In a note, Birinyi Associates wrote that while the market remained difficult in the short term, there were indications that stocks were attractively valued.

Noting that the S&P 500 was 10 percent below its 50-day moving average, Birinyi said, “This is the most oversold the market has been” since March 2009.

Birinyi pointed out

that the 2.25 percent dividend yield on the S&P 500 was higher than the 10-year U.S. Treasury note’s yield, making this “only the second period since the 1950s where stocks have yielded more than bonds.”

Last week, the 10year note’s yield fell below 2 percent during Thursday’s buying frenzy; the yield fell as low as 1.978 percent — the lowest since at least 1950. At Friday’s close in New York, the 10year Treasury note’s yield stood at 2.07 percent.

Issues in Europe may take on out-sized influence this week as the U.S. earnings season draws to a close, with Tiffany & Co and Applied Materials among the few S&P 500 companies on tap to report.

Earnings, while often overshadowed by macroeconomic themes, have largely come in stronger than expected, giving investors at least one reason for optimism.

This week, investors will have plenty of U.S. economic indicators to watch, including the

release of data on new home sales data, durable goods orders, consumer sentiment and gross domestic product.

Should the data follow the recent trend of weak reports, which have contributed to the growing sense that growth will be muted, it could cause further selling.

“There’s still something of a sense that this is just a weak patch in the economy, but prolonged weak data would point more definitely to a double dip,” said Marc Scudillo, managing officer at EisnerAmper in New York. “There’s a good floor to the S&P 500 at 1,100 right now.

If we go under that, there’s room to move even further to the downside.”

While U.S. growth concerns remain a primary focus for investors, the issues in Europe are seen as the primary driver of the U.S. stock market in the near-term.

Last week, stocks fell on Tuesday as the leaders of France and Ger-

many failed to discuss boosting the size of the euro zone’s rescue fund or the sale of euro bonds, though they detailed closer eurozone integration. Many investors believe more aggressive policies are needed to restore stability to the area.

“What I’m seeing right now is basically a crisis of confidence, more so than an economic crisis or financial crisis necessarily at this stage,” said Natalie Trunow, chief investment officer of equities at Calvert Investment Management in Bethesda, Maryland.

Trunow, who helps oversee about $14.8 billion in assets, cited “the inability by policy-makers to come to a good path” as the reason for the uncertainty.

Morgan Keegan’s Gibbs said that the endgame in Europe was that “if confidence doesn’t return, we’ll continue to see the S&P essentially moving in lockstep with European markets.”

Verizon strike to end but talks to continue

By SINEAD CAREW About 45,000 Verizon Communications employees are set to end a two-week strike and return to work tomorrow after the telephone company and unions said they reached an agreement to resume bargaining.

Almost half of the workers in Verizon’s wireline business went on strike on August 7 after talks for a new labor pact failed when their contract expired.

Under the latest agreement, reached early on Saturday morning, Verizon promised to extend the terms of the old contract indefinitely while it continues bargaining for a new one with unions representing technicians and customer service workers.

Workers will start to head back to work for late shifts tonight and the rest of the striking workers will show up to their jobs tomorrow, one of the unions said.

Neither side would provide details about how the agreement was reached, but both sides continued to nip at each other.

Tens of thousands of Verizon managers were asked to work 12 hours a day for six days a week and many worked more than that to cover

for the strikers, said Verizon spokesman Richard Young. Verizon said its management team’s work helped “convince the unions to begin bargaining with us in good faith.”

“The fortitude and efforts of our managers have proven to be our strongest point of leverage in bargaining,” Marc Reed, Verizon’s executive vice president of human resources, said in a statement.

The Communications Workers of America

said it was “outraged” by the company’s comments, and demanded a retraction.

“It is both inaccurate and insulting,” the CWA said in a statement. “We agreed with management not to claim victory in changing the process, reinstituting the contract or shaping our goals. We will be prepared to fight and fight hard whenever necessary if Verizon believes it can resume negotiations on that basis.”

The agreement to continue talks follows an announcement by the company last week that healthcare benefits would expire on August 31 for workers who were still on strike at the time.

This would have affected 35,000 workers represented by the Communications Workers of America, and another

10,000 members of The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in nine states and the District of Columbia.

The decision to end the strike came after the unions and the company were able to agree on a structure and focus for bargaining on key issues such as jobs, employment security and financial issues such as healthcare contributions and pensions, according to CWA President Larry Cohen.

Cohen told Reuters that the issues on the table are complicated and will “take some time” to work out but he said the union was looking forward to the joint process.

“We would both say that this focus is much better than it was two weeks ago,” Cohen said.

The striking workers are in Verizon’s wireline business which provides

telephone, Internet and television services.

Verizon is looking to cut costs in this business, which has been declining for years as consumers have been hanging up home phones in favor of cellphones and Internet services.

But the unions had argued that Verizon was looking for too many concessions in areas such as healthcare contributions, pensions and work rules.

Verizon said it had made headway with negotiating a “number of local and regional” issues with the unions.

The dispute quickly turned bitter as Verizon complained of network sabotage on the second day of the strike while the unions said picketers were injured by vehicles driven by Verizon managers covering for the strikers.

20

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011 ! !

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DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

21

Usain Bolt confident before 100 meters

By GENE CHERRY DAEGU, South Korea — Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, predicted Saturday he would retain his world 100 meters title in Daegu, South Korea, easily this month provided he gets a decent start.

“If I get a good start...it won’t be a problem for me,” the lanky Jamaican told Reuters in an interview on the eve of his 25th birthday.

“I think I will win with ease. When I get into my running stride I don’t think anybody can match it, no matter my shape.”

The 100 meters preliminaries take place on the first day of the championships on August 27 with the final on the following day. Bolt, whose 2010 season was curtailed because of injury, starts his 200

meters title defense on Sept 3.

Bolt said his primary aim was to defend his titles.

“There won’t be any records here,” added Bolt who smashed the world marks in the 100 and 200 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and again at the world championships in Berlin in the following year.

“Just to defend my titles, that is the main aim for me.

“A lot of people will be wanting a fast time so I think 9.7 (seconds) should be good,” he said of the 100 meters.

Bolt’s team mate Asafa Powell is the fastest man this year, clocking 9.78 seconds in Lausanne in June.

His time is a tenth of a second quicker than anything the world record holder has managed this season.

“The injury kind of threw me off

a lot,” said Bolt. “I really couldn’t push myself early season because you have to take it slowly. You can’t really rush back into it.”

Bolt said his biggest problem was his start.

“It was like starting over for me for the start,” the Jamaican said.

“It’s hard to run when you are race rusty so to me it is just getting back into running.”

Bolt, speaking after showing off his new gold, black and green Jamaican-colored running spikes to a group of women dressed in traditional Korean costume, said his training was going well and we was ready to run.

“When I came here I felt that emotion,” he said. “When I saw people cheering for me in the airport I could feel that championship vibe coming on.”

Semenya camp insist athlete Sprinter Rodgers exits ready to defend 800m title worlds under doping cloud

By JASON HUMPHRIES JOHANNESBURG — South African 800 meters world champion Caster Semenya has shrugged off talk of injury, weight issues and a rift in her camp to declare herself ready to defend her title in Daegu, South Korea early next month.

Local media reports suggested Semenya and her coach Michael Seme had fallen out and also claimed that the 20-year-old was overweight, but the runner’s management team moved swiftly to dispel the rumors.

“The recent media reports that Caster Semenya is not ready to defend her world 800m title are untrue,” Semenya’s management team said in a statement Thursday.

“Semenya remains disciplined, focused and excited about representing South Africa at the World Championship in South Korea. In true championship style, she has embarked upon a stringent training

program in preparation for the world event.

“Currently she is doing light, final training at the home base in Pretoria, South Africa. We wish to dismiss any rumors that there is trouble in her camp.

“These rumors are seen as attempts to discourage and distract her from her glorious quest for gold.

“We furthermore wish to assure South Africans and Caster’s supporters that all is well with our champ and that she is going to put up a strong fight in defense of her title,” the statement added.

Semenya pulled out of this month’s World Student Games in Shenzen, China with a back injury but has also struggled for form this season, running below two minutes only twice, well short of the 1:55.45 she set to win the title in Berlin in 2009.

The World Championships run from August 27-September 4, with the women’s 800m final taking place on the final day of competition.

By LARRY FINE U.S. sprinter Michael Rodgers, who tested positive for a prohibited stimulant last month, has accepted a provisional suspension on Friday and withdrew from this month’s world championships in South Korea.

Rodgers, who was scheduled to compete for the United States in the

100 meters and 4x100m relay, tested positive for methylhexaneamine at an Italian meet but claimed he did not intentionally ingest the substance, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said in a statement.

Rodgers, 26, qualified for the worlds by finishing third in the 100 meters at the U.S. world championship trials in June.

The world championships begin in Daegu on August 27.

22

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

Cardinals sign Larry Fitzgerald through 2018 The Arizona Cardinals and Larry Fitzgerald have agreed to an eightyear deal that could pay the star receiver as much as $120 million, making it one of the richest deals in the NFL. The agreement, with guarantees near $50 million, is by far the biggest in the franchise’s history and could keep the star receiver with the team through the 2018 season.

The six additional years after 2012 would be worth $17 million each.

The $15 million average would tie him with the Raiders’ Richard Seymour for the fifth-highest average among all players. The top four players are all quarterbacks. Fitzgerald and team president Michael Bidwill appeared at a hastily called news conference Saturday night to announce the agreement.

Fitzgerald insisted he “hates this part of sports,” but he certainly has made a boatload of money. This is the third major contract he has signed, and he doesn’t turn 28 until Aug. 31.

“Growing up, since I was 7 years old, this has been the game I love and something I have been so passionate about,” Fitzgerald said, “and to have

to talk about it on the business side is a little bit uncomfortable. But I am really happy to put it behind us and it wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the Bidwill family’s hard work in making this thing happen.”

The Cardinals had said they wanted Fitzgerald’s new contract wrapped up by the start of the regular season, and

they made it with two weeks to spare.

Bidwill, son of the team’s owner Bill Bidwill, said the Cardinals’ intent is to have Fitzgerald retire as a Cardinal “but not anytime soon.”

Fitzgerald, the third overall park in the 2004 draft at the age of 19, spoke of the opportunity to spend his entire career with one team.

“It is an honor,” he said. “I am so fortunate. Not many players have that opportunity but Michael has allowed me that opportunity and I just want to repay him with great effort and winning. That is what is important.”

The 6-foot-3, 218-pound receiver has become the franchise’s career leader in receptions with 613 and needs just 294 yards to surpass Roy Green for career yards receiving. In Arizona’s surprise run to the Super Bowl in the 2008 season, Fitzgerald shattered most of the NFL playoff receiving records.

Fitzgerald has topped 1,000 yards receiving in five of his seven NFL seasons, including the last four. He caught 90 passes for 1,137 yards last season even though Arizona had one of the worst offenses in the league while struggling to a 5-11 record, in

Two shot after Raiders-49ers game SAN FRANCISCO — A man wearing a shirt slamming the San Francisco 49ers was seriously wounded as gunfire erupted in the parking lot after the team’s NFL preseason game, while another man sustained lesser injuries in an earlier shooting, police said.

The violence occurred after the 49ers’ 17-3 victory Saturday night over the Oakland Raiders at Candlestick Park, police Sgt. Michael Andraychak said.

A 24-year-old man was treated at San Francisco General Hospital for life-threatening injuries, and a 20year-old man was hospitalized with less serious wounds, Andraychack said.

The violence comes months after a San Francisco Giants fan was severely beaten by two men in Los Angeles Dodgers gear outside Dodger Stadium after the teams’ season opener March 31. Two suspects have been charged in the case.

Police Sgt. Frank Harrell said that in Saturday’s attack the 24-year-old man, who was wearing a T-shirt referring to the 49ers with an obscenity, was shot two to four times in the stomach, according to reports in the Oakland Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle. He drove his truck to a gate and stumbled to security, Harrell said.

The other man was shot before that in the parking lot and had superficial face injuries, Harrell said.

“We are treating it as separate

shootings, but we believe they are related,” Harrell told reporters outside the stadium.

Harrell said police took a man in a Raiders jersey off a party bus before it left the stadium and were calling him a suspect.

The suspect and the two victims had all attended the game, Harrell told the newspapers.

The 49ers issued a statement acknowledging the shootings and the investigation, but offering no further

details.

In violence during the game, the Oakland Tribune reported that a 26year-old San Rafael man was assaulted and knocked unconscious in a men’s restroom. Police said he was hospitalized and a suspect was arrested. There was no immediate indication that it was connected to the postgame shootings.

In the Giants fan attack in March, the two men accused in the beating, Louie Sanchez, 28, and Marvin Nor-

large part because of poor quarterback play in the wake of the retirement of Kurt Warner.

While Fitzgerald said he never insisted the team make a big move for a quarterback — “I am not anyone to hold a hammer over anyone’s head” — the Cardinals traded for Kevin Kolb from the Philadelphia Eagles, then signed him to a five-year, $63 million contract, with $21 million guaranteed. Fitzgerald, who organized team workouts during the lockout, had a practice session with Kolb long before the trade.

It is not known whether the deal contains the kind of terms that gave him huge leverage over the team under its current deal — specifically a ban on making him a franchise player and a no-trade clause.

The contract could have widespread ramifications around the NFL, particularly in the case of running back Chris Johnson, who is holding out for a new deal with the Tennessee Titans.

Johnson tweeted “congratulations to @LarryFitzgerald god is good” and Fitzgerald responded with “thanks CJ you up next my guy.” wood, 30, have pleaded not guilty.

Bryan Stow, a Santa Cruz paramedic, suffered severe brain injuries and remains hospitalized.

Stow’s doctor said this month that he has made “significant improvement” despite a series of ups and downs since his near-fatal attack. He said Stow is awake, breathing on his own, can move slightly and has been able to interact with his family.

The attack drew widespread attention and focusing the spotlight on security at Dodger Stadium, and the intense rivalry among Dodgers and Giants fans.

Giants’ Umenyiora to miss 3-4 weeks after knee surgery

By LARRY FINE The Giants could be without defensive end Osi Umenyiora for their season opener in September as he begins a three-to-four week recovery from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Friday.

Giants general manager Jerry Reese said the two-time Pro Bowler, who hit the practice field this week despite a contract dispute, was bothered by swelling in his balky right knee after going hard in his return.

“After practicing for three days he had some swelling in the knee.” Reese told reporters. “Osi’s feeling is he wants to get it cleaned up now because he is looking forward to playing this season, and he wants to (play) without the knee being an issue for him.”

Umenyiora reported to training camp one day late and then stayed away from the practice field disgruntled by what he felt was a broken promise by the team to renegotiate his contract. He relented and went back to work in earnest.

The 29-year-old Umenyiora, who shared the team lead with 11.5 sacks last season, said it was better to have his knee cleaned up now rather than later.

“It was going to have to be done, the only question was when,” said Umenyiora. “If I’m going to miss a little while, I would prefer it be now than at the crucial part of our season. It’s the best decision for the team and myself.”

The Giants open their regular season against the Washington Redskins on September 11.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

23

Elton Brand: Players will stick together PHILADELPHIA — Lockout or not, Elton Brand is set to play basketball with his Philadelphia 76ers teammates.

Brand helped organize a team workout scheduled for next week in Los Angeles and most of the key Sixers have told him they will attend. Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner, Lou Williams and others will fly in, share a hotel, play and work out together and do what they can to get ready for the season.

Whenever that starts, no one is quite sure.

“I can’t wait to see where the guys are at,” Brand said. “I’ve been talking to them all summer. They seem to be in shape already in case we get this thing going.”

The lingering, messy lockout has thrown doubt that training camp and the regular season will start on time. These loosely organized team activities — without any input or supervision from the coaching staff — are as close as the Sixers can get to a training camp without traveling to Philadelphia. Brand’s weekly, upbeat offseason texts from coach Doug Collins have vanished from his BlackBerry. The Sixers have completely faded from Philadelphia’s bustling sports scene.

But the numerous economic issues that have divided the players and owners are still a daily harsh reality for everyone connected with the sport. Brand attended an NBPA meeting this week in Los Angeles where the message from union leaders and superstars like Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce was a simple one: Stick together.

“I can’t speak for the owner’s side, but on the player’s side, there’s definitely a sense of urgency to meet and talk,” Brand said.

Brand has assumed the role of de facto team player rep. Jason Kapono held the position last season, but is a free agent now. Brand keeps in

touch with Players Association executive director Billy Hunter and keeps his teammates informed.

Brand, entering the fourth of a five-year contract, said “it’s tough to answer” if the Sixers really will open the season Nov. 2 in Toronto.

“I’ll have a better feel closer to training camp,” Brand said. “As of now, it doesn’t look good. It doesn’t look good at all. I don’t think we’re going to start with a normal training camp because the numbers are so far apart. But I think as training camp gets closer, we’ll know more if we have to miss games.”

Brand hasn’t ruled out playing overseas if the lockout drags into the regular season. Numerous players have said they would consider playing overseas. Nets All-Star guard Deron Williams recently agreed to a deal with Besiktas of Turkey. Brand has made about $126 million since his rookie year in 1999 and was set to make $17 million this season with the Sixers.

So, if he went abroad, it’s not because he needs the cash.

“If the season starts on Jan. 1, I would love to have a leg up on guys,” Brand said. “I wouldn’t want anyone to have a leg up on me.

That’s why it’s been, as we’re inching closer, it’s been in my brain. I want to be in peak physical condition when the season starts.”

He misses the texts and conversations with Collins and the staff.

When Quin Snyder, who recruited Brand to Duke, left his job as an assistant coach to join the Los Angeles Lakers, Brand couldn’t even wish him congratulations and good luck.

When Brand returns to work, he’ll have a new boss. Comcast-Spectacor sold the team to a group led by New York-based leveraged buyout specialist Joshua Harris. The deal is still awaiting approval by the NBA. When the Atlanta Hawks were

China to ban contracted NBA players during lockout BEIJING — The Chinese Basketball Association will restrict contracted NBA players from playing for domestic teams in the event the season is canceled, but will still allow free agents, state media reported Friday.

The CBA would bar players under contract such as Carmelo Anthony(notes) and Chris Paul(notes).

They and others had expressed interest in playing in China if the NBA lockout drags on and results in the cancellation of all or part of the 2011-12 season.

The CBA said it will welcome free agent NBA players, but will require them to play an entire season in China, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xinhua said more restrictions would be announced before the start of the Chinese season on Nov. 20. It reported contracts would be designed to discourage players from ducking out for dubious reasons such as suspect injuries or unverified family problems at home.

CBA officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

sold earlier this month, new owner Alex Meruelo had to fight back tears as he talked about what it means to be the NBA’s first Hispanic team owner.

Harris, oddly, has decided to refrain from publicly talking about the Sixers and his plans for a franchise that hasn’t won a championship since 1983. Brand said the team won’t be the same without chairman Ed Snider around.

“We’re definitely going to miss him,” Brand said, “and all he’s done for the organization over the years.”

For a player who might temporarily be out of a job this fall, Brand has kept busy.

He and Dallas center Brendan Haywood participated in a youth camp in St. Maarten. Brand and his production company, Milk and Media, are reading scripts and greenlighting projects. Brand spent about 10 days in Louisiana earlier this summer — “getting eaten up by insects” — overseeing the psychological thriller, “No One Lives,” starring Luke Evans.

Backed by WWE and Pathe Films, Brand watched the dailies, oversaw script changes, and made sure shooting stayed true to the vision of the project. Brand’s next passion project is a film about hip hop artist and actor Tupac Shakur.

And of course, he’s been playing

pickup games with other NBA players around Los Angeles.

But he’s antsy for the real deal to start.

“The one thing I’d want to get out there is for the fans to know we appreciate their support,” he said.

“We’re doing all we can as players to try and make this thing right so we can have a season.”

Fox Sports, UFC strike multi-year deal

By TIM MOLLOY Fox and Ultimate Fighting Championship announced a multi-year, multi-platform deal Thursday calling for Fox to air four primetime or late-night UFC events a year.

UFC said the deal would help further establish ultimate fighting as a major sport, and noted that Fox has previously aired the Super Bowl, World Series and Daytona 500.

The deal calls for “The Ultimate Fighter,” UFC’s signature weekly reality show, to move from Spike TV to FX in spring 2012. New episodes will air on Friday nights, and FX will also air four to six live fight shows a year.

The first live event on Fox will air Saturday, November 12 at 9 p.m.

ET. Other Fox networks, including Fuel TV, will air additional programing beginning in January 2012. The programing will include “UFC Unleashed,” “UFC Primetime,” the “UFC Knockout” series, “Best of Pride,” and weigh-ins.

“We’re excited to be part of the Fox family,” said UFC president Dana White. “The UFC is finally where it belongs on the No. 1 network in the country and aligned

with the most prestigious sports properties in the world. I’ve always said that the UFC will be the biggest sport in the world and with this relationship it will become a reality.”

Moments before Fox’s announcement, Spike announced that the 14th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” beginning in September, would be its last on Spike.

UFC said the deal with Fox reflected its massive growth since its founding in 1993. It was acquired by Zuffa, LLC, in 2001, and Fox Sports Net carried its first nonpay-per-view event on basic cable television the next year, delivering what was then its largest audience.

UFC has tried to gain a mainstream audience by working with state athletic commissions and establishing consistent rules and standards.

It now boasts advertisers including Bud Light, Dodge and Harley Davidson, and a young, growing audience. UFC said the median age for UFC viewers on Spike was 36, compared to 43 for the Super Bowl.

UFC programing is broadcast in more than 132 countries and territories, reaching 597 million homes worldwide, in 21 different languages.

MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

CARDINALS SIGN FITZGERALD THROUGH 2018

The Arizona Cardinals and Larry star receiver as much as $120 milFitzgerald have agreed to an lion, making it one of the richest eight-year deal that could pay the deals in the NFL. SEE PAGE 22.

USAIN BOLT CONFIDENT BEFORE 100 METERS

Usain Bolt, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastest man, predicted he would retain his world 100 meters title in Daegu, South Korea, easily this month provided he gets a decent start.

SEE PAGE 21.