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Final

CTC SALUTES THEATRE LEGEND GERTRUDE HADLEY JEANNETTE

Theatre icon, Ruby Dee with The Coalition of Theatres of Color (CTC) honored contemporary Black theater pioneer Gertrude Hadley Jeannette, 96, Founder and CEO Emeritus of the H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players, at a Women’s History Month press conference at the Dwyer Cultural Center in Harlem. Pictured above CTC members: (L-R) Sade Lythcott, National Black Theatre;

Gertrude Hadley Jeannette, H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players; Carl Clay, Black Spectrum Theatre; Voza Rivers, New Heritage Theatre, Jackie Jeffries, National Black Theatre; Ruby Dee; Woodie King, New Federal Theatre. Read the complete story on pages 12 and 13 in Inside New York’s section of the Daily Challenge.

Photo credit: Lem Peterkin

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

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NEWS BRIEFS DOE: 3,200 CITY KIDS AWAIT KINDERGARTEN SEATS Nearly 3,200 incoming kindergarten students and their parents will have to wait to see if they will be able to attend their neighborhood school in the fall.

The Department of Education says it is trying to find seats for the children. Education officials add that while the number seems high, it is only about 5 percent of the total number of applications received this year.

A spokesperson says applications are up citywide, and a majority of kids were accepted to their locally zoned school.

The wait lists are expected to slim down as parents whose children applied to more than one school choose a location or a private school.

NTSB: TOUR BUS SPEED NEARED 80 PRIOR TO BRONX CRASH Nearly three weeks after a bus crash in the Bronx left 15 people dead, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board says the bus was speeding at up to 78 miles per hour.

The official also said a video camera on the windshield failed to record the accident.

The news came at a U.S. Senate hearing on bus safety Wednesday, following a number of deadly accidents.

Lawmakers want to know why the Transportation Department has been slow to implement safety measures recommended by the NTSB. Some of the recommendations were made more than a decade ago.

They include requiring seatbelts for all passengers, and stronger roofs to keep them safe in the event of a rollover.

During the deadly March 12th crash the tour bus veered off the road, toppled on its side and slid into a highway sign that sliced through its roof.

STATE COMPTROLLER: CITY DOE UNDERCOUNTS DROPOUTS A report from the state comptroller finds more city high schoolers may be dropping out than previously recorded.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the dropout rate for the 20042008 school years may have been as high as 16.5 percent, rather than the 13 percent cited by the city Department of Education.

The comptroller believes this difference is because the DOE is reporting students as transferring out of the system, instead of as actual dropouts.

DiNapoli wants the DOE to change its record-keeping practices to follow those of the state education department to determine whether a student is a dropout.

In response, the city education officials say students often leave without notifying schools. They also say following the state’s system is an unfair burden to principals and administrators.

Seven New York state workers win $319M lottery

By DAN WIESSNER SCHENECTADY — Seven state workers who won the $319 million Mega Millions lottery said on Thursday they’re still deciding whether to split it with five unlucky co-workers who chose not to play this time around.

Three women and four men who work as IT specialists and program managers at the New York Division of Housing and Community Renewal and live in the Albany suburbs came forward to claim the fifth largest Mega Millions prize in history.

The so-called “Albany Seven” elected to take a lump sum payout, which amounts to $19 million after taxes each.

They are among a group of 12 colleagues who for the past four years have pooled their money in the hopes of winning the biggest jackpot game

in the United States. Five of them, however, bowed out of the March 25 purchase - which turned out to be the lucky ticket.

“Some of us got in and some of us didn’t,” said Gabrielle Mahar, 29, of Colonie, who heeded a long-time lottery motto, “You’ve got to play to win.” Her dream purchase, she said, was a dishwasher.

The winners said they have not yet decided whether to share their winnings with the five who missed out.

While none of them went to work this week, the seven co-workers still have not decided whether to retire.

One winner said staff training underway for years as part of a state emergency preparedness exercise left him assured that “the people who are there are very capable of picking up if we choose not to return.”

Offering a blow-by-blow account of the purchase of the lucky ticket, the workers took turns speaking at a

press conference at New York State Lottery headquarters.

Mike Barth, 63, of Bethlehem said he was all set to buy the ticket at a convenience store when he shifted out of the checkout line to reach for a Snickers Dark candy bar. The man behind him then stepped in front of him.

“I didn’t say anything because I wanted to be nice,” Barth said. “And later I was thinking, ‘Maybe that guy would have won.’”

While not exactly a Wonka Bar containing the Golden Ticket, the fated candy bar will always hold a sweet spot for Barth. So, too, does the shopper who cut in front of him, he said, offering the official New York Lottery slogan in condolence, “Hey, you never know...”

The winning numbers were 22-2431-52-54 and the Mega ball was 4.

Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesday and Friday nights. Five balls are drawn from a set of balls numbered 1 to 56; one ball is drawn from a set of balls numbered 1 to 46.

Aside from Barth and Mahar, the winners include John Hilton, 57, of North Greenbush; John Kutey, 54, of Green Island; Tracy Sussman, 41, of Colonie; Kristen Baldwin, 42, of Clifton Park and Leon Peck, 62, of Johnstown.

Americans favor allowing women in combat WASHINGTON — Americans strongly support allowing women in uniform to serve in combat, despite US military rules that ban women from combat units, a new poll showed on Thursday.

The Quinnipac University Polling Institute’s survey said 67 percent of voters favored permitting women “to serve in ground units that engage in close combat” with 29 percent opposed.

Both male and female voters backed the change by similar margins, with support strongest among younger Americans, according to the poll, carried out March 22-28.

Among voters 18 to 34 years old, the poll showed support for lifting the ban at 81 percent, while Americans over the age of 55 backed the change 55-38 percent.

“Americans have become accustomed to women in the armed forces, and apparently are ready for them to serve in combat units. It will be interesting to see how the public feels if, God forbid, there is combat with large numbers of women casualties,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement.

The survey results came as US commanders take a second look at

the prohibition, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — which lack clearly defined front lines — have thrust female soldiers into serious fighting situations.

The US Army’s chief of staff last year told lawmakers that it was time to review the rules preventing women serving in combat given the experience of female troops in the

wars.

The American military last year decided to lift the ban on women serving in submarines, an all-male bastion that naval officers once insisted could never change.

The poll surveyed 2,069 registered voters and carried a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

Court sets June date to hear healthcare appeal ATLANTA — A court will hear oral arguments on June 8 in a government appeal of a federal judge’s ruling that struck down President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare overhaul law as unconstitutional.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said it would hear the appeal before a randomly selected three-judge panel. The fight over the law, Obama’s signature domestic accomplishment, is expected to reach

the Supreme Court.

“This appeal shall also be expedited to oral argument and shall be heard at oral argument on Wednesday, June 8, 2011, at 9:30 a.m. in Atlanta, before a three judge panel randomly selected,” a court document said.

The administration is appealing a decision in January by District Judge Roger Vinson that favored arguments by 26 states which say the law’s requirement that Americans buy

health insurance starting in 2014 or pay a penalty is unconstitutional.

The law includes provisions allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ healthcare insurance and prevents insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing medical conditions.

Debate over the law dominated politics in 2009 and galvanized Republicans who warned about its cost and said it was evidence of intrusive government power.

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

3

40th anniversary of the Congressional Black Caucus It has been four decades since 13 legislators made history with the establishment of the Congressional Black Caucus. Marking the caucus’ 40th anniversary, former and current members of the organization, which has tripled in size to 43 members, gathered in the U.S. Capitol in the Statuary Hall to toast the milestone.

Considered the conscience of Congress, the CBC is one of

the most powerful forces in Democratic politics in the House – even seeing one of its own elected president.

Three of the 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus (L-R) Louis Stokes, Walter Fauntroy and Charles Rangel cut the cake in celebration of the Congressioinal Black Caucus’ 40th anniversary.

NY legislature passes $132 billion budget, no new taxes

By DAN WIESSNER ALBANY — The New York state legislature on Thursday passed a $132.5 billion spending plan, closing a $10 billion deficit with no new taxes or debt and instead relying on harsh cuts to education and healthcare.

Having been passed by both the Republican-led state Senate and the Democraticcontrolled state Assembly, the budget will now be sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo to sign. It is the first budget since 2006 to be passed by the April 1 deadline.

“Tonight the legislature not only passed an on-time budget, but a historic and transformational budget,”

Cuomo said.

The budget, which cuts total spending by 2 percent, also calls for the layoff of 9,800 state employees unless public employee unions concede $450 million in savings in pay and benefits.

The budget is an early victory for Cuomo, who persuaded the legislature to back almost all of his plan by threatening a government shutdown in the event of an impasse.

New York has one of the country’s biggest budgets and the state is one of the top issuers of municipal bonds in the nation. These factors all intensify scrutiny of its budgets in the $2.9 trillion municipal bond market.

Many other states also are grappling with huge deficits — a legacy of the 2008 finan-

cial crisis. But some of them, including California and Connecticut, are mulling significant tax increases.

Illinois in January blazed the tax raise trail, enacting a 67 percent increase in state personal income taxes.

New York’s fiscal 2012 budget cuts more than $1.2 billion from state aid to local school districts and reduces spending on the state’s Medicaid program by $2.8 billion.

The budget sets an annual cap of $15 billion on Medicaid spending and ties future spending increases to a national index. Similarly, future education spending will be linked to personal income growth.

“Difficult and painful decisions had to be made to address the fiscal reality fac-

ing our state,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

The list of legislative plans Cuomo beat back included a tax on New Yorkers who earn more than $1 million per year, which was sought by Silver and other Assembly Democrats. That proposal was meant to replace a surcharge on singles who earn more than $200,000 and couples who earn more than $300,000, which will expire on December 31.

Republican Dean Skelos, the Senate majority leader, tried to ensure that prisons were closed in both Democratic and Republican districts but the final plan lets Cuomo make the choices without legislative approval. With that exception, Skelos and Cuomo were largely in lock-

step throughout budget negotiations.

“You can’t tax your way into prosperity, you can’t tax your way out of economic problems,” Skelos said. “We have sent a message to the business community that we want you to stay here, grow here, invest here and create jobs here.”

The budget merges a number of state agencies and cuts agency budgets by 10 percent, nearly across the board.

It also puts Wall Street, the state’s economic engine, under a new regulator.

Cuomo merged the state’s banking and insurance departments into a new Department of Financial Services, which will gain oversight of new financial products.

Half a million die from smoking yearly in U.S.

By GENEVRA PITTMAN Smoking causes half a million deaths each year in the U.S., killing slightly more men than women, new statistics show.

The rates of smokingrelated deaths in men were comparable to what’s been found in other recent analyses. The numbers for the women, however, were higher than expected.

The study, published in the journal Epidemiology, is “an important reminder that this huge epidemic...needs ongoing measurement,” said Dr. Prabhat Jha, who studies smoking mortality and heads the Center for Global Health Research at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

“We just can’t assume that we know enough about where this epidemic is going,” Jha, who was not involved in the current study, told Reuters Health.

For the new report, Dr. Brian Rostron, then of the University of California, Berkeley, used data from a national health survey that asked nearly 250,000 people if and how much they smoked currently and in the past.

Participants were tracked for 2 to 9 years after filling out the survey. By the time the study ended, in 2006, about 17,000 of them had died.

Rostron, who now works at the Food and Drug Administration, calculated the odds of dying for smokers and non-smokers of different ages and genders.

Then he applied the extra risks due to smoking to the total U.S. population.

According to his calculations, there were an average of about 290,000 smokingrelated deaths in men each year between 2002 and 2006 and 230,000 in women - a total of over half a million deaths.

In all, about 2.5 million people in the U.S. die every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among all current and former smokers, the greatest increase in risk of a tobaccorelated death was seen between the ages of 65 and 74. Once other factors such as weight and alcohol consumption were taken into account, people in that age group were three times as likely to die from any cause

if they currently smoked between one and two packs of cigarettes a day, compared to if they had never smoked.

As evidence of the risks of smoking has accumulated and spread, the number of current smokers in the U.S. has dropped over the past few decades.

A new study in The Journal of the American Medical Association confirms that trend: about 7 percent of adults in the U.S. were heavy smokers in 2007, compared to 23 percent in 1965. The researchers on that study, led by Dr. John Pierce of the University of California, San Diego, defined “heavy smoking” as 20 or more cigarettes a day.

Despite that good news, Jha said the new estimates show the need for more information on how smok-

ing affects women. “It might well be that in women the effects are greater and more severe, but we need more evidence,” he said.

Jha added that while rates of smoking and deaths from smoking have been falling over the long term in the U.S., they’ve been rising in low-income countries.

Because of that, “overall the number of smoking-related deaths worldwide is bound to increase,” Jha said.

Currently, there are about 5 to 6 million smoking-related deaths each year worldwide, he said.

4

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

FORUM From T he Pu b l i sh er ’ s Desk

New CRL research: Banks’ foreclosure bias hurts everyone THOMAS H. WATKINS

By CHARLENE CROWELL

Demographic shifts and Black political power

By JuLIANNE MALVEAux Census data on city populations made headlines this week. Washington, DC can apparently only barely be described as “chocolate city” since the African American population is only a scant majority in the city. According to the Washington Post, even the block on which former mayor Marion Barry cut his teeth, married wife Effie, and ran for mayor in 1976 is now whiter than it has ever been with a Norman Rockwell type white family (two kids, intact family, dog) live in Councilman Barry’s old house.

Those of us who live in and love DC are amazed, amused, and sometimes apoplectic about the changes.

A gay bar where the barbershop used to be? A neighborhood restaurant where the waitress seats whites before African Americans? Ch-ch-ch-ch changes, goes the song. And so it goes.

Another headline, Detroit has lost 25 percent of its population, mostly due to Black folk moving out. Detroit was a city, is a city that has been a fulcrum of Black working class, middle class hegemony. You didn’t have to have a college degree to make six figures in Detroit.

All you had to have was an ability to make it work on the assembly line, to work overtime, to join a union, stick with the union, have integrity, master your craft. To be sure, there were six figure professionals in Motown, but the beauty of Detroit is that the average Black man or woman could make it just by being persistent and insistent. With the denouement of the auto industry, that is no longer the case. Detroit has been failing for more than this last decade, and now there is numerical evidence that the Detroit we once, knew is not the Detroit that exists anymore. People are fleeing to suburbs, Black people are leaving, and like DC there is this gentrifying class of white folk who are claiming space, although much more slowly.

My concern about all of this is political. What does it mean when urban America, once the African American political base, goes from chocolate to neopolitan (remember that ice cream box with chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, all in equal swirls). Mayors who could once hook a brother or a sister up now have more constituencies to balance. Mayors who could be counted on to deliver on the interests of African American people now have to listen to others. When the interests of African Americans clash with the interests of others, what does a mayor intent on re-election do?

We are not post-racial yet, but cities are exhibiting post-racial living patterns. The world is no longer a narrow white or Black occasion, it is neopolitan, with Latino

Fix or Evict, the Center for Responsible Lending’s latest in a series of research reports on mortgage lending and foreclosures, reaches eye-opening conclusions in its ongoing scrutiny of America’s still-unfolding foreclosure crisis. It’s no secret that banks and other loan servicers are harming struggling homeowners by pushing unnecessary foreclosure. Now, this research shows that banks are also acting directly against the best interests of loan investors – the companies that own the loans including pension funds and life insurance companies.

Most importantly, the report found that the lending industry’s poor track record on loan modifications cannot be blamed on homeowners who re-default.

“It’s well documented how mortgage servicers’ unfair, shoddy practices have hurt homeowners,” said Mike Calhoun, president of CRL. “This research shows that servicers also routinely give the investment community a raw deal.”

At present, families facing eviction outnumber those with a modification by a 12-1 margin.

Updated statistics show that residential mortgage foreclosures are on track to reach 13 million by the end of 2014 at a cost of nearly $1 trillion in direct losses to families, local governments,

and financial institutions. When CRL factored in the lost value to homes in close proximity of foreclosures, $1.9 trillion in losses will be stripped away by 2012.

From CRL’s perspective, it is time for the banks to accept the consequences for the hundreds of billions of dollars in damages that have been inflicted on the nation.

It was the lack of accountability by banks that is so disturbing when the public bailed them out. Before any foreclosure is allowed to proceed, there needs to be full disclosure for homeowners and investors to ensure that every loan got a good look from the servicer. Further, the current loan servicing investigation by the nation’s attorneys general must result in remedies to reform an industry that perpetuated the crisis. Let’s not forget that this crisis began with foreclosures and spread to the rest of the economy.

Findings from Fix or Evict? also corroborate recent data from the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which showed how four out of five households that received HAMP modifications are still current on their mortgages. Unlike many short-term loan repairs that occur outside the HAMP program, HAMP loan modifications are most likely to involve reducing the homeowner’s monthly payment – and this is the type of modification that is likely to be the most successful.

It is amid this growing body

and Asian folk claiming space that they deserve. Will African Americans play well with those who are neither white nor Black, just here and pursuing the American dream? Will the new alliances be non-white, or will they be non-Black? Is there a danger that African Americans, now the third largest population group, after whites and Latinos, will be pushed back to the periphery of political and economic representation? Will there be those who, insensitive to our nation’s racial history, assert that the playing field now is level, even though it never was?

In those cities where African American majorities are being minimized, it is clear that whites who embrace the concept of civic engagement vote more regularly and more passionately than some African Americans do.

Why else is there a white majority on the City Council in Washington, DC? White folk vote, and they write, and they show up at meetings. Many Black folk, over-

— 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.

whelmed by the challenges of daily life, don’t vote, but emote. Acknowledging income and life experience differences, there are reasons for different voting and civic engagement patterns. The results, however, have longterm political consequences.

The new demographics require African American people to be fully engaged in civic life. They require us to take hold of our destiny. Fewer Black folks in DC, in Detroit? Those who remain can make a difference if they choose. Our national ability to retain political power depends on this engagement.

— Dr. Julianne Malveaux is President of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Her most recent book, Surviving and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black Economic History is available at lastwordprod.com.

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of objective analyses that some from the investment side are questioning the low number of modifications as well.

“The misalignment of economic interests between the owners of mortgages and those who service them is the single reason why the mortgage problem has become a crisis and a massive economic drain on this country”, said Bill Frey, president of Greenwich Financial Services and a longtime investor advocate.

“Servicers have been allowed to follow their own voluntary loan modification program”, said CRL’s Calhoun, “and the result has gone against the best interests of everyone but the servicers themselves. We need mandatory reforms that ensure servicers follow the law and act in the best interests of their clients – that would end up benefiting everyone.”

Perhaps if investors with deep pockets could align themselves with the people whose pockets have been picked, we could have a real and sustainable recovery.

Sure, it would be an odd couple alignment. But, maybe after so many losses, it’s the one that could make the true difference.

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DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

JOURNAL OF THE PEOPLE’S PASTOR: ‘WRITING THE HISTORY I’VE LIVED, LIVING THE HISTORY I WRITE!’

Fifty-two nights and half-a-day in the hospital: My experience they ceased praying, she was gone.

Many years ago, I said to my mother, who was in such apparent agony in the hospital, “Mother, you can go now. I will take care of everything.” It wasn’t long after when the hospital called me to say that my mother was dying. When I arrived at the hospital, my mother was gone, but she had the most peaceful look on her face. Yes, I believe the prayers of God’s people kept me here.

I no longer had a dilemma about dying or living. I felt like the Apostle Paul, who wrote in Philippians 1:2123, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two.

My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”

Deep in my spirit, I wanted to live.

I thought of the many people who were praying for me. I began to think of my loved ones and the work that remained to be done. I said, “By the grace of God, I will live.” Even as I said that, I knew I had some painful and terrifying days ahead. I knew

that the operation was going to have complications, and I would be in the hospital longer than usual. Nevertheless, I was firm in my convictions that I would live. Moreover, I would not only survive, but I would also come forth stronger and better than ever with an expanded mission.

When he was 80 years old, Moses was called to be the deliverer of the Hebrew Israelites from Egyptian bondage. This is not to suggest that my calling would commensurate with Moses’, but it is to say that there would be a lot of work for me to do at the age of 80 years. Towards that end, I was in a dilemma. I was eager to get it over with the ordeal, but on the other side, I was reluctant to face the operation and the long stay at the hospital. I was like Jesus who wanted to avoid the crucifixion, but He knew that he could not be the Savior that God wanted Him to be unless He went the way of the Cross. Jesus said, “May God’s will be done,” and He taught us to always say the same.

** Join Reverend Daughtry in Jersey City for the weekly Wednesday Evening Educational, Cultural, and Empowerment Forum from 6pm-8pm for an evening of information, inspiration, and challenge at 315 Forrest Street (Ground Floor), corner of MLK, Jr. Drive. For more info, contact The National Community Action Alliance at (201) 716-1585.

…to be continued.

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We movin’ to the outskirts of town

est share of suburban Blacks in the South since the Civil Rights Act passed in the 1960s. Suburbs anywhere are a huge draw. Typically, today’s middle-class African American families are making the same kind of choices as White families: As soon as their kids are school-age, they move to the suburbs. Suburbs are also luring lower-income Blacks who are leaving neighborhoods that don’t have supermarkets and other retail.

The South is the second most racially and ethnically diverse U.S. region after the West. Roughly 61

percent of its population is White, 19 percent Black and 15 percent Hispanic. That’s compared with a national breakdown of 65 percent White, roughly 12 percent Black and 16 percent Hispanic.

Blacks are leaving Blue State America for Red State America. Ironically, because in their “I can go anywhere I want” mindsets, are showing a preference for living in the kind of states dominated by Republicans. Because of Blacks’ movements, Republicanleaning states will gain at least a half dozen House seats.

By REV. DR. HERBERT DAUGHTRY Part Five About a week before my surgery, I began to feel a change regarding my attitude towards my demise. For some strange reason, I had a feeling I was going to make it. I became 75% sure that I would live. I truly believed that the people’s prayers changed things. I’m reluctant to say that the prayers changed God’s mind, but there were instances in the Bible where God made adjustments.

For instance, Hezekiah was told he had to die, but he fervently prayed to live. God heard his prayer and added 15 more years to his life. We know so little about the power of prayer. We think we know and believe, but our lives say the contrary. I recall an instance where one of the old saints was scheduled to die, but the church continued to pray. On one occasion, the old saint turned to the people who were praying around her bed. She said, “Children, y’all have to let me go.” When

By WILLIAM REED Black Americans are losing political clout. The loss of voting power is not from White peoples’ skullduggery, but due to our own movement choices. The 2010 Census data show that 20 of the 25 cities that have at least 250,000 people and a 20% Black population lost political clout. These declines happened in traditional Black strongholds such as: Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C. Black American political and population losses were fueled by middle-and-upper-class Blacks leaving cities for the suburbs and large percentages of Blacks leaving Northern cities for thriving centers in the South.

The Census Bureau says the nation’s population is 308,745,538, up from 281.4 million. The 9.7% growth rate is the lowest since the Great Depression. Michigan was the only state to lose population; and Nevada, with a 35 percent increase, was the fastest-growing. Whether upwardly mobile Blacks know it, or not, the new numbers are a boon for Republicans, with Texas and Florida leading the way among GOP-leaning states that will gain House seats, mostly at the Rust Belt’s expense.

There are more than 37 million Black Americans. Down from 14.8% of the population in 2000, we are 12.3% in 2010. Fifty-two percent of Black Americans are female and 48 % are male. African Americans are the nation’s second-largest minority group. Political clout has left the five counties that had the largest Black populations in 2000 - Cook in Illinois, Los Angeles, Wayne in Michigan,

Kings in New York, and Philadelphia - all lost Black population. Among the 25 counties with the biggest increase in Black population, three-quarters are in the South.

More than half of Black Americans live in the South. New York had the largest Black population of any state as of July 1, 2008 (3.5 million); Georgia had the largest numeric increase since July 1, 2007 (67,000). The District of Columbia had the highest percentage of Blacks (56 percent), followed by Mississippi (38 percent).

Cook County, IL (Chicago’s county) had the largest Black population of any county (1.4 million), and Orleans Parish, LA (New Orleans’ county) had the largest numeric increase since July 1, 2007 (16,000). Claiborne County, MS the highest percentage of Blacks in the nation (84 percent).

Places where Blacks had gained “political stronghold” status are losing Black people. Detroit lost almost 200,000 Blacks. Detroit’s 25 percent population drop represents the fastest collapse in American history of any major city not decimated by a natural disaster.

Blacks’ percentage of Atlanta’s population shrank from 61% to 53%. But, in Atlanta’s vast metropolitan area, the Black population soared to the second-largest Black population after New York. Chicago lost more than 180,000 African American residents. The Black population fell 3.5% to 1.6 million. Washington D.C. lost its Black majority.

In their quest to “keep us with the Joneses” Blacks are hurting their ballot power. The number of Black suburbanites climbed to 58 percent in the South, compared to 41 percent for the rest of the U.S. That’s up from 52 percent in 2000 and represents the high-

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OBAMA: QADDAFI ‘NEEDS TO GO’ President Obama reiterated that the ongoing missile strikes in suphe wants Libyan leader Muammar port of a no-fly zone are not meant al-Qaddafi gone, but stressed that to achieve that result. SEE PAGE 3.

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6

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

‘

naTional

Whistleblower suit filed against California nuclear plant

By MARTY GRAHAM SAN DIEGO — A former manager at one of California’s two nuclear power stations sued the facility’s operators on Wednesday, claiming he was fired in retaliation for reporting safety concerns at the plant.

The suit against Southern California Edison, principal owner of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, comes a year after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rebuked the company for what the government called a “chilling effect” on the airing of safety concerns by employees.

In a March 2010 letter cited in the lawsuit and provided to reporters by lawyers for the plaintiff, Paul Diaz, 35, the NRC ordered Edison to address a workplace climate in which workers feared retribution for reporting safety

A woman and her dogs walk past the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station that sits on the shore of the Pacific Ocean in North San Diego County, California. issues. ture of cover-up.”

According to the lawsuit, The lawsuit also cited probthe NRC inquiry and letter lems with chronic fatigue were prompted by anonymous among workers caused by calls and e-mails from plant lengthy shifts and heavy over“insiders” raising concerns time demands. about “shortcuts on testing Edison spokesman Gil new generators, unreported Alexander said in a written safety violations, falsifying statement that the company records and promoting a cul-

had not yet been served with a copy of the lawsuit and does not comment on pending litigation.

“However, we can say that, by policy, SCE considers retaliation against employees who raise safety concerns a termination offense,” the statement said.

Diaz filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court Wednesday, seeking unspecified damages. The complaint names Southern California Edison and his former supervisor.

The San Onofre plant sits on the Pacific coast near the border of San Diego and Orange counties, about 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The two reactors there went into commercial operation in the 1980s.

The state’s only other nuclear power plant in operation is the Diablo Canyon facility, owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, near San Luis Obispo on the cen-

tral California coast.

Diaz was first hired at San Onofre in 1999 as a security officer and later promoted into management, his lawsuit says. He left San Onofre in 2008 to work for a northern California company, then was recruited back to the plant in 2010.

His return preceded the NRC letter by a few months, his attorney, Maria Severin, told Reuters.

“Some employees came to him with issues they were afraid to bring up because they feared retaliation,” Severin said. “So he brought them up. They (his supervisors) told him: don’t be a superhero.”

Diaz, then manager of business and accounting and project service, was fired in October 2010, his complaint states.

The ostensible reason for his dismissal was poor performance, but the lawsuit does not give specifics.

Lawyers: BP, spill partners Healthcare workers fired for harmed cleanup crew sexual mistreatment of elderly

Workers clean booms stained with oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in Waveland, Mississippi.

BANGALORE — BP Plc and other companies who had used chemical dispersants to fight the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill should compensate the cleanup crew and residents harmed by those toxic chemicals, lawyers suing the firms said in a court filing.

To date, BP and its contractors have used more than 1.8 million gallons of Nalco Holding’s chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico in connection with the oil spill, according to the complaint. Nalco was also named in the complaint.

Lawyers said many plaintiffs, who were assisting in the effort to prevent oil slicks from reaching the shore, or cleaning oil spill residue from the beaches, came into contact with crude oil, chemical dispersants and other toxic chemical mixtures.

The complaint has sought unspecified compensatory damages from BP and the other companies involved in the clean up act.

The lawsuit has also sought damages for medical screening and monitoring.

BP in London declined comment.

Four nursing home workers in upstate New York were fired for sexually humiliating two elderly patients with a history of mental problems, a state report revealed this week.

The Department of Health document released to Reuters detailed misconduct that occurred at Northgate Health Care Facility in North Tonawanda, New York, in April 2010.

It said two nursing assistants, Gloria Maxwell, 24, and Alicia Clemens, whose age was not revealed, put a male patient who is legally blind and has dementia into bed with a female patient, who suffers from mild retardation and schizophrenia.

They tried to trick the man into thinking the woman was

his wife, even as his actual wife was in the room, the report said.

Using “sexually provocative commentary” to get the patients to touch each other, the nursing assistants then took cell phone pictures of the whole ordeal. Laughing, Clemens later shared the cell phone pictures with other employees, the report added.

Upon learning of the incidents, the facility notified the state Health Department, which investigated the matter.

The facility fired both assistants, as well as Jaclyn Cannon and Heather Whitcomb, two staff members who witnessed the incident but did not report it to their supervisors, the report said.

Officials at the nursing

home in North Tonawanda, roughly 20 miles north of Buffalo, and attorneys for Maxwell and Clemens could not be reached for comment.

Maxwell and Clemens were each fined $4,000 by the state and are no longer considered “in good standing,” a status required in order to find employment at another nursing home, state records show.

Cannon and Whitcomb were fined $500 each but remain in good standing, the report said.

None was criminally charged since their actions “did not rise to the level of criminal activity,” Health Department spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said. He added that the state found no wrongdoing in the way the facility reported the abuse.

Donations rise at U.S. churches in 2010 Donations increased at 43 percent of U.S. churches last year, the third annual “State of the Plate” survey found.

Donations fell at 39 percent of the 1,507 churches polled and more than 90 percent of religious leaders expressed concern that plans

by President Barack Obama to reform tax breaks for charitable giving could harm donations.

“Charities and churches have been hit hard by the economy the past three years,” said Pastor Brian Kluth, founder of Maximum Generosity, which provides information on fund-raising to churches.

“If the government’s plan to change the rules on charitable tax deductions goes through, giving to charities and churches will likely be

negatively affected,” he said.

Varying types of churches from around the United States took part in the online survey.

Giving to churches and religious organizations made up an estimated 0.7 percent of the estimated $303 billion given in 2009, according to the Giving USA annual report. Figures for last year are not yet available.

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 2011 CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 -13,- 3, 2011 DAILY

NEW JERSEY

77

N.J. school construction chief defends decision against Trenton Central High School funding

By MATT FAIR TRENTON - The head of the N.J. S c h o o l s Development Authority on Wednesday defended the process in which funds to repair the crumbling Trenton Central High School were eliminated.

The hearing of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Public Schools held at Trenton Central High School sought not only to answer questions about how repairs at TCHS would be handled but also to shed light on the process that selected 10 school construction projects for funding last month from among 51 that had been given the green light in 2008.

Among those rejected was a $150 million project to renovate or replace the aging Trenton Central High School building on Chambers Street.

Marc Larkins, CEO of the SDA, couldn’t say when the SDA would be able to fully fund a project to bring a new high school to the city, he did say the agency would strive to move forward on a package of badly needed repairs for the

building.

“What we intend to do is to try and address some of the emergent conditions,” he said. “I was here two weeks ago, we walked the school and I promised that we would have our staff work with the officials to make sure that we address some of the emergent conditions that have been identified.”

During the tour of the building two weeks ago, Larkins was shown some of the problems that students are forced to deal with every day, including leaking and collapsed roofs, warped floors, and an asbestos condition that has forced the school’s auditorium to be closed for the last two weeks.

Larkins said a team from SDA would be at the high school tomorrow to perform another walk-through. He also said staff members were working on a project to repair the building’s roof.

District officials are lobbying SDA for a total of $24 million worth of repairs to TCHS. After the meeting, T r e n t o n Superintendent Raymond Broach said he hoped SDA would be able to address some of the school’s needs.

“I understand something’s going to be

done,” he said. “They are hearing our voice in terms of the emergent repairs, as everybody is calling it.”

Larkins could not confirm a timetable for moving forward on the repairs or how much of the bill SDA would be able to foot.

Some members of the school board, however, remained skeptical.

“I’m encouraged, but until I see it happen I have a healthy skepticism,” said Algernon Ward, a member of the board. “I’m encouraged that the committee came here to have this hearing. I thought that was responsive to the conditions here at the school.”

The projects were chosen from a field of construction proposals approved as part of SDA’s 2008 Capital Plan. Under a 1998 court order, the state must pay for school construction and repairs in Trenton and 30 other poor, “special needs” districts.

However, Gov. Chris Christie suspended work on the projects after taking office last year and ordered a full review of each of the program. Citing financial hardships, SDA rolled out a severely curtailed list of projects last month.

Larkins said Wednesday that the

SDA had sought some degree of standardization across the 10 chosen projects, and he said that it hoped to bring uniformity of design and implementation to the process in the future.

“The largest swath of our portfolio was elementary school, so if you’ll notice, nine of the 10 projects that were selected were elementary schools,” he said.

“We also sought to define those projects that had a proposed capacity of around 700 students. The reason for that was to develop standards based around some number.”

According to a report issued by SDA earlier this month, the agency selected projects based on internal criteria, including efficient use of public funds and construction schedule factors, and criteria from the state Department of Education, including overcrowding and general building conditions.

“Although Mr. Larkins provided meaningful details about the school construction projects that the SDA has selected for advancement, serious questions remain regarding the transparency and objectivity of this process,” Sen. Donald Norcross, DGloucester City, chair-

The damaged ceiling in room D137 at Trenton Central High School in Trenton, N.J. man of the legislative deserve to know how committee, said in a and when they can statement last night. expect relief.”

“Meanwhile, children Last week, Assembly in Camden City, Speaker Sheila Oliver Gloucester City, sent a letter demanding Trenton and across this the state auditor invesstate must continue to tigate how the projects attend substandard, were selected. The audioften dangerous school tor, Stephen Eells, has facilities. The children agreed to discuss the of our public schools request.

Soaring N.J. gas prices prompt more random pump inspections at local stations

By CARMEN CUSIDO Mercer County Weights and Measures gas pump testing March 30, 2011 Mercer County Weights and Measures gas pump testing - March 30, 2011 Mercer County Weights and Measures inspectors test the amount of gas dispensed against the reading on the pump at the Exxon gas station at the corner of Olden

Ave and Pennington Road in Ewing Township on Wednesday, March 30, 2011. They test every pump at every fuel station in Mercer County, except for Trenton, which is required by state statue to handle its own testing.

Albert Mattera, the owner of Al’s Service Center in Lawrence, said that instead of filling up their tanks, many of his customers buy about $20 or $30 worth of gas at a time,

and he has lost both customers and money with the rise in prices.

His station currently charges $3.27 per regular gallon cash.

Meanwhile, Guy Bodine, 56, of Yardley, Pa., who was filling up yesterday at Parkway Service Center in Ewing, said he now pays $100 instead of the $80 usually paid.

“What can you do?” he said.

The national regular gas average Wednesday was $3.59. In the

Trenton area , the average price for a regular gallon of gas was $3.42. The highest recorded average price in Trenton was during the week of July 10, 2008, at $4.03, according to the AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report.

The AAA sees a new trend is taking place: Consumers are now starting to see fuel surcharges stage a most unwelcome comeback, a spokesman said in an e-mail message. Fuel surcharges are added

to the cost of commodities to help compensate for the higher cost of the fuel used in shipment.

“Blame the resurgence of the dreaded fuel surcharges on the spike in crude oil and fuel prices triggered by market forces and Wall Street speculators and commodity traders, who are unnerved by war planes over Libya and the growing unrest in North Africa and the Middle East,” said AAA spokesman Jim

Lardear.

“As a result, energy costs, including the price of gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and kerosene, have all soared to their highest level in two years and a half,” Lardear said.

With consumers especially sensitive to gas prices, Mercer County has been conducting random inspections at gas stations in an effort to prevent gas gouging and identify faulty equipment, county officials said.

DAILY DAILYCHALLENGE CHALLENGEWEEKEND WEEKENDEDITION, EDITION,APRIL APRIL11- -3,3,2011 2011

AFRICAN SCENE

88

Zimbabwe mass grave becomes political propaganda

By ANGUS SHAW & GILLIAN GOTORA CHIBONDO, Zimbabwe Hundreds of skeletons found in a remote mine shaft have brought a macabre thrust to election campaigning in Zimbabwe but the presence of some corpses still with skin, hair and body fluids has raised doubts over claims white colonial-era troops committed the massacres more than 30 years ago.

Pathologists say visual evidence may point to more recent killings in a nation plagued by election violence and politically motivated murders.

Since President Robert Mugabe called for elections later this year to end a troubled two-year power-sharing coalition with the former opposition, his party and state media have mounted an

intense campaign to discredit political rivals and Western critics of his authoritarian rule.

The Fallen Heroes of Zimbabwe Trust, a previously little known group of Mugabe party loyalists, last month launched a program to exhume skeletons in the mine shaft in northeastern Zimbabwe, saying the country’s former rulers were guilty of human rights violations that far outweigh any accusations of rights abuses leveled against Mugabe’s party and his police and military.

Zimbabwe’s sole broadcaster, in news bulletins and repeated interruptions to regular programs, has urged ordinary citizens to visit the disused Chibondo gold mine near the provincial center of Mount Darwin, 160 kilometers (110 miles) from Harare, to witness the horror of colonial atrocities.

Reporters taken to Monkey William Mine at Chibondo on a trip organized by Mugabe’s Ministry of Information said school children were bused there.

Militants sang revolutionary songs, shouted

slogans and denounced whites and Prime Morgan Minister Tsvangirai’s proWestern party for its links with Britain, the former colonial power.

“Down with whites.

Not even one white man should remain in the country,” villagers, evidently carefully choreographed, proclaimed.

They danced at the site in what was said to be an ancient ritual to appease the spirits of those killed by white troops before independence in 1980.

Villagers appeared to go into trances and others wept and simulated firing guns.

Exhumed skeletons, bones and remains lay in random heaps, some covered by sheets and blankets, near a pile of coffins. Hair and clothes were clearly visible; one corpse wore black tennis shoes. The mine shaft emitted an overwhelming stench.

Journalists who descended a 40-meter shaft found a body with what appeared to be blood and fluids dripping onto the skulls below.

Jimmy Motsi, a leader of the trust

group, told reporters the remains of more than 640 bodies have already been removed.

Four other mine shafts in the district contain human remains, he said.

The Mount Darwin district saw some of the fiercest fighting in the seven-year bush war waged by Mugabe’s guerrillas that ended white rule and swept him to power.

Former colonial soldiers say guerrilla dead were disposed of in mass graves often doused with gasoline or acid.

Forensic tests and DNA analysis of the remains won’t be carried out, said Saviour Kasukuwere, the government minister of black empowerment.

Instead, traditional African religious figures will perform rites to invoke spirits that will identify the dead, he said.

Kasukuwere said the Chibondo remains were discovered in 2008 by a gold panner who crawled into the shaft.

But spirits of war dead had long “possessed” villagers and children in the district, he said.

“The spirits have

refused to lie still. They want the world to see what Smith did to our people. These spirits will show the way it’s to be done,” he said, referring to Ian Smith, the last white prime minister of the former colony of Rhodesia. “This is the extent of atrocities committed by the Smith regime. They loot our resources and they close up the mine with our bodies.”

The prime minister’s party has criticized the exhumations for stoking hatred at a time the nation still seeks healing not only from the pre-independence war but also from political violence that has left hundreds dead over the past decade and tens of thousands of documented cases of torture and abduction.

After independence an estimated 20,000 civilians were killed by Mugabe’s soldiers when they crushed an armed uprising in the western Matabeleland province.

Many of those victims still lie in unmarked mass graves in the arid bush.

In a sweeping crackdown ahead of elections proposed this year,

police and security officials have banned rallies Tsvangirai’s of Movement for Democratic Change, arrested its lawmakers on what the party describes as trumped up charges and have hounded human rights activists.

Tsvangiria’s party has called for scientific research and “informed debate and reflection” on all violence that included killings of its supsurrounding porters disputed elections in 2008. The party stopped short of alleging that the corpses at Chibondo could include its supporters who have disappeared and remain unaccounted for in years of political and economic turmoil.

Zimbabwe’s own pathology and autopsy facilities have been crippled by the country’s economic meltdown under Mugabe’s rule.

No DNA testing is available locally.

Maryna Steyn, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, said human remains should not retain a strong stench after 30 years.

Senior Libyan diplomat Sudan says no Abyei vote without Misseriya quits over “bloodshed” DOHA - Sudan’s President Omar alBashir has insisted the problem of Abyei cannot be solved without the Arab Misseriya nomads participating in a referendum on the status of the disputed border region.

Ali Abdussalm Treki CAIRO - A former Libyan foreign minister who Muammar Gaddafi had appointed as his U.N. ambassador, Ali Abdussalm Treki, has refused to take up any official position and condemned the “spilling of blood.”

Treki made the remarks in a statement sent to Reuters by his nephew, Soufian Treki, a Libyan diplomat at the Arab League in Cairo. He said his uncle was in Cairo now.

“I have decided not to continue work or to accept any duty,” the former minister said in the statement. “I pray to God to help me participate in saving this precious nation.” He called for a national dialogue to discuss Libyan aspirations.

“We are saying, loud and clear, that there will be no referendum on Abyei without the Misseriya,” Bashir said in Doha late on Wednesday.

“The Abyei protocol states clearly that the inhabitants of the region, the Ngok Dinka and the other citizens, have the right to participate in the referendum.

“We refuse this division between first and second class citizens,

between settled and nomadic. They are all Sudanese and they have the same rights,” the Sudanese leader added.

The flashpoint area, where clashes killed at least 70 people earlier this month, was due to hold a referendum in January on whether to join north or south Sudan, to coincide with the plebiscite on southern independence.

Southerners opted overwhelmingly for succession, but the Abyei vote was postponed indefinitely, with the ruling parties in Khartoum and Juba at loggerheads over whether the Misseriya should be eligible to participate.

The heavily armed Arab cattle-herding tribe were a key proxy militia of Khartoum?s army during the 19832005 civil war against

southern rebels.

They have traditionally moved their animals through the fertile Abyei district each year, to access water and graze the land farmed by the Ngok Dinka, their bitter wartime enemies who support the south.

Despite repeated southern assurances that those centuries-old grazing rights will be respected should Abyei vote to join the south, many Misseriya remain fearful their route will be blocked by a new international frontier.

Abyei’s future is the most sensitive of a raft of issues the governments of north and south have been trying to resolve ahead of southern independence in July, which include borders, citizenship, security and debt.

The Sudanese presi-

dent flew to Doha for talks with the emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, on the foundering Darfur peace process, which is being mediated in the Qatari capital.

Bashir again accused Darfur rebel groups of fighting alongside the forces of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

“They have given weapons to our brothers in Libya, who are part of the Darfur rebel groups, they are (fighting) side by side,” he said on Wednesday.

The Justice and Equality Movement, the most heavily-armed rebel group, and one of just two taking part in peace process, said on Tuesday that Khartoum’s planned referendum on how the Darfur region should be governed would torpedo the Doha talks.

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 -13,- 3, 2011

AFRICAN SCENE

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Nigeria to vote amid oil industry uncertainty

By M.J. SMITH LAGOS - Nigeria begins elections on Saturday amid uncertainty over a major overhaul of its oil industry that has led to a freeze in new investment despite relative calm in the restive Niger Delta region.

At the same time, improvements in the Niger Delta, the country’s main oil-producing region hit by years of attacks, have led to suggestions that output could be further boosted to help make up for cuts due to Libyan unrest.

The legislative, presidential and governorship elections to be held over three successive weekends may have profound effects on the industry in Africa’s largest oil producer.

The oil industry is vitally important to Nigeria, providing more than 90 percent of export earnings and some two-thirds of government revenue.

President Goodluck Jonathan, the first head of state from the Niger Delta and favoured to win the April 9 presidential vote, has pushed for final approval of a

Nigeria begins elections on April 2 amid uncertainty over a major overhaul of its oil industry that has led to a freeze in new investment despite relative calm in the restive Niger Delta region.

Photo/Pius Utomi Ekpei wide-ranging oil have pleaded for clarity. gone through many difreform bill.

Substantial new invest- ferent versions.

He has pledged that ments have been held Some say there is the bill that has been up because firms are added pressure to years in the making unsure of the new approve the bill before will be passed before his financial terms. the new legislature current term ends in The overhaul is comes into office since a late May, but the clock aimed at allowing large number of incumis ticking.

Nigeria’s government bent parliament mem“If the (bill) gets to collect more revenue bers are not running in passed, it changes the from lucrative offshore this Saturday’s legislaoil industry fundamen- projects as well as tive election. tally,” said Kayode restructuring the state New parliament Akindele of Greengate oil company, widely members may want Strategic Partners viewed as corruption- again to rewrite the bill, financial advisers. ridden. causing further delays.

Major oil companies It also goes much The government has in Nigeria, including further, taking in gas also acknowledged it is Shell, ExxonMobil, production and a range losing out on revenue at Chevron and Total, of other issues, and has a time of high oil prices

due to the uncertainty.

“It will be signed into law before the end of this administration (on May 29),” Oil Minister Diezani AlisonMadueke said recently.

Despite the reform hold-up, Nigeria has seen its production rebound to some 2.4 million barrels per day, with an amnesty deal offered to oil militants in 2009 credited with bringing relative calm to the Niger Delta.

Scores of attacks and kidnappings have been carried out in the deeply impoverished region by criminal gangs and militants claiming to be fighting for a fairer distribution of oil revenue.

Analysts note that there is a risk of a flareup in violence during and after polls, with politicians in the Niger Delta having in the past armed gangs for voterigging.

State governorship polls to be held April 16 are of particular concern, but there is hope that this year will not result in the same level of violence as previously.

“There will be pockets of violence,” said Victor Ndukauba of Afrinvest advisers.

“However, there is much better awareness

to a lot of the foot soldiers a lot of those militants have ... There will be violence, but we don’t think it will be as bad.”

Others have warned that the relative calm in recent months is only temporary, with underlying causes of unrest such as unemployment and poverty yet to be addressed and likely to feed another wave of militancy in the future.

But partly due to the improved atmosphere, there have been suggestions that Nigeria could restart producing from idle fields to help make up for cuts in Libya and elsewhere due to unrest.

Both Nigeria and Libya produce highquality “sweet” crude sought after for fuel production.

But elections have been a distraction in Nigeria, an OPEC member which also has not been given the green light by the cartel to further increase production.

“I think with elections going on, everyone’s got their eye off the ball,” said Akindele, adding that the country could boost production by between 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day in the short term.

Rebels besiege Ivor y Coast’s main city of Abidjan ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - Rebels fighting to install Ivory Coast’s democratically elected president began besieging the main city of Abidjan on Thursday after seizing a key seaport overnight. The top military commander of the country’s entrenched ruler fled to the residence of South Africa’s ambassador.

However, an adviser to longtime president Laurent Gbagbo said he would not step down even in the face of a rebel onslaught on the country’s commercial capital.

“He will not resign in the wake of this attack.

He is not going to abdicate. He is not going to lay down his arms,” said Toussaint Alain, an

adviser to Gbagbo in Europe. “He will stay in power to lead the resistance to this attack against Ivory Coast organized by France, the United States and the United Nations.”

United Nations radio announced that the port of San Pedro, 190 miles (300 kilometers) west of Abidjan, was taken by rebels late Wednesday.

Residents said by telephone that soldiers retreated in trucks while firing into the air as the rebels moved in.

Rebels also took Gbagbo’s hometown, the village of Mama, where the former president had built a lavish villa, said a close aide to internationally recognized leader Alassane

Ouattara.

“The rebels slept in Gbagbo’s bed,” said the aide, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the press.

In Abidjan, rebels already in control of several northern districts of the city attacked a prison and freed the inmates, a rebel commander said.

The rebels who support Ouattara also advanced into Yopougon, a district of Abidjan that fervently supports Gbagbo, witnesses said.

The rebel army is on the periphery of Abidjan, said the close aide to Ouattara, who was recognized by governments around the

world as the country’s legitimate president after winning last November’s presidential election.

“They will enter the city on multiple fronts, from multiple directions,” said the adviser.

Ivory Coast’s army chief of staff, Gen. Phillippe Mangou, sought refuge at the home of the South African ambassador in Abidjan with his wife and five children, South Africa’s foreign ministry said Thursday.

Advancing on foot while firing into the air, the rebels set up roadblocks on one of Yopougon’s main thoroughfares and have been battling with police since early Thursday

morning, said a local resident who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

Across town in the predominantly proOuattara Adjame district, several residents reported that proGbagbo militiamen were firing weapons, though it was unclear at what.

The rebels have seized over a dozen towns since beginning their offensive on Monday, and the fall of the cocoa-exporting port of San Pedro came hours after they took the capital, Yamoussoukro. There, they did a victory lap in vehicles as people cheered and clapped.

They have faced almost no resistance but many fear that army

troops still loyal to Gbagbo plan to make a final stand in Abidjan, the country’s economic hub and where the presidential palace is located.

Ouattara’s whereabouts were not immediately known. He had been holed up for months in the lagoonside Golf Hotel in Abidjan, protected by United Nations peacekeeping troops.

Ouattara, who is from the country’s north, had long tried to distance himself from the rebels based there who fought in a brief civil war almost a decade ago that left the country split in two.

- RUKMINI CALLIMACHI & MARCO CHOWN OVED

10 10

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 3, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 13,- 2011

CARIBBEAN NEWS

Tourism professionals enthuse over Guyana GEORGETOWN, Guyana — According to award-winning travel writer and author Jeff Greenwald, “Guyana is a country just finding its place on the adventurers’ map, and it was fascinating to travel deep into rainforest and meet the Amerindian tribes that have decided that eco-lodges and birding expeditions are a better bet than mining and logging.”

Writing on his blog, Greenwald also described the view of Guyana’s forests from an airplane. “It’s a nearly unbroken expanse of green. There are some tannin-laced rivers, and a few spectacular waterfalls, but very few signs of industry.”

Greenwald, who will be writing a story about Guyana for the Los Angeles Times, was one of nine travel professionals from the United States that visited Guyana in February as part of a tourism familiarization (fam) trip.

The five tour operators and four travel writers came to Guyana to participate in the eighth

fam trip organized by the Guyana Sustainable Initiative Tourism (GSTI), a joint project of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the United States Agency for I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development / Guyana Trade and Investment Support (USAID/GTIS) project.

Mike Crewe of the New Jersey Audubon Society came on the trip to research a natural history and birding trip that will be offered to of the members Audubon Society.

Crewe said Guyana is “a stunningly beautiful country with so much to do and see for the wildlife enthusiast.

Guyana’s strength is that it has so much of the natural world that others have lost...a perfect destination for both birding and general natural history tours.”

Peggy Newfield, owner of the tour operator Latin American Escapes, said Guyana’s strong selling points include “unique culture, pristine wildlife viewing areas, comfort-

Raul Castro reiterates Cuba’s willingness to engage in dialogue of equals with US HAVANA, Cuba — Cuban President Raul Castro reiterated Cuba’s willingness to engage in dialogue with the government of the United States during a meeting with former US President Jimmy Carter, who on Wednesday concluded a private visit to Havana at the invitation of the Cuban government.

According to Cuban national television, Castro and Carter, accompanied by his wife Rosalyn, exchanged greetings and spoke of topics of international interest, about the current situation in Cuba and in the

United States, and of relations between the two countries.

The Cuban leader reiterated Cuba’s willingness to engage the US Government in a dialogue on any topic, but always on equal terms, without any preconditions whatsoever and respecting Cuba’s independence and sovereignty.

Also present in the meeting was Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla and the director of the Carter Center’s Americas Program.

On Tuesday, the 86year-old former president told the national and foreign press that, during his stay on the Caribbean island, he hoped to improve relations between his country and Cuba.

able accommodations and great people.”

On the importance that fam trips have when selling and marketing a destination, Newfield added, “The information and experience I received from this trip was invaluable. I feel so much more comfortable now selling Guyana as a destination, and also in my ability to match up the clients to the right product/itinerary.”

As Newfield noted, fam trips are commonly used throughout the tourism industry and they have proven very beneficial in promoting Guyana as a tourism destination.

Travelers are faced with endless options when they plan their trips and many look to respected travel writers and preferred tour operators for ideas and suggestions. By bringing these members of the tourism industry to Guyana to experience the product firsthand, it allows - and inspires them to sell and promote Guyana to the larger market.

The trip, which was co-organized and logistically handled by Wilderness Explorers, made stops at Arrowpoint Nature Resort, Kaieteur Falls, Nappi Village, Yupukari Village, Karanambu Lodge, Rewa Village, Rock View Lodge, Iwokrama River Lodge, Atta Rainforest Lodge and Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, Baganara Island Resort, Guyanese Heritage Museum and Georgetown.

Megan Crewe, a guide with the tour operator Field Guides, said, “I think the country’s biggest draw, for our market at least, is its still-vast wilderness.

Add to that the potential for things like Jaguars, Tapirs and hundreds of species of birds, and it’s a pretty attractive destination.”

Crewe will work with Field Guides to design a Guyana tour to introduce in 2012; Crewe will also write a newsletter article and post a photo slideshow to market the new tour.

Travel writer Eric Hiss was also impressed with Guyana. When asked to list the strengths of the South American country that he was visiting for the first time, Hiss said, “Undiscovered; incredible eco-opportunities; unique cultural elements; accessibility (similar to the Caribbean).”

Hiss is currently working on magazine articles featuring Guyana’s Amerindian lodges and El Dorado Rum, as well as photo essays, videos and blog posts.

Hiss also commented on the current efforts to develop ecotourism in Guyana, “The idea that government, private sector and USAID are working together to develop tourism in Guyana is encouraging, and in my perspective, really the only type of initiative that can be successful in a developing country.”

Hiss hopes that this “will ensure all voices are heard, sustainable practices are put in

Fam participants visited the 741-foot drop at Kaieteur Falls Boating on the Rupununi River place and all Guyanese will benefit.”

Freelance journalist Amanda Castleman listed the two-day visit to Rewa Village as a highlight. “I loved the dynamic range of this stop, from the school to the [Victoria amazonica] giant water lilies, Golden-handed Tamarin and seeing a Giant River Otter from a dugout canoe.

Botany, people and culture took a turn on stage.”

Castleman is currently working on articles that will feature many of Guyana’s draws for travelers, like “unspoiled rainforest, unusual flora and fauna, and the cultural intersection of the Caribbean, colonial powers and Amerindians.”

Jim Danzenbaker, a guide with Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris, will be working to design a tour to Guyana, where according to him the “wildlife viewing potential is great... [Guyana is] beautiful, pristine and uncrowded.”

In addition to featuring it on the Cheesemans’ Ecology

Safari’s website, Danzenbaker also has plans to give presentations on Guyana to Audubon Societies, local libraries and birding groups.

Kristina Nemeth, Travel Director of the Commonwealth Club of California, provides an important link and insight into the North American educational travel market. Nemeth said she was impressed with Guyana’s “pristine rainforests, conservation efforts and community tourism development.”

For her, Kaieteur Falls was the “handsdown highlight. Great views, amazing flight and Guianan Cock-ofthe-rock sightings: Perfect.” Nemeth is now planning to do an educational public forum program on Guyana at the Commonwealth Club and organize a tour for 2013.

The Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative (GSTI) is receiving support from Guyana Trade and Investment Support (GTIS), a joint project of the Government of Guyana and the United States Agency for I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development (USAID).

Japan willing to help Jamaica go nuclear KINGSTON, Jamaica — Japan has expressed a willingness to help Jamaica adopt nuclear energy, at a time when the island’s oil bill keeps escalating and climate change is a pressing concern.

“If your government, your people decide that

this (nuclear energy) is the appropriate way to get away from all the problems (with oil) then it is your decision to make and it is your matter. And then, if there is any approach, maybe we would be very happy to give you all the information which might be of some assistance,” Hiroshi Yamaguchi, the Japanese ambassador to Jamaica, told

Environment Watch at a recent meeting with Observer reporters and editors.

He added that Japan, like Jamaica, used to important 100 percent of its fuel, including oil which, like coal, produces high levels of carbon dioxide and is helping to fuel global warming.

“Maybe here you have also exactly the

same situation we had — to import 100 percent of oil. What Japan did is we have to try to diversify the source of fuel.

We have been successful in trying to diversify into three or four or five. This is probably important for Jamaica (depending on how it) feels about its own development for the year 2030,” Hiroshi noted.

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL - 3, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 -1 3, 2011

CARIBBEAN NEWS

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Rape allegations against former Turks and Caicos premier resurface in Florida court PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands — The March 2008 allegations of the rape by former Turks and Caicos Islands premier Michael Misick of an unidentified American woman have now resurfaced in the MiamiDade County Court in Florida.

“Jane Doe” has filed an action against Nikki Beach Hotels, her former employer, claiming she was victimised when she was taken by them to Misick’s home, where she alleges she was raped in the morning of March 28, 2008.

Jane Doe has sued Nikki Beach Hotels and Resorts, Penrod Management Group, and her former boss, Michael Penrod.

Misick, though named throughout the complaint, is not named as a defendant.

Doe says in her complaint: “Nikki Beach, through the various defendant corporations, operates hotels and nightclubs at beachside locations. Its marketing and business plans rely on the allure of sex.”

She claims Nikki Beach hired “attractive young women” and send them to “potential busi-

Former Turks and Caicos Islands premier ness partners and offi- arranged for her transcials it wished to influ- portation. She says she ence ... encouraging the went against her wishconsumption of alcohol es. and narcotics and proShe was taken to viding the same, and Misick’s home, she says, thereby providing where she “was given opportunities for poten- wine that, unknown to tial business partners her, was infused with a and officials whose narcotic.” approval they sought to The complaint continsexually assault these ues: “After she was in an women.” altered state, her superSources in the TCI visor, who was present say that Misick and his and was aware or cabinet ministers were should have been aware frequent patrons of the of the risk that Misick Nikki Beach Hotel, would assault her, which is now closed due knowingly and purposeto financial problems. ly abandoned her at the Doe, a design consult- home of Misick in that ant, says Nikki Beach altered state... In the sent her to the British morning of March 28, Territory of the Turks 2007, Misick raped Jane and Caicos Islands in Doe.” late March 2008. She The complaint adds: says Penrod, “a high- “In fact, Penrod and ranking executive” with Nikki Beach regularly Nikki Beach, ordered transported young, her to attend a “social attractive women into function,” there, and such dangerous settings

Michael Misick in order to improperly curry favor to the benefit of Nikki Beach. Nikki Beach intentionally transported Jane Doe from Miami-Dade County to a dangerous setting, with foreseeable and known dangers, and abandoned her there.”

Doe says that “Nikki Beach was aware that Misick was corrupt, that he engaged in criminal activity, and that he engaged in lascivious behavior. It sought to gain favor with him by presenting him with attractive young women in settings in which he could take advantage of them.”

In fact, the complaint states, Misick was so corrupt that the British Parliament “issued a report charging Misick with enriching himself and fellow ministers by

selling off Crown land.

Because of Misick’s corruption, the United resumed Kingdom administrative control of TCI and the position of Premier was abolished.”

After she was raped, Doe says, she returned to her hotel, and returned as soon as possible to Florida, because a co-worker “told Jane Doe that he believed her life to be in danger due to the power that Misick exercised on the island.”

In Miami, Doe says, she went to a hospital and had a medical examination that concluded she had been raped.

“When she arrived in South Florida, her corporate email account had been shut off, signaling her termination

by Nikki Beach,” the complaint states.

“Penrod and Nikki Beach spread the story that she had been fired for misconduct.”

She claims she was a victim of a corporate practice: “Nikki Beach would allow management employees to encourage sexual encounters or inappropriate behavior between young female employees and business partners, officials and customers, and then turn and dismiss the female employees for the behavior, while encouraging the supervisors to repeat the

pattern. Nikki Beach would allow these management employees to endanger purposely their young female staff.”

Doe sued Nikki Beach Holdings LLC; Nikki Hotels and Beach Resorts LLC; Nikki VIP LLC; Penrod Management Group Inc.; Penrod M a n a g e m e n t International LLC; and Michael Penrod. She seeks damages for defamation, negligence and endangerment. She is represented by John Thornton in MiamiDade County Court Nikki Beach is headquartered in South Beach, Miami, and has beach club locations in eight countries, including France, Spain, Mexico, Morocco, Thailand, and the Dominican Republic.

Misick has reportedly been residing in the Dominican Republic in recent months and there has been some speculation in the TCI that Misick himself is the owner of the Nikki Beach resort in the Dominican Republic.

Misick returned to the TCI early this month where he was seen leading the airport road protest and networking with current Progressive National Party (PNP) leader Clayton Greene.

Jamaica on trac k for two million stay-ov er vis itors

By ATHALIAH REYNOLDS KINGSTON, Jamaica - Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett says Jamaica’s tourism sector has recorded a 9.4 percent increase since the start of the winter season, with just over one million cruise and stopover arrivals, up from 962,809

the first quarter, for the same quar- month period.

“What this means is increases of 6.8 percent ter last year.

Speaking at the Rotary Club of St Andrew’s weekly luncheon on Tuesday, Bartlett said the country has earned approximately US$766 million in foreign exchange from the sector, which represents a 7.4 percent increase in earnings over the previous year’s US$714 million.

He said the country exceeded the one million tourist mark for the first time in a three-

that we are on track to surpass the two million stop-over arrivals which we have projected, and in line to make 3.4 million or possibly 3.5 million overall cruise and stopovers and earning, of course, well in excess of US$2 billion in foreign exchange for Jamaica,” he announced.

The breakdown indicated that 674,179 stopover arrivals and 379, 558 cruise passengers visited Jamaica during

and 14.5 percent, respectively.

Bartlett said the country’s tourism sector has performed tremendously well over the last four years, recording increases in arrivals “every single year”, as well as successfully positioning itself as an ideal destination. “(These are) increases which are commendable in the current climate, and even exceptional, depending on

Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett (left), speaking with president of the Rotary Club of St Andrew, Charles Ross, during the club’s weekly luncheon on Tuesday. where you are talking flows on par and indeed from,” he said. netting an increase of “To be able to have an some 2.5 percent over average of 3.5 percent the period, is commendgrowth over the last able to the team and the four years in a reces- stakeholders in the sionary period, and to industry,” he concludbe able to keep revenue ed.

12 12

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

Coalition of Theatres of Color Salutes Theatre Legend 1 Gertrude Hadley Jeannette

Pictured above CTC members: (L-R) Sade Lythcott, National Black Theatre; Gertrude Hadley Jeannette, H.A.D.L.E.Y Players; Carl Clay, Black Spectrum Theatre; Voza Rivers, New Heritage Theatre, Jackie Jeffries, National Black Theatre; Ruby Dee; Woodie King, New Federal Theatre.

Photo credit: Lem Peterkin

Theater icon Ruby Dee, who cofounded with her husband, Ossie Davis, The Coalition of Theatres of Color (CTC), was among those who honored contemporary Black theater pioneer Gertrude Hadley Jeannette, 96, Founder and CEO Emeritus of the H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players.

The event took place this week at a Women’s History Month press conference at the Dwyer Cultural Center in Harlem. The conference included a CTC panel discussion, a presentation by Ms. Dee and a proclamation from the office of Congressman Charles Rangel.

A pioneer in contemporary Black theater, Ms. Jeannette’s 70-year career spans theater, television, and movies.

T Lin and Fes pre Yor Fes ebr Na Yea Afr ser gui yea com ann pen Leo cou mu Dia roo T wil and em film Theatre icons Ruby Dee salutes longtime friend, cou Gertrude Jeannette.

Photo credit: Joan H. Allen me of es ... The American Award from the Actor’s fro Negro Theatre Equity Association.

Arc improved my life greatMs. Jeannette is a liv- Leo ly. It gave me confi- ing legend in entertain- 196 dence that I could per- ment. Performing on Un form on stage.” It was Broadway, she originat- NY here, while working ed roles in shows like cla with actors like Sidney “Lost in the Stars,” rar Poitier, Harry Belafonte “Amen Corner,” and pre and Ossie Davis, that “The Great White and she met longtime Hope.” In 1950, when pay friend, Ms. Dee. Pearl Bailey dropped tor Ms. Jeanette would out of the live CBS net- nar later form, in 1979, the work broadcast of the bee theatre company The General Electric Hour art H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players, production of James Dia which is a member of Weldon Johnson’s God’s wil CTC. She established it Trombone, Ms. Film to give artists a chance Jeannette stepped into Cen to develop their talents the starring role. Her and skills in the theatre film credits include: and to enrich the cultur- “Nothing but a Man,” al life in Harlem. “I had “Shaft,” “Cotton Comes gained so much from to Harlem” and “Black The American Negro Girl.” Ms. Jeannette is a Theatre. And when it playwright and direcclosed, I just thought tor. Her 70-year career me that someone should spans working with New keep it going,” Sidney Poitier and Yor explained Ms. Jeanette. Harry Belafonte at the exe The H.A.D.L.E.Y. American Negro for Players was named in Theater, being taught Mo tribute to her impact on directing by Lee Jea theater.

It means Strasberg and helping win Harlem, Artists, playwright Tennessee duc Development, League, Williams craft her role cha the Especially, for You. Her in Vieux Carre. many honors include “The Coalition of ing induction into the Theatres of Color is Fed Arkansas Black Hall about preserving the cov and receiving the presti- history and commit- the an gious Paul Robeson Continued on page 13 dir

C

Woodie King, Jr., founder and producing director of the New Federal Theatre, Lorey Hayes, playwright and actor and Carl Clay, founder Black Spectrum Theatre enjoy a moment.

Photo credit: Lem Peterkin Yet, she also made New York City motor vehicle history. In 1935, she was New York City’s first woman to get a motorcycle license and in 1942, due to the shortage of male taxicab drivers, she was the city’s first woman cab

driver. “I was a cab driver until 1949 when I got my first job on Broadway,” Ms. Jeannette recalled.

Although Ms. Jeannette became an accomplished actress on Broadway, she said she initially wasn’t interest-

ed in theater, “because I had a speech impediment and never thought I’d be able to perform on the stage. But I would go to theaters like the Lafayette Theatre and would make myself handy ... and I would watch the great actress-

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 11 - 3, DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL - 3,2011 2011

13 13

d 18TH ANNUAL NEW YORK AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS TO FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER

The Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) and African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) will present the 18th New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) in celebration of the United Nations International Year of Peoples of African Descent, which serves as the festival’s guiding theme. This year’s NYAFF will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of independence in both Sierra Leone and Tanzania, countries from which much of the African Diaspora draws its roots.

The festival, which will include 15 features and 16 short f ilms by emerging and veteran filmmakers from 24 nd, countries, will comlen mence with a screening of rare archival footage or’s from the Russian State Archives of both Sierra liv- Leone and Tanzania’s in- 1961 liberation from the on United Kingdom. The nat- NYAFF will include ike classic and contempos,” rary films, as well as nd presentations by visual hite and performing artists hen paying tribute to hisped toric moments and luminet- nary figures who have the been influential in the our arts and culture of the mes Diaspora. The NYAFF d’s will open on April 6 at Ms. Film Society of Lincoln nto Center, Her de: n,” mes ack Continued from sa page 12 ecment of Black theatre in eer New York City and New ith nd York State. No one the exemplifies that better gro for Women’s History ght Month than Gertrude Lee Jeannette,” said awardng winning theater prosee ducer Woodie King, ole chairman of CTC and the founder and producof ing director of the New is Federal Theatre. “She the covers over 70 years of mit- theater in New York as an actor, playwright, 13 director and producer.

“This year’s program will offer both a great deal of variety for moviegoers and a great deal of optimism for Africa,” said African Film Festival, Inc. Executive Director and Founder Mahen Bonetti. “From family-oriented films to dark dramas to informative shorts and documentaries, attendees will be immersed in the rich lives of people from across the Diaspora, as filmmakers show their view of Africa-one of pride, determination and hope for the future.”

Film Society of Lincoln Center Program Director Richard Peña agreed, saying, “There is much to be excited about in this year’s program. This year’s selections deliver a vibrant and dynamic group of films from a number of very talented filmmakers who have done a wonderful job of introducing us to a fascinating and sometimes very unexpected view of Africa through the camera’s lens.”

Opening Night features Kinshasa Symphony, the story of Democratic Republic of the Congo’s only symphony orchestra.

Directed by Claus Wischmann and Martin Baer, the film follows the determined members of L’Orchestre

Kinshasa Symphony opens the 18th New York African Film Festival at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

S y m p h o n i q u e Southern, Eastern, and Kimbanguiste (The Western Africa, its culKinshasa Symphony tures seem to pulse in Orchestra) as they over- time with the heart of come coups, chaos and the continent. war to ce lebrate life “Africa - The Next through the power of Generation” depicts the music-even creating resilience of Africa’s their own instruments. youth in the face of Armand Diangienda, adversities-personal and founder and conductor global, large and small. of the orchestra, will be From the simple act of in attendance to intro- writing a letter to Santa duce the film.

Claus to bravely facing On Friday, April 8, life with AIDS. These Viva Riva, Djo Tunda films include: Soul Boy, Wa Munga’s fictional directed by Hawa feature about the seduc- Essuman; Africa United, tive, vibrant, and lawless directed by Debs underbelly of Kinshasa, G a r d n e r - P a t e r s o n ; will be screened as the Ousmane (Deweneti), festival’s Centerpiece directed by Dyana Gaye; film. Both films, togeth- and Thembi, directed by er with director Daniel Jo Menell.

Cattier’s Kongo - Grand The NYAFF will also Illusions, examine the include the short Bongo Heart of Africa, which Barbershop by legthe Democratic Republic endary filmmaker of the Congo, situated in Charlie Ahern-whose the center of the African groundbreaking 1983 continent, has long been film Wild Style was the considered. At the cross- first to capture the nasroads of Northern, cent phenomenon

Entertainer-activist Harry Belafonte will be a part of “Artistic Voices of the Diaspora,” a panel kicking off the 18th New York African Film Festival. known as hip hop-and the 2011 Focus Features Africa First Shorts Program. Africa First is a program to support the growth of groundbreaking emerging African filmmakers, now in its third year.

The NYAFF begins with a nod to the dynamic artistic voices of the Diaspora at a special presentation at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) on Saturday, April 2. The 3:00 pm event will feature a dynamic panel of international artists, including entertainer

and humanitarian Harry Belafonte, textile artist and writer Xenobia Bailey and filmmaker and curator Zina Saro-Wiwa. The panel will be followed by a screening of the 1996 film African Rhythmus, which is about the First World Festival of Negro Arts (now known as the World Festival of Black Arts); African Rhythmus is a visually stunn ing fifty-minute Soviet survey of the first large-scale exhibition of arts from throughout the Diaspora.

Coalition of Theatres of Color Salutes Theatre Legend Gertrude Hadley Jeannette She’s done it all.”

CTC is a non-profit community of renowned multicultural theatre arts organizations in New York State.

These institutions have joined forces to ensure sustainability and longevity of theatre of color in multicultural communities.

Each institution brings over 25 years of artistic achievement with critically acclaimed and award-winning work and for nurturing the artistry of some of the

world’s finest actors, directors, playwrights, producers, musicians and choreographers.

New York City theatres are Billie Holiday Theatre, Black Spectrum Theatre, H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players, National Black Theatre, New Federal Theatre, New Heritage Theatre Group and Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company.

Acclaimed producer Woodie King is chairman of CTC.

Ms. Gertrude Hadley Jeannette was beaming with joy at the salute to her by the Coalition of Theatres of Color.

Photo credit: Lem Peterkin

In 1935, Ms. Gertrude Hadley Jeannette was New York City's first woman to get her motorcycle license.

Photo credit: Lem Peterkin

14

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

Expect lots of slime and big stars at the 2011 Kids’ Choice Awards

Beyonce is all grown up. After a professional lifetime together, the superstar and her father, Matthew Knowles, have parted ways, with Matthew no longer managing the “Halo” singer.”I’ve only parted ways with my father on a business level,” Beyonce tells UsMagazine.com in an exclusive statement.

“He is my father for life and I love my dad dearly. I am grateful for everything he has taught me. I grew up watching both he and my mother [Tina Knowles] manage and own their own businesses. They were hard-working entrepreneurs and I will continue to follow in their footsteps.” As for who will now manage the superstar, who plans to release a new album (a follow-up to her smash I Am . . .

Sasha Fierce) later this year? “Beyonce has the knowledge and experience to make that decision and no final decision has been made yet,” Matthew says.

Lil Jon used his winnings from a recent victory on the hit TV show “Celebrity Apprentice” to benefit a local children’s homier Decatur, Georgia. Lil Jon, who has starred in and directed numerous videos, lead his team to victory, while communication between the women’s team, predictably, broke down.

As a result of his win, Donald Trump praised Lil Jon’s leadership skills, which earned United Methodist Children’s Home in Decatur $40,000.

Belting out her some of her smash hits in front of an all-ages audience, Janet Jackson crossed generational lines while performing at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey on March 26. The pop diva captivated the

crowd In true Jackson style with her short slicked back hair, skintight charcoal-colored leather jumpsuit and matching knee-high boots. During the past few days, the 44-yearold was able to sell-out both of her Atlantic City shows, giving the audiences something to sing along to with smash singles like “Nasty,” “All for You,” “Escapade,” and “Miss You Much.” Miss Jackon’s Borgota concert stop was part of her current “Number Ones: Up Close and Personal” tour, which is meant to help Janet reconnect with her audience.

Cash Money empresario Birdman is hardly a stranger to dropping large sums of cash at a single time.

Now, the former Big Tymer is making headlines for a recent spending spree at New York’s Club Perfection.

According to Rap Radar, Birdman supposedly dropped $50,000 at the popular Queens strip club while on the Young Money/Cash Moeny I Am Music 2 tour.

Angie Stone -famous for songs like “No More Rain” -- was arrested in Georgia yesterday ... TMZ has learned ... after the R&B singer was allegedly caught speeding on a suspended license. Angie was booked on both the speeding charge and the suspended license charge last night -- and released an hour later.

Jay-Z has finally reached a settlement with David “Big Papi” Ortiz over the baseball star’s use of the name 40/40 Club. When Ortiz attempted to open a club named “FortyForty” in the Dominican Republic, Jay-Z slapped the Red Sox star with a $5 million dollar lawsuit. Earlier in this month, lawyers

for Ortiz claimed that Jay-Z wanted too much to settle the case, leading many to believe the matter would have to be settled by a judge.

“The case has been settled in principle,” JayZ’s attorney Peter Raymond said. “We have agreed on the outlines of a settlement and need to reduce it to writing.”

On Twitter, Rihanna re-tweeted a fan’s announcement that her Minneapolis show was sold out. Unfortunately, the venue’s ticket website still shows plenty of remaining available seats. Rihanna’s fan “@StarsGoneMad” originally wrote: “@Rihanna’s Minneapolis show sold out in exactly 68 minutes.

Now that’s what’s up!!!!” to which she responded “Minneapolis STAND UP!! #werk” Another wrote, “Wanted to see @rihanna in concert but the tickets were sold out in a hour in Minneapolis. #SADFACE” However, if you go to the Target Center’s website, her June 16 show with Cee-Lo still has openings for audience members. It’s okay, RiRi, plenty of people make mistakes, but maybe you should ask your management before taking the word of a crazed groupie?

Harlem rapper and Cam’ron protege, Vado, has official inked a deal with Interscope Records, where he’ll be dropping his major label, solo debut. Cam revealed the news of his protégé’s deal during a radio appearance on Angie Martinez’s Hot 97 show on Monday (March 28), clarifying that he’s happy Vado can branch out on his own. “[Vado] just signed a deal with Interscope,” Cam announced on air.

“Shout out to DJ and Jimmy Iovine at Interscope; we appreciate that.”

Honoring the hottest celebrities from music, TV, sports and film, Corus Entertainment’s Nickelodeon brings Nickelodeon’s 2011 Kids’ Choice Awards, broadcast live on Saturday, April 2 at 8 p.m. ET. Jack Black, who will star in the upcoming film Kung Fu Panda 2, returns for the third time (2006 and 2008) to host this slime-tastic event from an all-new venue, the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles.

Chart-topping, six-time Grammy Award®-winning megastars The Black Eyed Peas will be rocking the house at this year’s Nickelodeon’s 2011 Kids Choice Awards. Willow Smith will also perform. “I’m so excited to be performing at the Kids’ Choice Awards,” Smith says. “Really hoping I don’t get slimed!” Topping it all off, Nickelodeon boy band Big Time Rush will also take centre stage for a headline performance of their new single, “Boyfriend.”

Beginning on March 1, kids began casting their votes online at nick.com for the only awards show that gives kids the power to vote for their favorite celebs in a total of 20 categories including Favorite Videogame, Favorite Butt-Kicker, Favorite Female and Male Singer, Favorite Female and Male Athlete, and Funniest TV Sidekick - just to name a few.

Broadcast live from the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles, Nickelodeon’s 2011 Kids’ Choice Awards will feature nominees such as heartthrob Justin Bieber in the category for Favorite Male Singer, slime veteran Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are nominated for Favorite Female Singer, Kristen Stewart (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) and Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) are both up for Favorite Movie Actress, as well as Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man 2) who is nominated for Favorite Butt-Kicker. Viewers can also vote for celebs

like Johnny Depp, Jaden Smith, Nick and Joe Jonas, Tim Allen, Miranda Cosgrove, Will Ferrell, Selena Gomez, Steve Carell, Cameron Diaz and Nickelodeon’s newest tween queen Victoria Justice.

On Saturday, April 2, nick.com will serve as the interactive secondscreen experience, giving kids an insider’s look at the entire live event from the orange carpet. Exclusive webcams will be featured alongside celebrity tweets, interactive polls, and real-time updates and photos.

For those who can’t get enough of this slime-filled event, it will rebroadcast on Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. One of the world’s leading entertainment brands for kids, Nickelodeon features a line-up of awardwinning Nick properties, from current live-action comedies, animated favorites, special events such as the Kids’ Choice Awards, to classic hits, 24-hours-a-day. Putting kids first in everything it does, this service gives viewers more Nick more of the time.

Visit nick.com.

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DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

15

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DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

16

THE RELIGIOUS ROUTE

BY VELMA HART Busy, busy, busy as bees.

That’s the word at the Merrick Park Baptist, Jamaica, New York. On March 26th, the Women’s Ministry presented their Fellowship Breakfast. Sisters Deaconess Deloris Smith and Deaconess Audrey Baskerville were cochairs of the event. A guest said the breakfast was beautiful. The keynote speaker was Dr. Katherine Corbett who’s pastor at the New Life Christian Center, Hempstead, New York. Minister

Vearlane Edge was the presider in charge. Sister Iris Bishop is the Women’s Day chairperson.

On March 27th the MPBC, the deacon and deaconess, trustees and missionaries held their Annual Day. Deacon David Bishop is chairperson of the Deacon Board.

Deaconess Louis Bishop is president of the Deaconess Board. Trustee Kim Fox is chairperson of the Trustee Board. Deaconess Audrey Baskerville is the president

of the Missionaries. The morning worship service guest speaker was the Rev. Bishop Andy C. Lewter, pastor at the Hollywood Baptist Cathedral, North Amityville, New York. Bishop Lewter is also serving as overseer at the Merrick Park. Merrick Park is presently in between pastors. The Rev. William Foreman, Brooklyn, did the 11 am morning service. Following the service a tasty dinner was served. And when the in-coming visitors

arrived, they were also served dinner. The special guest was the Deliverance Baptist Church, Cambria Heights. The Rev. Darryl Fennell is pastor.

The program began with the Elder Mary EllisHawkins, presiding. On the program were Deacon Joseph Adams, Sister Judy Canty, Argie Cowan, Avis Butler and the Merrick Park Male Chorus. The male chorus is all right. After the Deliverance Praise Dancers

and the Combined Choirs rendered several selections Pastor Fennell stood to deliver spoken Words. He called the attention to scriptures Psalms 97: 17-19. His message was quite spirit filled.

Merrick Park begun celebrating their 83rd Church Anniversary March 6th. It will conclude on April 3rd.

Look for the report on the above in the RR by yours truly.

Until next time show love.

Diabetes tied to higher Parkinson’s disease risk

By AMY NORTON People with diabetes may have a slightly increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests — though the reasons for the link, researchers say, are far from clear.

The study, of nearly 289,000 older U.S. adults, found that those with diabetes at the outset were more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s over the next 15 years.

Of 21,600 participants with diabetes, 172 (0.8 percent) were eventually diagnosed with Parkinson’s. That compared with 1,393 cases (0.5 percent) among the 267,000 men and women

who were diabetes-free at the study’s start.

When the researchers accounted for other factors — like age, weight and smoking habits — diabetes itself was linked to a 41 percent increase in the risk of future Parkinson’s.

That, however, does not prove that diabetes is a cause of Parkinson’s, and the reasons for the connection remain unknown, said senior researcher Dr. Honglei Chen, of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

“Really, the evidence at this time is very preliminary,” Chen told Reuters Health.

People with diabetes, he said, should simply continue

to do the things already recommended for their overall health — eating a well-balanced diet and getting regular exercise.

Chen and his colleagues report the findings in the April issue of the journal Diabetes Care.

Diabetes and Parkinson’s disease would seem, at first, to be unrelated.

Diabetes arises when the body can no longer properly use the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin.

Parkinson’s is a brain disease in which movement-regulating cells in the brain die off or become disabled, leading to symptoms like tremors, rigidity in the joints, slowed movement and balance problems.

But Chen said the connection between diabetes and Parkinson’s risk could mean that the two diseases share some underlying mechanisms.

One possibility, he speculated, is chronic, low-level inflammation throughout the body, which is suspected of contributing to a number of chronic diseases by damaging cells. Oxidation - the process fought by anti-oxidants - is another.

On the other hand, Chen and his colleagues say, there might be something about diabetes - like a problem regulating insulin — that contributes to Parkinson’s. But that remains to be proven.

A few large studies have looked at the diabetes-

Parkinson’s link before, with conflicting results.

The current study, Chen said, included a larger number of people with Parkinson’s. And unlike most past studies, it looked at the duration of people’s diabetes.

In general, Chen’s team found, the higher Parkinson’s risk was largely seen among people who’d had diabetes for more than 10 years before the start of the study.

That, Chen said, supports the idea that diabetes came first, before Parkinson’s, rather than the other way around.

But more studies, he said, are needed to understand why the connection exists, and what, if anything, can be done about it.

U.S. finds tiny amount of radiation in milk WASHINGTON — A trace amount of radioactive iodine, well below levels of public health concerns, has been detected in milk from the state of Washington as the U.S. monitors radiation levels amid the nuclear crisis in Japan, U.S. regulators said.

“These types of findings are to be expected in the coming days and are far below levels of public health concern, including for infants and children,” the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency said in a joint statement.

Testing found 0.8 pCi/L of iodine-131, a radioactive form of iodine, in the milk sample.

Although there are naturally occurring levels of radiation in milk, such an

isotope is not normally found in milk, but the agencies stressed it was 5,000 times lower than the FDA’s standard, known as the “defined intervention level.”

“These findings are a minuscule amount compared to what people experience every day,” FDA scientist Patricia Hansen said in a statement.

The EPA said it has increased radiation monitoring in U.S. milk, precipitation and drinking water in response to radiation leaks at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was damaged by the huge tsunami that was followed by the massive 9.0 quake on March 11.

The agencies said Iodine131 has a very short halflife of approximately eight

days, and the level detected in milk and milk products was therefore expected to drop relatively quickly.

Contaminated milk is a worry after a nuclear accident because toxic levels of radioactive iodine can get into rainwater and feed that is ingested by cows and taken up in their milk.

Contaminated milk was one of the biggest causes of thyroid cancers after the nuclear accident in Chernobyl because people near the plant kept drinking milk from local cows.

Iodine-131 is a threat to human health because it goes immediately to the thyroid gland, where it can cause cancer. Experts say thyroid cancer is generally considered non-fatal because treatments are so effective.

17

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

enTerTainmenT

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson promises Lifetime taps Alicia Keys to direct short film to brawl during WrestleMania about breast cancer

By ERIC DITZIAN

When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced his intention — during a raucous appearance on “Raw” last month — to return to the world of WWE to host WrestleMania XXVII, the question for fans was whether the grapplerturned-Hollywood hotshot would get in the ring for the first time since 2004.

And in a chat with MTV News this week, Johnson made clear he’s expecting to do much more than simply emcee the event. “I’m going to take my fist and lay it across somebody’s lips and take my boot — which is a size 14, so it’s a big boot — and stick it straight up somebody’s ass,” he told us.

“How about that? I say that with love!”

Which WWE stars he’ll tussle with at WrestleMania on Sunday remains to be seen. Johnson did, however, say one thing that could give us a hint. “Like with any show, like with any movie, you want to make sure the final five, 10 minutes of the show are worth every penny,” he said.

“Just for me personally, just as an actor, the opportunity to host 75,000 people live for four hours, that’s very special. I can’t wait,” he explained. “You’re going to get a fantastic show. Four hours. Great entertainment.

Great matches. They’ve done a great job of setting up these matches. Great hype around these matches. And you have a lot of performers who have that great ability to put on phenomenal performances.”

One of those performances will come from MTV’s own Snooki, who got nasty in the ring during “Raw” earlier this month and will return to the fray for WrestleMania.

“She’s going to mix it up,” Johnson said. “She’s been training her ass off. She’s going to get in there and get physical.”

Alicia Keys, Jennifer Aniston and Demi Moore have each been recruited by cable network Lifetime to direct a short film about breast cancer and its impact on people’s lives. co-creator “Friends” Marta Kauffman is overseeing the collection of five short films called “Project Five,” the TV network announced this week. This is the first time she and Aniston have worked together since the sitcom “Friends” ended in 2004.

Filmmaker Patty Jenkins, who made the 2003 crime drama “Monster,” will be the fourth director. A fifth will be chosen later.

Kauffman supervised a team of writers that came up

with five stories that use humor and drama to show the effects of breast cancer on women’s relationships and how they perceive themselves, said Lifetime Networks.

The collection of five short films, slated to air sometime this year, will be produced

by Sony Pictures Television.

A DAVID GORDON GREEN FILM

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA AN ILLUMINATION ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION “HOP” JAMES MARSDEN RUSSELLEXECUTIVEBRAND KALEY CUOCOPRODUCEDHANK AZARIA ELIZABETH PERKINS AND HUGH LAURIE MUSIC

BY CHRIS MELEDANDRI MICHELE IMPERATO STABI LE

BY CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ PRODUCER JOHN COHEN STORY DIRECTED SCREENPLAY

BY CINCO PAUL & KEN DAURIO

BY TIM HILL

BY CINCO PAUL & KEN DAURIO AND BRIAN LYNCH A UNIVERSAL PICTURE STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 1 SCORE SOUNDTRACK ON BACK LOT MUSIC AND VARÈSE SARABANDE

© 2010 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

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UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS A STUBER PICTURES PRODUCTION “YOUR HIGHNESS” DANNY MCMUSIC BRIDE JAMES FRANCO NATALIE PORTMAN ZOOEY DESCHANEL JUSTIN THEROUX TOBY JONES DAMIAN LEWIS

BY STEVE JABLONSKY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS DANNY MCBRIDE ANDREW Z. DAVIS JONATHAN MONE MARK HUFFAM PRODUCED WRITTEN DIRECTED

BY SCOTT STUBER

BY DANNY R. MCBRIDE & BEN BEST

BY DAVID GORDON GREEN A UNIVERSAL PICTURE SOUNDTRACK ON BACK LOT MUSIC AND VARÈSE SARABANDE RECORDS

© 2010 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 8 CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES

18

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

enTerTainmenT

Gabrielle Union talks Planned Parenthood With all of the recent controversy about Planned Parenthood being disproportionately placed in minority communities - and allegedly being the cause of many African American babies being aborted actress Gabrielle Union has decided to speak up.

For Union, the Planned Parenthood controversy hits a personal note: Her best friend, who lacked health care, was able to receive both screening and treatment for cancer.

Even though Union’s friend recently died from the disease, Union contends that Planned Parenthood still gave her friend a fighting chance.

“At the age of 32, my girlfriend Kristen Martinez was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. She fought incredibly hard for five years but ultimately lost her battle with breast cancer on June 16, 2010.

We knew she wasn’t going to make it this past summer, so I asked her, What’s the one thing that you want young girls to take away, what do you want your legacy to be?

She said just to remind people and women, especially, that you are your own best

advocate, and if you don’t put you first, no one else will.

With all that’s going on in the media about Parenthood Planned and abortions, I think the media is doing the public a great disservice. The fact that only 3 percent of the services that Planned Parenthood provides are abortions makes you wonder what’s happening with the other 97 percent of what Planned Parenthood is doing.

The vast majority of the work that they do is preventative. Planned Parenthood provides low-cost reproductive information and care, which goes into providing contraception. For women who choose to keep their babies, they offer low-cost pregnancy services as well.

Planned Parenthood is providing vaccines, cervical cancer screenings, 830,000 breast exams, STD screenings and (overall) half-a-million HIV screenings.

The way people are focusing now on Planned Parenthood is like they are taking one piece and deciding that the whole thing is bad, and that’s just not the case.

As for Planned Parenthood’s supposed targeting of African

‘F.A.M.E.’ tops U.S. album chart LOS ANGELES — Chris Brown’s “F.A.M.E.” is No. 1 on the U.S. album chart, Billboard.com reported.

Coming in at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 is Jennifer Hudson’s “I Remember Me,” followed by Adele’s “21” at No. 3, The Strokes’s “Angles” at No. 4 and Kirk Franklin’s “Hello Fear” at No. 5.

Rounding out the top tier are the charity compilation CD “Songs For Japan” at No. 6, Panic! at the Disco’s “Vices & Virtues” at No. 7, Mumford & Son-

s’s “Sigh No More” at No. 8, Bobby V’s “Fly on the Wall” at No. 9 and Lupe Fiasco’s “Lasers” at No. 10.

American women, I think when you factor in socioeconomics and the fact that there are plenty of underprivileged and younger women who don’t have access to proper health care and affordable contraception, you also see an increase in the number of African American women getting abortions.

The reality of what Planned Parenthood is doing is trying to increase the number of planned pregnancies and give women the options of planning out their pregnancies by way of contraception.

That is the bulk of what Planned Parenthood is doing.

For a lot of women, the last stop for affordable health care and acceptable health care is Planned Parenthood.

It’s the place that a lot of people go to, certainly minorities, because you know it’s the one place where you’re not getting turned away when you’re asking questions about repro-

ductive care.

If we provide more access to quality and affordable contraception, and information, you’re going to see those numbers go down across the board and not just in terms of the African American community.

For women, and for society at large, we should care that Planned Parenthood’s funding could get cut.

If you look at the fact that a good chunk of the women that go to Planned Parenthood receive federal funding anyway and you realize this is where they’re turning to go ... if you eliminate Planned Parenthood, think of all the STDs that will be spread, all of the women who won’t be receiving preventative health care in terms of breast cancer, cervical cancer. Think of all the women who wouldn’t get reproductive health and information. Cutting Planned Parenthood’s funding does such a disservice to our

already underserved community.

This should be the last place that should be cut.

One in five women will visit a Planned Parenthood at some point in their lifetime. We cannot eliminate the funding. It does not make good sense, it doesn’t make good business sense, it doesn’t make moral sense or health sense.

If you go to IStandWithPlannedParenthood.com, you can add your name to a petition asking Congress to stop Planned Parenthood from losing federal funding. Almost a million people are already signed up, but we just need to keep it going. Our elected officials want to hear from you, and there’s strength in numbers.

The more numbers we can get saying we refuse to stand by idly and let you cut such a necessary institution like Planned Parenthood - they will respond to that. As people who

want to eliminate the funding are rallying their troops, we need to rally ours, and it doesn’t mean you need to be pro-life or pro-choice, it just means you don’t want to see underprivileged women across the board stop receiving the health services that they so desperately need.”

Gabrielle Union has starred in “The Perfect Holiday,”“Meet Dave” and “Cadillac Records” and is the long-standing face of Neutrogena.

She is currently filming a pilot and is an ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Young Survivor Coalition.

Rihanna says doesn’t want to hurt Brown’s career Singer Rihanna has told Rolling Stone magazine she agreed a judge could ease a stay away order against her exboyfriend Chris Brown over a violent altercation two years ago because she didn’t want to hurt his career.

The 23-year-old told the music magazine it was “my decision” not to object to a Los Angeles judge’s decision in February to downgrade a restraining order keeping Brown, 21, 50 yards away from Rihanna — 10 yards at music industry events.

“It doesn’t mean we’re gonna make up or even talk again. It just means I didn’t want to object to the judge,” she told the magazine in an excerpt published Wednesday.

The singer added she had his music career in mind.

“We don’t have to talk ever again in my life,” she said. “I just didn’t want to make it more difficult for him profes-

sionally. What he did was a personal thing — it had nothing to do with his career. Saying he has to be a hundred feet away from me, he can’t perform at awards shows — that definitely made it difficult for him.”

Rihanna’s blunt admissions are a stark contrast to Brown, who last week threw an

angry tantrum in the dressing room of a U.S. morning chat show after clamming up when an interviewer brought up the topic of his 2009 assault on Rihanna.

Brown, 21, was promoting his new album “F.A.M.E.,” while Rihanna talked to Rolling Stone about one of her singles, “S&M,” off her fifth studio album,

“Loud,” that spawned No. 1 hit singles including “Only Girl (In the World)”.

Rihanna told Rolling Stone she put up a front in public after the assault.

“I put my guard up so hard. I didn’t want people to see me cry. I didn’t want people to feel bad for me. It was a very vulnerable time in my life, and I refused to let that be the image. I wanted them to see me as, ‘I’m fine, I’m tough.’ I put that up until it felt real.”

About “S&M,” she said that “being submissive in the bedroom is really fun. You get to be a little lady, to have somebody be macho and in charge...that’s fun to me. I like to be spanked.”

And the pop star even confesses to a bit of sexting, every so often: “When you’re not with the person you want to be intimate with, a picture is the next best thing,” she said.

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

19

business & Technology

Google takes on Facebook with latest social tweak

By ALEXEI ORESKOVIC SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc will begin allowing users to personally endorse search results and Web pages, its latest attempt to stave off rival Facebook Inc while trying to jump onboard a social networking boom.

The so-called “+1” button will start to appear alongside Google search results for select users from Wednesday, letting people recommend specific search results to friends and contacts by clicking on that button.

Eventually, the feature may begin to influence the ranking of search results, though that is only under consideration. Results are now ranked via a closely guarded algorithm.

The world’s leader in Internet search is battling to maintain its share of Web surfers’ time and attention, which is increasingly getting taken up by Facebook, Twitter and

other social networks.

But it has struggled to find its footing in the nascent market.

Its last attempt to create a social network — Buzz — has not fared well. A flood of complaints about how Buzz handled user privacy cast a pall over the product. On Wednesday, Google announced it had reached a settlement with regulators under which it agreed to independent privacy audits every two years.

With the new +1 buttons, Google aims to counter one of Facebook’s most popular features. The new feature comes nearly a year after Facebook began offering special “Like” buttons to websites, creating a personalized recommendation system that some analysts believe could challenge the traditional ranking algorithms that search engines use to find online information.

Maintaining its role as the main gateway to information on the Internet is key for Google, which generat-

ed roughly $29 billion in revenue last year — primarily from search ads.

While Google remains the Internet search and advertising leader, Facebook is taking a larger and larger portion of advertising dollars.

Google said that +1 recommendations will also appear in the paid ads that Google displays alongside its search results. In its internal tests, Google found that including the recommendations boosted the rates at which people click on the ads, executives told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

Eventually, Google plans to let third-party websites feature +1 buttons directly on their own pages, the company said.

Google’s Matt Cutts, a principal engineer for search, said the +1 buttons were part of the evolution of Google’s own social search efforts, rather than a direct response to Facebook’s Like buttons.

“We always keep an

AT&T Chief disputes higher prices after T-Mobile deal

By KENNETH LI AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Randall Stephenson disputed the commonly held belief that consumer bills would rise if there D1021670

4/1, 4,8,11,15,18

NOTICE OF SALE U.S. District Court, EDNY: Greystone Bank v. Rodriguez et al., Case No. 11-cv-157BMC. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered 3/17/2011, the Referee, Michael F. King, Esq., will sell at auction to the highest bidder outside the front doors of the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, NY, on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 10:00 a.m., premises known as 1271 MYRTLE AVENUE, BROOKLYN, NY, designated on the County land map as BLOCK 3217, LOT 54, and more particularly described in the judgment of foreclosure and sale. Sold subject to all terms and conditions in said judgment and terms of sale.

Approximate amount of judgment $671,025 plus interest and costs. MICHAEL F. KING, ESQ., REFEREE, (718) 238-2021.

were fewer competitors in the U.S. wireless market.

AT&T’s defense comes as it girds for a tough regulatory review of its $39 billion deal to snap up Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. mobile operator known for its lower prices. The deal would create a new industry leader. The combined company and Verizon Wireless, the current largest U.S. provider, would hold nearly 80 percent of the market.

Stephenson, who spoke to a New York event sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday, referred to a government report that showed prices on average fell 50 percent over the last decade despite five wireless mergers over the period.

Concerns over sur-

rendering too much control to few players prompted New York Attorney General to conduct a thorough review of the deal.

Asked in an interview with Reuters global editor-at-large Chrystia Freeland about the need for price restrictions as a condition to garner regulatory approval, Stephenson said, “I’m not sure of the relevance of it.

Stephenson said AT&T consumers once paid around $1.90 per megabyte of wireless data and now pay around 16 cents.

The benefits of the merger would be nearly immediate, he said. In New York, where users of the Apple iPhone have complained about dropped calls and slow wireless data speeds in certain areas, capacity would rise by 30 percent.

eye out on what other people are doing, but for me the compelling value is just that it’s right there in the search results,” said Cutts.

Google introduced social search in 2009, and in February the company began displaying special snippets underneath any search results that have been shared by a person’s contacts on Twitter, the Internet popular microblogging service.

Currently Google is not using +1 recommendations as a factor in how it ranks search results — a user only sees that a friend recommended a search result if the result would have turned up in a search based on

Google’s existing ranking criteria.

Google’s Cutts said the company is evaluating whether to use +1 recommendations as a ranking factor in the future.

To use the new recommendation system, users must create a Google Profile page.

Any +1 clicks that a person makes will be publicly visible to their network of contacts, which is based on existing contacts in Google products such as the company’s Gmail email and its instant messaging service.

Google faced privacy criticisms last year when it launched Buzz, a social networking messaging product that

automatically revealed people’s personal contact lists to the public.

Cutts said that Google hoped to address any potential privacy concerns with the +1 service by making it clear that any +1 tags are public.

“As long as people have that mental model, they know what to expect, they’re not surprised if they +1 something and it shows up in a different context,” he said.

The feature will initially be available to a small portion of Google users in the United States on Wednesday, and the company plans to allow other U.S. users to sign up to try the +1 feature later in the day.

Boeing received banned U.S. subsidies: WTO GENEVA — Planemaker Boeing received at least $5.3 billion of dollars of banned U.S. subsidies, the World Trade Organization said Thursday.

The subsidies included banned support in the form of research and development payments from the NASA space agency.

The ruling by a panel of trade judges is the latest round in a six-year battle between the industry’s two giants that has spiraled into the world’s largest and costliest trade dispute.

A separate WTO trade panel condemned European support for Boeing rival Airbus in a parallel case last year.

Both sides immediately claimed the upper hand in the row, which now extends to 2,000 pages of rulings in the most complex and bitter battle ever brought before the Geneva trade court.

Airbus, part of European aerospace group EADS, said it had lost $45 billion in aircraft sales because of the subsidies.

A model of Boeing 787-8 passenger plane is displayed inside its booth at the Asian Aerospace Show in Hong Kong.

“It’s time for Boeing shatters the convenient to stop denying or min- myth that European imizing the massive governments must illeillegal subsidies it gally subsidize Airbus gets,” said Rainer to counter U.S. governOhler, head of public ment assistance to Boeaffairs and communi- ing,” said Michael Lutcations at Toulouse- tig, executive vice-president and general based Airbus.

Boeing acknowl- counsel at Boeing.

Boeing says the conedged receiving $2.7 U.S. aid billion of illegal U.S. demned funding on top of a dis- includes $2.2 billion in pute that has already tax breaks on exports, the United been aired, but said which says have this was dwarfed by States more than $20 billion already been remedied of European aid which but which Airbus says it said the WTO had must be repaid.

Both sides can earlier identified at Airappeal the latest findbus.

“This WTO ruling ings.

GAMESNUMBERS

20

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

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Your Horoscope ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20) You are best not to say too much to colleagues.

The distance may make you both appreciate each other more. You should be traveling to that exotic destination you've been dreaming about.

additional skills. You'll find it easy to talk about your feeling today. Don't hesitate to find out what your mate's intentions are. You can come up with solutions to the problems responsible for inefficiencies at work.

TAURUS (Apr. 21- May 21) Love can be yours if you get out and about.

Don't be too quick to blame others for your bad mood. Rewards for past good deeds will be yours.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) Get involved in fitness programs that will bring you in contact with new friends. Work hard on improving your living quarters.

Put all your energy into moneymaking ventures.

GEMINI (May 22-June 21) This is a great day to start that new health regimen you've been talking about. Stick to your own projects and by the end of the day you'll shine. Your disciplined attention to jobs will enhance your position.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21) A little rest will do wonders. Rely on yourself and you will look good to superiors. Expect to have more people on your domestic scene.

CANCER (June 22-July 22) Use your inventiveness to find solutions. You can make adjustments in your domestic scene today. Travel and educational pursuits may help alleviate the stress you have been feeling.

LEO (July 23-Aug 22) You won't be able to keep a secret. Try to include friends and relatives in your activities. Try to visit a country that excites you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Get involved in competitive sports. Friends will appreciate your attention and playful nature. Don't push your luck with authority figures. You mustn't be so trusting.

LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) You can enhance your cash flow if you pick up

CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20) One-sided relationships are likely. You should spend your day trying to get things completed at work. You need to spend some time pampering yourself.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19)Throw yourself into your profession. Try to get every one involved; it will help bring you closer together. You may have problems with children. You're undergoing changes.

PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20) Do a little investigating if there is someone at work you don't trust. You'll find love and you'll get into tiptop shape at the same time. You can dazzle members of the opposite sex with your quick wit and aggressive charm.

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 3, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 13,-2011

DAILY CHALLENGE

21 21

SPORTS Hobbled and humbled, Arenas can’t find his Magic in Orlando

By SHAUN POWELL There’s nothing intimidating about him anymore except his contract, which has a lot more life and zip in it than Gilbert Arenas does right now. The last time Arenas blew past his man for 29 points a game and was a pest defensively, real estate was a great investment.

Arenas? Not so great, not right now. Maybe not ever again.

Three surgeries on the same knee within 18 months, a gun controversy, a trade and a free-fall from All-Star to backup doesn’t sound like a reversal of fortune is imminent. The question now is, can he be half as good as 2007?

That’s what the Magic would love to know, and at this point, gladly take.

With the playoffs upcoming and Orlando needing any edge on the Bulls, Heat and Celtics in the East, Arenas could be a bonus for the Magic. Except he hasn’t shown he’ll be anything close to that. His time in Orlando has been as ground-breaking as another strip mall.

Quick guards are giving him whiplash. He’s shooting 33 percent, mainly because he isn’t creating much breathing space between himself and the defender anymore. And he’s yet to develop chemistry with Dwight Howard, a prerequisite for staying on the court.

Photo/Marc Serota do what Gilbert once did. The Magic didn’t exactly surrender a bundle for Arenas when they sent away Rashard Lewis, one albatross contract for another.

But at least Lewis had a role with the Magic, diminished as it was.

Arenas hasn’t yet carved one for himself, hasn’t given coach Stan Van Gundy many reasons to keep him on the floor for an extended period.

And when Arenas has had time, as he did replacing a gimpy Nelson against the Knicks recently, he shot 1-for-12. He did grab 10 rebounds. But he’s now made only three of his last 23 shots.

Arenas came in the December trade designed not only to put

Gilbert Arenas is averaging 7.7 points in 21.4 minutes a game with Orlando.

At this rate, he’s a 15minutes-a-game sub, someone who at times will impact a possession or two, but whose body is preventing him from doing any more damage than that.

Welcome to the new world of Arenas, which isn’t so irreverent anymore. It’s just sad for a hobbled and humbled Agent Sub-Zero.

Nobody should pity a player who stands to make $60 million the next three years. Yet it’s clear the basketball gods played a cruel joke on Arenas. He never enjoyed the privilege of playing alongside a franchise big man, or on a championship-contender, and as soon as he gets both, he can’t give anything.

Sitting in the visitor’s

locker room at Philips Arena in Atlanta, less than an hour after the Magic fell to the Hawks (for the third time in four tries this season), Arenas said he was resigned to his fate.

“When I do too much in one day, I’m sore,” he said. “For example, we practiced for 2 1/2 hours and I’m sore for this game tonight. No, it’s not going to get better. Three years after I first injured the knee?

You’re going to be limited. You can only do so much.

“I have my days. At this point I’m so limited to what I can do in a day. I’d like to be explosive instead of being in the negative. I can tell what I lost when I have the ball. The things I used to do against cer-

tain guys, I don’t even try anymore because I don’t have that explosion.”

So he sits. Against the Hawks, the Magic had two possessions in the final minute of a tight game Wednesday night. Before, the ball would be in his hands in that moment. This time? His chin was in his hands as he sat and watched Jameer Nelson miss two chances to give Orlando a shot to win.

“I mean, I haven’t been in that situation in three years, so ... “ His voice trailed off.

He has made peace with his plight. He doesn’t have a choice. There was no future for him in Washington, not after the gun incident, nor with John Wall ready to

the Magic on championship radar, but to convince Howard to resign in 2012, his option year. Three months later, Howard is having an MVP-type season, partly out of necessity.

The hired help, while functional, is lacking a strong No. 2 guy. Few thought Arenas would fill that role, but fewer still expected the complete opposite.

General manager Otis Smith, tight with Arenas since the two were in Golden State, convinced ownership that Arenas would be the better contractual value than Lewis.

There’s no conclusive proof one way or another. All we know is Arenas is one expensive backup — maybe one of the most expensive backups ever — and there’s no quick fix on the horizon.

“It’s just a mental thing,” Arenas said.

“Nothing’s wrong. I want to jump the way I know I can jump, but I don’t jump. Or it’s a very scary jump. I have no idea why. I’m scared to jump off my left leg, but I know I can. When I go for a rebound, I’m at the rim, but when I’m going in for a layup I can’t explode for some reason. It’s a big adjustment and all I can do is develop my leg this summer the way I developed it last summer.”

Perhaps unintentionally, Arenas is already talking about next season. This one has hardly been worth the mention.

McGinnis can relate to pressures facing Heat’s Big Three Unlike everyone else outside the glare of the South Beach spotlight, George McGinnis doesn’t have to wonder what it’s like for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to work their way through the grinder in trying to

“Wow! That’s your back to the days when It’s listening to what jump to the NBA after cook up a better first reaction,” said you’re a kid out there other people are saying leading the Indiana recipe.

He’s been there on the inside where the sausage gets made.

It was Oct. 20, 1976, just two days before the regular-season opener, when the star forward of the 76ers had to make room for a highprofile and high-scoring teammate.

Julius Erving, Dr. J.

McGinnis, now 60, who owns an industrial supply business in Indianapolis.

“Of course, I had played against Julius in the ABA, so I knew the player and the talent we were talking about. I was consulted by the Sixers’ management and gave my complete endorsement.

Going

on the playground, you always want the best guys on your team.

“In some ways, it’s really not that difficult to just go out there and play. It’s what you do at every level of the game as you’re coming up.

You learn and adjust to your teammates.

“The problems are always on the outside.

about you. It’s reading what’s in the newspapers or hearing what’s said on the radio or TV. It’s all of those other influences that create the pressure and can set up obstacles to make things difficult.”

A year earlier, the Sixers had unquestionably been McGinnis’ team as he made the

Pacers to back-to-back ABA titles in 1972 and 1973, sharing the 1975 ABA MVP award with none other than Erving.

When he arrived, the Sixers were still trying to crawl back from the ignominy of a historically worst 9-73 record in 1973.

- Fran Blinebury

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 -2011 3, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3,

22 22

DAILY CHALLENGE

SPORTS BRIEFS

Bonds surgeon: I gave legal steroids to slugger SAN FRANCISCO - Prosecutors called Barry Bonds’ orthopedic surgeon to the witness stand Thursday at the slugger’s perjury trial.

They may wish they hadn’t.

Dr. Arthur Ting contradicted the testimony of a key prosecution witness, former Bonds business partner Steve Hoskins.

Ting denied speaking about Bonds and performance-enhancing drugs with Hoskins, and also denied telling Hoskins that Bonds’ serious elbow injury in 1999 was caused by steroid use.

Hoskins earlier testified that he had as many as 50 conversations with Ting about his concerns that Bonds’ health was in jeopardy because of steroid use.

Ting also testified that he gave Bonds legal steroids to ease swelling after surgery. Ting said those type of steroids have similar side effects as performance-enhancing steroids - acne, weight gain, mood swings and loss of libido.

Ting testified that he has operated on Bonds eight times, the last time in 2009.

- PAUL ELIAS

Former Kansas official gets prison term for scam WICHITA, Kan. - A former assistant athletics director at the University of Kansas has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for his role in a $2 million ticket scalping scheme.

In addition to the 46-month term, a judge on Thursday also ordered Rodney Jones to pay $1.3 million in restitution to the university and the Internal Revenue Service and a $2 million forfeiture judgment.

Jones apologized in court, saying he made a mistake he will live with the rest of his life.

U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown cited the conspiracy’s length of time and extensive economic damage in handing down the prison term.

Prosecutors contend the conspirators decimated the school’s athletic department. They say Jones spent the money on an “extensive rolling party scene” that lasted five years.

Former NBA ref charged with attacking Wilkins ATLANTA - A former NBA referee was charged with attacking Hall of Famer and Atlanta Hawks television analyst Dominique Wilkins in a dispute over a clothing bill.

Carlos Campos, an Atlanta police spokesman, said 36-year-old Rashan S. Michel was released early Thursday on $1,000 cash bond after being charged with two counts of simple battery.

Michel confronted the former NBA star while he was wrapping up his broadcasting duties after Atlanta’s 85-82 win over Orlando on Wednesday night. He claims Wilkins owes him $12,500 for custom-made suits.

“It appears the gentleman came down after the game. Mr. Wilkins was giving a live broadcast and he started yelling some things, confronting Mr. Wilkins,” Campos said. “When Mr. Wilkins stepped away to de-escalate the situation, Mr. Michel pursued Mr. Wilkins to the point that he physically attacked him.”

- PAUL NEWBERRY

SPORTS

Peterson denies dealings with recruiting service BATON ROUGE, La. - Former LSU star cornerback Patrick Peterson says he “never had any type of relationship” with a man who runs a Texas-based recruiting service now under scrutiny by the NCAA. In a statement released by LSU on Thursday, Peterson says Willie Lyles of Complete Scouting Services had no influence on his decision to attend LSU and had no involvement with his recruiting process.

Peterson says he resents that his name has come up in allegations in an ESPN.com report that Lyles told former Texas A&M coach Van Malone that the school would have to “beat” an $80,000 payment other schools were offering if they wanted Peterson to play for the Aggies.

Malone is now an assistant defensive coach with Tulsa.

ESPN.com is reporting that a former Texas A&M assistant coach says a man who runs a Texas-based recruiting service told him the Aggies had to “beat” $80,000 if it wanted to sign Patrick Peterson out of high school.

Van Malone, the former cor-

nerbacks coach at Texas A&M, told ESPN that Will Lyles, who ran Will Lyles of Complete Scouting Services, contacted him in 2007 after Peterson visited the school College Station.

“Will calls and says, ‘If you want this kid, there are other schools that want this kid as well. They’re willing to pay a certain amount of money, around the $80,000 mark,’” Malone told ESPN.com on Wednesday. “He said that was something we were going to have to beat as a university to be able to obtain the services of this kid.”

Peterson ended up going to LSU. Malone is now the recruiting coordinator and defensive secondary coach at University of Tulsa. He told ESPN.com that he told Lyles A&M doesn’t pay for football players, and he later told Peterson that Lyles was trying to sell his services.

ESPN.com was unable to reach Peterson or Lyles.

Peterson’s father, Patrick Peterson Sr., told the website he visited Texas A&M with his son.

He said he was never told that

Lyles was asking schools for money for his son.

“This is a shocker,” Peterson Sr. told ESPN. “It could have happened. It could have come out of (Lyles’) mouth, that’s what happens. These guys try to make money on their own, they are kind of like escort services.

That’s what I call them, escort services.”

Peterson Sr. said he has no relationship with Lyles, but met him at football camps.

LSU officials could not be reached for comment by ESPN. A Texas A&M spokesman told ESPN.com university was unaware of Malone’s comments about Lyles. Malone said he never told then-Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione about Lyles’ request.

The NCAA is looking into Oregon’s $25,000 payment to Lyles’ firm and his involvement in the recruitment of running back Lache Seastrunk, of Temple, Texas. Oregon has confirmed it paid for Lyles’ scouting service for videos of prospective student-athletes, which is allowed under NCAA rules.

Chipper, Heyward, Lowe help Braves beat Nats 2-0

By HOWARD FENDRICH WASHINGTON Welcome back, Chipper. Nice way to start, Fredi.

Returning from major knee surgery, Chipper Jones doubled before scoring the 2011 season’s first run on a chilly, damp opening day, and Derek Lowe allowed three singles in 5 2-3 innings, helping the Braves beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 Thursday to make Fredi Gonzalez a winner in his debut as Atlanta’s manag-

er.

The Braves played their first regular-season game since Bobby Cox retired at the end of 2010 after two decades and 15 playoff appearances - as their skipper.

With his sinker in fine, darting form, Lowe (1-0) struck out six and walked two.

Brian McCann drove in 1999 NL MVP Jones by grounding a single up the middle off Livan Hernandez (0-1) in the first, and Jason Heyward led off the second with a homer.

The Braves played their first regular-season game since Bobby Cox retired at the end of 2010 after two decades and 15 playoff appearances - as their skipper.

With his sinker in fine,

darting form, Lowe (10) struck out six and walked two.

Brian McCann drove in Jones with a single off Livan Hernandez (01) in the first, and Jason Heyward led off the second with a homer.

Heyward also homered in Game 1 a year ago, in his first major league at-bat.

According to STATS and the SABR Home Run Log, he’s only the second player in major league history to homer in his first at-bat of his team’s opening day game as a rookie and again the following year. The other was Kazuo Matsui with the New York Mets in 2004 and 2005.

The Nationals were without their most

prized young player, pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who flew back to Florida on Thursday to continue rehabilitation from reconstructive elbow surgery that is expected to sideline him for most, if not all, of this season.

But Washington did see free-agent signing Jayson Werth in action.

In his first regularseason at-bat for the Nationals - at second in the lineup, an unusual spot for a guy with a $126 million contract and some power - Werth singled to right. And then, doing exactly what general manager Mike Rizzo keeps saying he expects, Werth went from first to third on a single by Ryan Zimmerman.

DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 -1 3, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL - 3, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE

Warren Moon defends Cam Newton Warren Moon, the first African-American quarterback to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, told CBSSports.com that he believes some of the criticism of Auburn quarterback Cam Newton is based in racism.

“A lot of the criticism he’s receiving is unfortunate and racially based,” Moon, who is Newton’s adviser, told the website. “I thought we were all past this. I don’t see other quarterbacks in the draft being criticized by the media or fans about their smile or called a phony. He’s being held to different standards from white quarterbacks. I thought we were past all this stuff about AfricanAmerican quarterbacks, but I guess we’re not.

“Of course there is racism in every walk of society. We’ve made a lot of progress in this country. But racism is still there. I just thought in the sports arena we were beyond it. I think the way Cam is being treated shows we’re not.”

A draft profile in Pro Football Weekly published this week blasted Newton. Under the category of negatives, Newton was described as “very disingenuous

— has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, mefirst makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them.”

The profile also said that Newton “lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness.”

Moon said he doesn’t believe NFL teams are discriminating against Newton, but Moon is upset about the public perception of Newton.

Moon told the website that Newton unfairly is being compared to recent draft flameout JaMarcus Russell just because they share the same skin color.

He also pointed out that Sam Bradford came out of a spread offense with Oklahoma similar to the offense Newton ran at Auburn, but there didn’t seem to be questions whether Bradford could run a pro-style offense once he was drafted.

“Some of these questions about Cam are more about his intellect.

It’s blatant racism, some of it,” Moon told the website.

Moon became Newton’s adviser after the quarterback’s father, Cecil, reached out to see if he would train his son. Moon

Warren Moon steered the Newtons to understand that my George Whitfield obligation is to be the instead, but agreed to best possible football mentor Cam. player I can be,” he said.

“I’m actually more of “I know and believe a consultant and advis- that.” er to the family, and a The NCAA ruled in mentor to Cam as he December that Newton makes this transition,” was unaware of the payMoon told the News for-play scheme involvTribune of Tacoma, ing his father and the Wash., last month. owner of a scouting At the combine in service. Cecil Newton Indianapolis last and Kenny Rogers — a month, Newton read a former Mississippi State prepared statement to player who worked for try to clarify a comment an agent — sought he made in which he money for the quarterdescribed himself as back to play for the “not only as a football Bulldogs. player, but an entertainHe was arrested er and icon.” while attending Florida Newton explained in November 2008 for where his focus will be having a stolen laptop. in the future, and later The charges were later said that he was at fault dropped when he comfor being unclear. pleted a pretrial inter“First and foremost, I vention program for

23 23

SPORTS

Cam Newton teams have to do is first-time offenders.

Newton has met with watch tape of Newton or is scheduled to meet and spend time with the with nine teams ahead Heisman Trophy winof the NFL draft, which ner to know he’s not will be held April 28-30. “fake.”

“You can’t be fake Those teams, his agent, Tony Paige, told The and win a national Associated Press, are: championship,” Moon Carolina Panthers, told the website. “The Denver Broncos, players will see through Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati it. He’s won at every Bengals, Cleveland level. He took that Browns, Tennessee Auburn team to the Titans, Washington national title and that Redskins, Minnesota team wasn’t as talented Vikings and Miami as some other teams in the SEC.” Dolphins.

Moon said that all

James McAdoo, P.J. Hairston star in McDonalds game CHICAGO — James McAdoo might soon get used to showing off his skills in front of huge crowds.

McAdoo, who has committed to North Carolina, scored 17 points and Michael Gilchrist added 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the East to a 111-96 victory over the West in the McDonald’s All-American game on Wednesday night at the United Center.

McAdoo and Gilchrist were named co-MVPs in front of the largest crowd — 20,019 — of the All-Star game’s

34-year history. It surpassed the 2003 game in Cleveland that featured LeBron James.

“Just to come out here and play in front of 20,000 people is just unreal,” said McAdoo, whose uncle, Bob, also played at UNC and was a star in the NBA for 14 seasons. “Only 24 guys get this opportunity, there are thousands and thousands kids at home that did not get this chance. It hasn’t really hit me yet, but just to get this MVP with Michael is really an honor.”

Marshall Plumlee, who will follow his brothers to Duke,

scored on a baby hook, then after Gilchrist made two free throws, McAdoo had a breakaway dunk to give the East a 93-84 lead.

Florida commit Brad Beal also added 17 points for the East and P.J. Hairston finished with 15 points.

Hairston will also join McAdoo at North Carolina in the fall.

Anthony Davis, who is committed to Kentucky along with Gilchrist, finished with 14 points and four blocked shots for the West.

Davis was a relative unknown a year ago, but climbed up the play-

ers rankings after a growth spurt a year ago.

“I knew one day that I wanted to be a McDonald’s AllAmerican and I got that call and I was shocked,” Davis said. “All that hard work, you’ve got to put in the work.

Alonzo Mourning told us earlier today, ‘You put in what you get out of the game.’ So I just try to put in the game.”

Austin Rivers finished with 14 points for the West. He played in front his father, Doc, who was a McDonald’s All-American in 1980.

Rivers, one of the most sought-after recruits in

James the country, signed to play at Duke.

“I don’t like losing, point blank,” Austin Rivers said. “I’m just lost. That’s how I am.

I’m competitive. They outhustled on defense and offense. It’s frus-

McAdoo trating.”

Wayne Blackshear played despite injuring his left shoulder in practice. The Louisville recruit and Chicago Public League star scored two points.

DAILY CHALLENGE

S SP PO OR RT TS S WEEKEND EDITION, APRIL 1 - 3, 2011

WA RR E N M O O N : CRITICISM OF CAM NEWTON R AC I AL LY B AS E D SEE PAGE 23

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AGENT SUB-ZERO?

BONDS SURGEON: I GAVE LEGAL STEROIDS TO SLUGGER

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