Daily Challenge 7-29-11

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STRAUSS-KAHN ACCUSER TO FILE CIVIL SUIT ‘SOON’ - PG. 2 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

THE NATION’S ONLY BLACK DAILY 35 Cents

Final

CELEBRATING HARLEM WEEK

(L to R) Lloyd A. Williams, president and CEO, The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce; Jackie Roe Adams, Harlem Week, Inc.; Mayor Michael Bloomberg (presenting proclamation for Harlem Week Kick Off); Shiqeyuki Hiroki, Con-

sul General of Japan in New York and guest. Photo credit: Gideon Manasseh. Read the complete story in INSIDE NEW YORK’s special Harlem Week supplement on page 9 through 16.

WWW.DAILYCHALLENGENEWS.COM

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

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N EW S BR IE F S POLICE: QUEENS THIEF POSED AS ARMORED CAR EMPLOYEE Police are searching for a clever thief in Queens who scammed a check cashing business out of almost $15,000. Investigators say the man walked into Lorenzo’s Enterprises in Astoria last Friday dressed in an armored car company uniform. He said he was there for a pickup and an employee handed over $14,800 in cash. It wasn’t until the real guard came in for the scheduled pickup that store execs realized they had been robbed. Police say the phony guard is around 33 to 34 years of age, and was last seen in a GARDA Armored Courier uniform. Anyone with information about the case is being asked to contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800577-TIPS, by texting TIP577 to CRIMES, or by going to NYPDCrimeStoppers.com. THREE NEGLIGENT BROOKLYN LANDLORDS FINED MORE THAN $350K Three landlords in Brooklyn were arrested for failing to fix deplorable conditions in their buildings. Lewis Alleyne, Dwight King and Gerald King were brought before Housing Court on Wednesday after previously failing to appear. The Housing Department said the landlords’ buildings at 241 and 247 Linden Boulevard in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens had a total of 500 open violations. The judge issued more than $350,000 in fines against them. They have until August 2 to tell the city whether they will make the repairs or let the Housing Department take care of it. All three men are due back in court in September. REOPENED BROOKLYN BEACH STILL UNDER POLLUTION ADVISORY The New York City Health Department announced that Sea Gate Beach in Brooklyn will no longer be closed, but city health officials warn the beach could still have elevated levels of bacteria from last week’s Hudson River sewage dump. The DOH still does not recommend that people swim or bathe at Sea Gate until the beach’s pollution advisory is lifted. A fire at a Harlem wastewater treatment plant last week initially forced the city to release raw sewage into the Hudson River. The DEP commissioner said all wastewater dumps from the plant stopped on Saturday. State Senator Adriano Espaillat rallied with Harlem residents to protest the sewage spill, saying the city could have done more to prevent the neighborhood wastewater treatment plant’s dump. Espaillat said the city and the Department of Environmental Protection should have some kind of warning system. South Beach, Midland Beach and Cedar Grove Beach in Staten Island still remain closed.

Strauss-Kahn accuser to file civil suit ‘soon’

Nafissatou Diallo A lawyer for the hotel maid who accused former International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in a New York hotel said on Thursday he planned to file a civil lawsuit soon. Kenneth Thompson, the lawyer for the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, did not specify to reporters at a press conference exactly when a civil lawsuit would be filed. “I said soon. Soon is soon,” he told reporters. Diallo made an emotional public appeal at the press conference for people to believe her story. The criminal case has teetered for weeks since prosecutors disclosed they had uncovered several discrepancies in Diallo’s account of her past. LAWYER: TAPES BACK VICTIM IN STRAUSS-KAHN SEX CASE Thompson said Diallo had no intention of exploiting the situation. Thompson said taped conversations between Diallo, and another African immigrant prove she had no intention of trying to use the situation to her advantage. Information presented to news outlets that Diallo was seeking an advantage were mis-

Kenneth Thompson, Nafissatou Diallo and Rev. A.R. Bernard leading, Thompson added. Thompson and Diallo spent Wednesday in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, listening to the recordings. Law enforcement officials told Thompson and the media in June Diallo could be heard saying “words to the effect of, ‘Don’t worry, this guy has a lot of money. I know what I’m doing.’” Diallo accused Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund and a one-time contender in the French presidential election, of sexually assaulting her in a tony New York hotel suite in May. Earlier in July, a Manhattan judge released Strauss-Kahn on his own recognizance after District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said his office had questions about Diallo’s credibility. After listening to the recordings, Thompson said during a news conference Wednesday Diallo’s statements were mischaracterized. He said she never raised the issue of Strauss-Kahn’s wealth or status as prosecutors described. Thompson said his client described the sexual assault case

during one of her earlier calls and her account was consistent with what she told investigators. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a statement it would not comment on the evidence or any meetings because it was a pending criminal case. Meanwhile, a sixth woman said she had an affair with Strauss-Kahn, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported. In an interview with a Swiss magazine, the woman identified as MarieVictorine M. said the former IMF chief enjoyed “forceful lovemaking” during their nine-month liaison in Paris in 1997. The legal consultant said StraussKahn had a “huge sexual appetite” and was a “serial manipulator” of women, but she was a willing partner and he never forced her to have sex. Strauss-Kahn also faces charges in Paris from French writer Tristane Banon, 32, who has accused StraussKahn of trying to rape her in 2002. Photos: Lem Peterkin

Health bill to approach 20 percent of spending by 2020 By ANDREW SEAMAN WASHINGTON — The U.S. health bill will account for 19.8 percent of the nation’s spending by 2020, up from 17.6 percent in 2009, outpacing projected average annual GDP growth, researchers said on Thursday. The report, published online in the journal Health Affairs, looked at projected U.S. health spending through 2020 and estimated about 30 million people will gain health insurance by the start of the next decade due to President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul. According to the report, the average annual growth in national health spending is expected to be 5.8 percent, or 0.1 percentage point higher than it would be without the Affordable Care Act. “We are projecting a decline in the out-of-pocket share, but that doesn’t mean that the consumer’s burden is going to be substantially reduced,”

said Sean Keehan, an economist at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and co-author of the report. “Especially since we’re projecting health spending to grow at a faster rate than economic growth and disposable personal incomes.” For 2010, the researchers estimated that health spending grew at a historically low rate of 3.9 percent over the previous year to $2.6 trillion, which they attributed to a weak economy that has led many consumers to delay medical treatment. But future spending will likely grow at a faster pace, fueling concerns over how to cut the country’s deficit, now the subject of fierce debate among lawmakers ahead of a deadline for raising the government’s borrowing limit. The largest increase in healthcare spending in a single year is expected in 2014, when CMS forecasts a rise of 8.3 percent from 2013 as much of the new U.S. health law is implemented. The law’s provisions

include introducing state-based insurance exchanges and increased access to the government’s Medicaid insurance plan for the poor. Spending growth will then average 6.2 percent annually from 2015 through 2020. According to the report, some large employers with low-wage employees are expected to stop offering health insurance in 2014. An estimated 13 million employees would then likely seek insurance in the new exchanges or by enrolling in Medicaid, according to Rick Foster, CMS’s chief actuary. Increased access to health insurance is another explanation for the high growth rate, because with access comes demand. The researchers estimated that doctor visits, clinical services and prescription drugs will be some of the largest growth areas, because of the comparably young age of the newly insured population. The report said younger patients tend to require less acute care.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

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High school student alleges racial bias in valedictorian choice By SUZI PARKER LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A Black high school valedictorian says in a federal lawsuit that her school discriminated against her by making her share the stage with a white “co-valedictorian” who had a lower grade point average. School officials told Kymberly Wimberly, 18, that it was because the other student had more class credits, according to the lawsuit. School officials have said publicly that the valedictorians are chosen based on both grades and difficulty of course work. Wimberly, who said she was the first black valedictorian in more than 20 years at the tiny high school, believes it was racial. “I’m trying to prevent students under me from having to go through the same thing,” Wimberly told Reuters. “I think it was racially motivated. Everyone knew I had the highest grade point.” Repeated attempts to contact school officials and board members were unsuccessful. A day after learning that she would be the valedictorian of the 2011 graduating class at McGehee Secondary

School, she was told that she would have to share the honor with a white, female student. Both students gave valedictory speeches at the May 13th graduation. Wimberly is seeking injunctive, declaratory and monetary relief from the McGehee School District, the board, the district’s superintendent and the school’s principal, both individually and in their official capacities. The lawsuit is asking for $75,000 in damages. The superintendent is Black. The principal is white. The lawsuit states the school board is primarily white. Last year, the public school had 340 students in grades nine through 12. The lawsuit says the actions, “were part of a pattern and practice of school administrators and personnel treating African American students less favorably than Caucasian students.” It also says the school district does not encourage black students to take honors or advanced placement classes. “I hope this wakes up some of the mentalities of not just the whites but the Blacks who are so oppressed because they think it is the only way it has to be,” Wimberly said.

Wimberly said she graduated with a 4.0 grade point average and took honors and advanced placement classes. She briefly left school during the fall semester of junior year after giving birth to her daughter, missing three weeks of class. The lawsuit says that she returned in time to take her semester exams. She received a “B” in English that semester, but pulled her grade up to an “A” by spring. The white student had a lower GPA but more credits. But Wimberly said credits only come into play when two students tie with the same GPA. “They told me I was the valedictorian on Tuesday,” Wimberly said. “On Wednesday, they said I had to share and be a co-valedictorian.” Wimberly’s mother, Molly Bratton, works at the school as a certified media specialist. On the day Wimberly was notified that she was valedictorian, Bratton went into the copy room and heard staff talking, the lawsuit says. Some school personnel expressed concern that Wimberly’s valedictorian status might cause a “big mess,” the suit says. The next day, the co-valedictorian was announced. Bratton tried to address the school

board before graduation about her daughter’s situation. She was denied and was told she filled out the wrong form for public comments. “You stand up, and you fight for what you believe in, my dad told me,” Wimberly said. “This is your first battle, and we will stand by you, they said.” Wimberly has started college at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The mother of a one-and-a-half year old daughter, Amiah, Wimberly is majoring in biology and pre-medicine. She wants to earn doctorate and medical degrees. McGehee is a town of about 5,000 people near the border of Mississippi and Arkansas in the middle of the impoverished Mississippi Delta.

Sept. 11 families to meet Attorney General Holder about hacking WASHINGTON — The U.S. attorney general will meet with Sept. 11, 2001, families over allegations Rupert Murdoch reporters tried to hack victims’ cellphones, officials said. “We are hoping the allegations of hacking prove to be untrue, but we want a thorough investigation to determine what happened,” lawyer Norman Siegel, representing 20 families who lost relatives in the terrorist attacks, told Britain’s The Guardian. The meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder is to take place Aug. 24, Siegel said. The Justice Department, which Holder runs, confirmed the appointment. Holder’s decision to hold the meet-

ing indicates how seriously the issue is being taken, The Guardian said. A half dozen U.S. lawmakers from both houses of Congress urged the Justice Department two weeks ago to investigate possible U.S. and British misconduct by Murdoch’s News Corp. as the company’s British hacking scandal mushroomed. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., asked on June 13 for the FBI to investigate whether News of the World reporters tried to tap Sept. 11 victims’ cellphones or get unauthorized access to their voicemails or phone records. The allegation was first reported in Britain’s Daily Mirror July 11. The newspaper said the journalists approached a former New York City

police officer working as a private detective and asked him to do the hacking, which he declined to do. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., asked for a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees U.S. stock exchanges, after news reports said Murdoch journalists “paid London police officers for information, including private telephone information, about the British royal family and other individuals for use in newspaper articles.” Because News Corp. is a U.S. company, such payments may have violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids payments to foreign officials, Lautenberg said.

Microsoft’s Gates says high school degree no longer enough By LAUREN KEIPER BOSTON — A high school degree is no longer enough to secure the highest paying and most interesting jobs, said Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, who himself dropped out of Harvard University to build his computer company. “Every student needs a meaningful credential beyond high school,” said Gates, who spoke to the mostly African American audience of mixed ages at a National Urban League conference on education and employment. “Higher education is crucial for jobs,” he said, adding that education is an equalizer in society and is the

key to getting urban America back to work and fighting poverty. Gates said he believes college should be “for almost everyone,” but that parents, teachers and entire communities need to help make those opportunities available. Despite departing college in his junior year, Gates credited his own education, supportive parents and great teachers with his enviable and lucky outcome. “Our public schools range from outstanding to outrageous and where a child’s school is located on that spectrum is a matter of luck,” he said. “When it comes to education, we should replace luck with equity.” Getting the most effective teachers into the classrooms and using their

best practices to help other teachers improve is critical to making that happen, he said. Teacher improvement should include feedback from peers, student feedback, to some degree test scores, and even video analysis from the classroom, according to Gates. Gates, who said there can be good schools in even the poorest neighborhoods, pointed to some charter schools forging a path with less money and better results. “It’s not about throwing money at the problem,” said Gates. “It’s about the way the teachers are picked, it’s about the way the teachers are encouraged, it’s about the culture of the school, the high expectations,” he said.

Separately, two former News of the World senior executives in London were expected to be called back to Parliament after they contradicted part of last week’s parliamentary testimony by Murdoch son James Murdoch, head of the News Corp. division that oversees the company’s British newspapers. Colin Myler, News of the World editor when it closed July 10, and Tom Crone, the paper’s former head of legal affairs, said they expressly told James Murdoch of an e-mail that made clear the phone-hacking scandal was not limited to one “rogue reporter,” contradicting what Murdoch told Parliament last week. A News Corp. statement said the younger Murdoch “stands by his testimony” that the e-mail was concealed from him. An official told The Independent newspaper the committee would probably recall Myler and Crone to testify but didn’t say when. In addition, British officials began investigating at least three “unusual” private military briefings Defense Secretary Liam Fox and other defense officials gave to Rupert and James Murdoch in the past year. The meetings took place in August 2010 and in March and June of this year, Defense officials acknowledged. A Defense Ministry spokesman refused to offer details, but it was thought issues discussed included Afghanistan and Britain’s 2010 Strategic Defense and Security Review, which looked into defense budget cuts, The Independent reported.

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

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

The 40th anniversary of the Alonzo A. Daughtry Daycare Center, Inc.

THOMAS H. WATKINS

Healthy minds in a sick economy

By REV. DR. HERBERT DAUGHTRY

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Part Five In addition to what my family and I have done (and continue to do) in the church to educate (i.e. Sunday School, Bible Studies, Religious Institutes, and Baccalaureate Ceremonies), we have been pioneers and innovators in the Bible and Blackness, or the Bible and People of African ancestry, developing, teaching, and publishing on subjects such as “Jesus Christ: African in Origin, Revolutionary in Redeeming Action”; “A Theology of Black Liberation”; “The Magnificent Sons of Ham (Blackness)”; “African People in the Early Church”; and, “The History of the Black Church.” In addition, we have taught and shown the great artworks and images (i.e. the famous mural of the Black Messiah) created by people of African ancestry. In the secular area, we have

· An elementary school. · The Timbuktu Learning Center, where the most eminent scholars, diplomats, revolutionaries, activists, and artists gathered to share their knowledge and experience without charge. · The Cush Cultural Center, a Saturday school for children. · Scholarship Programs. The Randy Evans Memorial Scholarship Fund which was named after a 15-year-old killed by a police officer. Over 330 collegebound students have been awarded scholarships since 1979. The Brent Duncan Memorial Scholarship which was named after Brent Duncan, an 18-year-old college-bound and model youth, who was killed in community violence. · Last year, community and church members in Jersey City,

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New Jersey organized the Reverend Dr. Herbert Daughtry Learning Center. It should be understood that I had nothing to do with the idea and/or its implementation. It came as a big surprise to me. · Our children’s contribution. Two are school principals, and one is a Residential Fellow at Harvard University. Needless to say, my wife and I continue to teach in secular settings in a myriad of ways. To sum up, the month of June mirrored our concerns and participation in education. I went from the graduating ceremonies at HDLC in Jersey City to Principal Dawn Daughtry’s graduating class at Ronald Edmonds Learning Center #1 (MS 113) and Principal Herbert, Jr.’s graduating class at Ronald Edmonds Learning Center #2 (MS 484) in Brooklyn, New York; from the graduation ceremony at the Alonzo Daughtry Continued on page 5

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

I believe Ms. Nafissatou Diallo Statement by Reverend Dr. Herbert Daughtry at The House of the Lord Church on Thursday, July 28, 2011 We have come here today to deliver a message to Ms. Nafissatou Diallo and the world. We believe you! We support you! We pray for you! If the question is asked, “Do I know Ms. Diallo?” The answer is, “No,” and “Yes.” No, I do not know her. I don’t think I ever met her or seen her outside of the media’s pictures. But, yes, I know her. She’s African, my kindred; bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, and blood of my blood — birthed in the same magnificent, enslaved, exploited, and foreign-dominated continent from whence my forbearers came. She is my sister. Her pain is my pain. Her isolation and character assassination are my feelings. Moreover, at an even deeper level than race is the human connection. I know her because she is a human being, and I am human. She’s a human being who is hurting and crying out for understanding and help. My humanity responds as I have responded to a thousand appeals — spoken and unspoken — in a thousand places. I urge all who believe her story to make their feelings known. If the question is, “What about her past?” I know there have been stories

Kenneth Thompson and Nafissatou Diallo circulating regarding a questionable past. I do not know the truthfulness of the rumors. What does her past have to do with the credibility of her story? Is there anyone here today or elsewhere who would want the veracity of his/her contemporary statements to be rejected or impugned because of past words or actions? If that were the case, Oh Lord, nothing — no word or action — would be acceptable. For as the Bible says, “Oh Lord, if thou should mark iniquity, who should stand?” Again, the Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” “But

there is mercy with thee, Oh Lord, that Thou might be feared.” The question is, “Is she telling the truth about the incident that took place at Sofitel Hotel on May 14, 2011?” As for me, I will shout my answer from the mountaintop: “Yes! She’s telling the truth.” Again, I urge everyone to believe Ms. Diallo as I believe her. There is another question about a conversation she is said to have had with an imprisoned friend in which she is alleged to have said some incriminating things. Given the fact that she was speaking in her native

tongue (and translation was needed); and, given the fact that the accuracy of translations is difficult to achieve — most of us have difficulty in understanding each other even when we speak the same language — should cause any fair-minded person to question the communication between Ms. Diallo and her friend. There is also the question of context. I suspect that most of you have been victimized by words and/or statements taken out of context. I know I have. I’ve had misunderstandings when my friends have taken words I have said out of context. If this is true regarding friends, it’s even moreso regarding enemies or critics. Who can really say what she intended to say as she communicated with a supposed friend? What she did say was crystal clear — she was sexually abused. Finally, I urge District Attorney Cyrus Vance not to drop the case, but to pursue truth and justice and let the chips fall where they may; bring this matter to the public; and, let a jury of her peers decide her case. I am fully confident that if this were to happen, Ms. Diallo would be completely vindicated. My research reveals that everyone I’ve spoken to believes that she is telling the truth about her experience. Photo: Lem Peterkin

Daycare center Continued from page 4 Daycare Center to the Randy Evans and Brent Duncan Scholarships ceremonies; and, from our church’s Baccalaureate ceremonies to other graduations. If I were asked to define my family, I would say we were/are educators, achievers, activists, and servants of God through Jesus Christ. As long as I can remember, my family believed and passed on the conviction that our family had a covenant with God. If we loved God; and, if we loved, worked with, and for the people, God would bless our family abundantly. So, it has happened. God has been true to His promise. The End. ** Join Reverend Daughtry in Jersey City for the weekly Thursday 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. ** Listen to Reverend Daughtry on the weekly radio program which airs Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. on New York City’s WWRL-AM, dial 1600.

Reverend Dr. Herbert Daughtry with his wife, Dr. Karen Smith Daughtry; children, Leah, Dawn Daughtry, Herbert Jr., and Sharon; and, grandchildren, Herbert III, and Miles. (Lorenzo Daughtry-Chambers, Reverend Daughtry’s grandson, is not present in the photo.) in a state-of-the-art center. Atlantic and Nevins) 718 596 1993 333 Second Street (between 4th & ** NEED QUALITY CHILD CARE? ** Visit The House of the Lord Call the Alonzo A. Daughtry 5th Avenues) in Park Slope (718) 499-2066 Church’s website at holc.org. Or, conMemorial Daycare Center located at: Immediate openings are available tact us at 415@holc.org 460 Atlantic Avenue (corner of

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

Officer was stricken by fear before post-Katrina shooting By KATHY FINN NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans police officer who killed an unarmed man during a police shooting after Hurricane Katrina told a jury on Wednesday he felt “indescribable fear” in the moments before the shooting. Robert Faulcon, testifying in the trial of five officers accused in the 2005 shooting, admitted he fired the shotgun that killed Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old man with a mental disability, even though Madison had not fired at him. James Brissette, 17, was also killed during the shooting and four other civilians were seriously wounded. Faulcon said he had seen civilians with guns when he first arrived at the bridge, and he believed his life was in danger. “I became paralyzed with fear, really, that we were going to be shot at,” he said. Faulcon is the first defendant to take the stand in the trial of five officers charged with civil rights violations in connection with the shooting, which took place when

A caution tape floats in the wind over a walkway running alongside the Danziger Bridge in eastern New Orleans, Louisiana. much of New Orleans was still underwater, and an alleged cover-up. Also on trial are officers Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Anthony Villavaso and Arthur Kaufman. The shooting occurred when a dozen officers responded to a radio call that police had been fired on and that the shooters were headed toward the Danziger Bridge. Faulcon was among the officers who jumped into a rental truck and sped to the scene. “I knew we were going into a bad situation. I just

expected to be shot at,” he said. Mike Hunter, who drove the truck that day and is among five officers who have pleaded guilty to a role in the incident, testified previously that he fired a series of “warning shots” into the air as the truck arrived at the bridge. Faulcon, who rode in the back of the truck, said when he heard the initial shots he couldn’t tell where they were coming from. When he jumped to the ground he caught sight of two people with handguns, he said, and

that’s when he first fired his Mossberg shotgun. “I feel horrible,” he said. “When I saw guns, I might have been right and I might have been wrong, but I wouldn’t have shot at unarmed people.” Under questioning by defense lawyer Lindsay Larson, Faulcon said he had no role in preparing several versions of a report which stated that civilians on the Danziger Bridge had weapons and that officers who shot guns were returning fire. Poised and respectful through several hours of testimony, Faulcon, who had eight years of active military service before becoming a New Orleans officer in 2000, said he had never fired a weapon in the line of police duty until the day of the bridge incident. “My heart goes out to the people that were hurt and to the families of the people that were hurt,” Faulcon said. In cross-examining Faulcon, lead prosecutor Barbara Bernstein tried to get him to admit that he fired deliberately at Madison and others even though he knew

Seattle mayor signs medical pot regulations By LAURA L. MYERS SEATTLE — Seattle’s mayor signed into law on Wednesday a licensing system for medical marijuana distribution, with the city’s attorney vowing to show that pot regulation can be done “safely and humanely.” Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, in a 40-minute signing ceremony, said that licensed medical marijuana suppliers must comply with city codes that govern everything from public nuisance complaints to plumbing and food-handling. The City Council passed the ordinance unanimously on July 19, nearly three months after Washington’s governor signed into law a statewide measure allowing cities to regulate and license production, processing and distribution of medical marijuana on a limited basis. The state statute, which took effect on Friday, required storefront dispensaries and medical pot suppliers to reorganize as small, cooperative ventures that serve up to 10 patients.

Called “collective gardens,” these businesses may grow as many as 45 plants, but no more than 15 per person. Governor Christine Gregoire had vetoed provisions that would have established licensing for growing and distributing medical marijuana at the state level. Although cannabis is listed as an illegal narcotic under federal law, 15 states and the District of Columbia have statutes decriminalizing marijuana as a medical treatment, according to the National Drug Policy Alliance. Pot was first legalized as medicine in Washington state under a 1988 voterapproved initiative. The law Gregoire signed earlier this year was designed by supporters to bring greater order to a burgeoning medical marijuana supply chain that critics say had gotten out of hand. Seattle has about 80 medical marijuana dispensaries but only about 50 currently are registered with the city. Meanwhile, about 25,000 of the city’s 600,000 residents use prescribed cannabis for

pain relief from illnesses such as cancer, AIDS and glaucoma. “We hope that we can demonstrate a more sane approach in Seattle,” McGinn said in signing the new ordinance, which takes effect in 30 days. “Now patients do not have to buy their medicine from drug dealers,” City Attorney Pete Holmes said, adding the measure “will show the

world this will be done safely and humanely.” Storefront dispensaries — neither explicitly banned nor permitted under the 1988 law — have sprung up across the state in the two years since the Obama administration said it would no longer prosecute patients whose use medical marijuana, or shops that distribute it, in states where it was made legal.

all the civilians were unarmed. Faulcon stuck to his position that at the time he believed his life and lives of other officers were in danger. The devastated, chaotic state of post-Katrina New Orleans was a recurring theme in Faulcon’s testimony. He said his wife, who was nine months pregnant, evacuated the city the day before the hurricane to be sure she’d have access to a hospital. When flood waters began to rise, Faulcon sought safety on an upper floor of a hotel. When water reached the second floor, he had to swim out to reach a rescue boat. Faulcon said he wore the same water-stained clothes for several days as he helped rescue civilians trapped by the water. More than three weeks passed before he got word that his wife had given birth to their son. Shortly thereafter, he resigned from the police force and joined his family. They relocated to Houston, where Faulcon became a truck driver. In recent months, however, the Justice Department has taken a hard line against what it considers illegal drug trafficking conducted under the guise of state medical marijuana laws. A federal grand jury indicted the operators of two medical marijuana dispensaries in Spokane, Washington, on July 20. Seattle is the state’s largest city. Several smaller municipalities have banned medical marijuana gardens outright.

Action urged on children left in hot cars WASHINGTON — The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says action is needed to prevent the deaths of children left unattended in cars in the hot summer sun. “It’s so urgent that we find effective sets of countermeasures that we all can take right now,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, who hosted a roundtable discussion in Washington Tuesday. “How do we prevent these deaths from happening now?” He said he sought to raise “awareness of the

deadly danger that could result from something as simple as a change in who drops a child off at day care,” The Washington Post reported. In almost half the cases of child death by hyperthermia since 1998, the child was forgotten and left in the car by a parent or designated caregiver, statistics show. A common occurrence was when someone other than the usual driver, often the other parent, was a substitute driver who went directly to work instead of the day-care center, forget-

ting a child in the back seat. On an 85-degree day, the heat inside a car can reach 104 degrees within 10 minutes and 119 degrees in half an hour, Jan Null, a meteorologist at San Francisco State University, told the roundtable discussion. Several participants made several recommendations to avoid leaving a child behind, including placing a cellphone, coat or briefcase on the back seat beside the child that would need to be retrieved. They also suggested leaving a reminder in the front passenger seat.

DAILY D CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

AFRICAN SCENE

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Zambia sets elections for September 20 By OBERT SIMWANZA Z a m b i a n President Rupiah Banda on Thursday set elections for September 20, hoping a humming economy will help him win his first full term in office against an opposition whose alliance has already cracked. “I have been informed by the Electoral Commission of Zambia that the logistics for holding elections are now in place. The final voter register is also in place,” he said in a live address on national radio. Banda, 74, will seek his first full term at the polls, after he took power in a special election three years ago to complete the term of Levy Mwanawasa, who died while in office. The main opposition parties had formed an alliance to challenge Banda, but their coalition has already crumbled over disputes about who would top their united ticket. That dealt a major blow to Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata,

Zambian President Rupiah Banda and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who came close to win- House,” Sata told AFP. would top the ballot. ning the 2008 elections, Opposition parties Despite the break-up, taking 39 percent of the have been pressing UPND spokesman vote to Banda’s 41 per- Banda to announce the Charles Kakoma told cent. elections date, claiming AFP the party was “We have been ready that his continued use for election from as of state vehicles and early as yesterday. We media before announcare ready for him as we ing new polls was tanhave always said,” said tamount to abuse of 74-year-old Sata, state finances. known as “King Cobra” Sata’s party had for his stinging rheto- teamed up with the ric. smaller United Party “He has bowed down for National to our pressure to Development (UPND) to announce the election run a united ticket in date, and now that he the campaign. But their has announced he coalition quickly fell should start counting apart when the parties his days in State failed to agree who

ready to challenge Banda. “Let them now stop using state resources, and we want free and fair campaigns. I am certain that Banda now knows that his time is up. We are ready for him,’” Kakoma said. Although Zambia is among the world’s poorest countries, the economy has grown steadily in recent years, with growth at 7.5 percent last year — a showing that Banda has claimed credit for. Africa’s biggest copper producer, Zambia has benefited from strong commodities prices and a surge in foreign investment to open new mines and expand existing ones. Last year copper exports hit a fourdecade peak of about 750,000 tonnes. The government aims to

more than double that figure to two million tonnes by 2015. Banda actively courted Chinese and Indian to help investors Zambia weather the global economic slump, but the growing Asian presence has become a political hot potato. Two Chinese mine bosses were cleared in April of charges they fired guns into a crowd of protesting workers, a case in which Sata championed the workers while Banda urged Zambians not to stoke tensions with the Chinese. Banda also faced protests after the acquittal of former president Frederick Chiluba on graft charges, when Banda disbanded the corruption busters who had brought the case to trial.

Nigerians face prosecution over polio vaccines A Nigerian state that has battled polio outbreaks has vowed to prosecute parents who refuse to immunise their children against the highly contagious disease, a health official said Thursday. “The government will henceforth arrest and prosecute any parent that refuses to allow health workers to vaccinate his child against child-killer diseases, particularly polio,” the permanent secretary in the Kano state health ministry, Tajudeen Gambo, told AFP.

Parents would be charged under an already existing law prohibiting someone from denying children access to health care, he said. He said the law allows for penalties of jail time or fines, but he did not know how much for either. Gambo said the government would also prosecute vaccine providers who refuse to report recalcitrant parents to the authorities. “We have formed special surveillance teams and directed vaccinators to report any defaulting

parent to such teams, and any vaccinator that fails to do that will also be prosecuted,” he said. Thousands of vaccinators Thursday began a four-day door-to-door immunisation campaign of six million children in the northern state as part of a renewed international polio eradication drive. UNICEF recently expressed concern over a resurgence of polio in northern Nigeria, where 20 cases had been recorded as of last week compared to 21 cases in the whole of last year.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

Saudi government approves diplomatic relations with Guyana RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Guyana’s effort to expand economic and political ties with the Middle East received a boost on Monday after the Saudi Cabinet approved the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries at non-resident ambassador level, and authorized the foreign minister or his deputy to sign the related protocol, according to the Saudi Islamic News Agency. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guyana, this development has not yet been relayed “formally or informally” to Georgetown, but the issue has been under “active consideration by the Saudi authorities since Guyana initiated the request.” Despite having a sizable Muslim minority, and being a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Guyana and Saudi Arabia have never established diplomatic ties. This move by Riyadh will pave the way for the appointment of honourary consuls in both countries, and may see the

appointment of Ambassador Odeen Ishmael to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have also sought the approval of Guyana to appoint of a representative in Georgetown. “We welcome this request and have since sought clarification on what position the person will hold. We are waiting a response,” said Carolyn Rodriguez-Birkett, Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Moreover, formal ties between Guyana and Saudi Arabia will make it easier and cheaper for Guyanese Muslims to make the Hajji, one of the five pillars of Islam. Most Guyanese Muslims are Sunnis like their Saudi brethrens. Guyana hopes diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia will facilitate trade and investments between the two countries. Guyana is keen in attracting Arab investments and capital to develop its economic sectors. Saudi Arabia is also a member of the OIC, and is one of the largest shareholders of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), an arm of the OIC.

Trinidad PM confident there will be no national strike

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has expressed confidence that good sense will prevail and insists there will be no national general strike in Trinidad and Tobago, following three hours of discussions with 19 labour leaders on Tuesday. The prime minister’s position was made known at a press conference on Tuesday evening following the meeting. She disclosed that, although every issue on the labour unions’ agenda as outlined in the Labour Day accord and sent to her in their letter was discussed, and her assurance there is no five percent cap to negotiations, the meeting ended with the teams returning to “square one” wanting her to remove the five percent cap. Persad-Bissessar stressed that she could not negotiate. “I indicated to them there

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar is no five percent cap and the unions should go back to the bargaining table with the management of the respective employers and start from fresh at the bargaining table...start from zero.” She said while the “unions may well take industrial action as they are entitled to do” government had contingency plans in place which

she didn’t think should be shared, especially as government intended to keep the country up and running. “I have no reason to doubt otherwise or to believe there is going to be a national strike. There may be a strike of some workers but not a national strike,” she said, pointing out there are 32,000 public servants and 4,000 WASA workers who fall under the Public Services Association (PSA), which had settled negotiations. Persad-Bissessar also expressed confidence in the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, saying, “I have faith and confidence in the people and citizens of this country...good sense will prevail and the majority of persons want the country to succeed and do well and at the end of the day those persons will determine what direction we go in.”

Jamaican minister urges CARICOM to do more By ALPHEA SAUNDERS KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr. Kenneth Baugh, has emphasised the need for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to do more to demonstrate the positives that are happening in the region. This, he said, is in response to the public perception that the Community is failing and that there is “an implementation deficit.” “Most of this nega-

tive perception is bolstered by the complexity of the integration process,” the minister noted. Baugh was speaking at the World Federation of Consuls (FICAC) Caribbean Regional Consular Conference, held in Kingston on Monday, under the theme: ‘Enhancing Intra-Caribbean Relations’. “Our political will must forge stronger ties in foreign policy coordination, functional co-operation and enhanced trading relations,” he argued, while using the opportunity to congratulate

Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on his appointment as the new secretary general of CARICOM. “We look forward to the new energy which the new secretary general for CARICOM will bring to the post, and to the organisational review of the CARICOM Secretariat, which will set the stage for new and better management of the integration-building project,” he said. Turning to the matter of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), Baugh noted that since the signing of the agreement in 2001,

some 6,000 skills certificates have been issued as part of the facilitation of movement of skilled and semi- skilled labour. However, he pointed out that much work needs to be done to grasp the potential for enhancing trade and attracting investments, both within the region and external to the region. Baugh said he “remains bullish” that there are opportunities which the local private sector, including small and micro-enterprises, must seize if Jamaica is to attain its Vision 2030 objectives.

Vision 2030 Jamaica is the country’s first long-term national development plan, which aims at enabling the country to achieve developed country status by 2030. It is based on a comprehensive vision: “Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business.” Meanwhile, the minister said Haiti must remain on the agenda of members of the Community, to continue the post-earthquake reconstruction process. “We must work with President Miguel Martelly and his elected officials to bring our

full weight behind their efforts at rebuilding and crafting a new and better future for themselves. The international donor community must be encouraged to continue to help in this regard,” he told the gathering of ambassadors and other consular officials. The FICAC was established in 1982 in Copenhagen, Denmark, to bring together consular corps and associations, share experiences and co-ordinate efforts to enhance the effectiveness and status of the Consul. The Federation is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

St. Vincent opposition leader predicts back-to-school difficulties children for the new school year, according to St. Vincent KINGSTOWN, St. and the Grenadines Vincent — This year opposition leader, will be especially Arnhim Eustace. “I am getting so difficult for parents many calls already. to prepare their

By KENTON X. CHANCE

Even yesterday after-

noon, early this morning my phone ringing at home — ‘Mr. Eustace you having a book programme this year? Mr. Eustace, you having uniforms this year?’” Eustace said on Monday.

He was referring to people inquiring about whether his New Democratic Party will this year conduct its programme that helps families to prepare their children for school. “I had to tell them

‘no’. We don’t have enough money to do it now. Things are so hard in the country, people’s contributions and party dues and so on; all those things have fallen off. They are not getting much help in that kind

of area (business contributions). And you know it really is going to be extremely difficult this time. ... This is going to be the worse year where that is concerned,” Eustace said.

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

INSIDE NEW YORK C EL EB RAT ES “HARLEM WEEK” B Y JO AN H . A LLE N, E DIT OR

P h ot o c r ed i t : G i d eo n M an a s s eh

H a r l e m We e k o f f i c i a l l y o p e n s t h i s w e e k e n d . Ma yor M ich ae l B lo o m berg pre se n te d a p r o c l a m a t i o n f o r H a r l e m We e k a t t h e k i c k o f f re ce p t io n a t Gr a c ie M a n s i o n. ( L t o R ) L l o y d A . Wi l l i a m s , p r e s i d e n t a n d CE O , Th e G r e at er H ar l em C ha mb er o f

Co m m e r c e; J a c k i e Ro e A d a ms , H A R L EM W E E K , I N C . ; M a y o r M i c h a e l B l o o m b e r g ( pr e s e n t i n g p r o c l a m at i o n f o r H ar l e m We e k K i c k O ff ); S hi q ey u ki Hi r ok i, Co nsu l G en er a l of J a p a n i n N e w Yo r k a n d g u e s t .

S E E PA G E S 1 0 - 1 6

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

HARLEM WEEK 2011 OPENS THIS WEEK Harlem Week, annually one of the country’s largest summer festivals, will celebrate its 37th anniversary this year with quite possibly the biggest edition of the festival yet. The theme for this year’s event is “A New York State of Mind� selected by the organizers to acknowledge the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. First Vice Chairman Voza Rivers said, “With this year marking 10 years since 9/11 and Harlem Week taking place throughout August we felt it important to acknowledge the impact of that event in all of our communities and show that we are all

connected and to remind the world that we were all affected and it wasn’t downtown just Manhattan or one group of people, it was all of us.� That theme will be reflected in the global nature of programming of events and entertainment of this year’s Harlem Week with performers representing Haiti, Japan, the Caribbean and much more. Over the years, Harlem Week has brought the stars of various music genres to perform at free outdoor events and this year is no different. Scheduled to perform during the festivities are Latin Jazz

Great Dave Valentine, Gospel Great Bishop Hezekiah Walker, and R&B stars Joe & Johnny Gill among other performances that include Broadway shows and more. The always popular Harlem Week Fashion Shows will feature designs by local and international designers worn by local and international models. Harlem Week continues its focus on “The Health of Our Communities� with heath seminars, demonstrations, screenings and workshops at its Economic Development Conference and Senior Citizens Day events as well as the day-long Voza Rivers, first vice chairman of Harlem Week and executive producer of the New Heritage Theatre, enjoys a moment at the kick-off reception at Gracie Mansion. Photo credit: Gideon Manasseh Sunday July 31st at Health Village on August 27th. Whether you’re look- Grant’s Tomb with “A Harlem Day. Plus, all New Yorkers and those ing for children’s events, Great Day In Harlem� from throughout the sports, film festivals, and continues through region are invited to join fashion, conferences and August 31st. For a full and walk for Japan or seminars or music listing of events log onto run for 9/11 in the annu- Harlem Week has some- the Harlem Week website, at al NYC Family Health thing for everyone. The Harlem Week www.HarlemWeek.com. Walk/Percy E. Sutton Harlem 5k Run on 2011 events kick off on

NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman’s Statement on the Death of NEA Jazz Master Frank Foster “On behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts, it is with great sadness that I acknowledge the passing of 2002 NEA Jazz Master Frank Foster. An extraordinary saxophonist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator, Frank Foster’s contributions to jazz are numerous. We join many others in the jazz community and beyond in mourning his death while celebrating his life.� Best known for his work in the Count Basie Orchestra (and as the composer of the Count Basie hit, “Shiny Stockings�), saxophone player Frank Foster was an extremely successful composer. He

Jazz Master Frank Foster created a large body of work for jazz, including works contributed to albums by singers Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra, and a commissioned work for the 1980 Winter

Olympics, Lake Placid Suite, written for jazz orchestra. In the 1970s, Foster played with contemporary musicians such as Elvin Jones, George Coleman, and Joe Farrell and began expanding his compositions. He led his own band, the Loud Minority, until 1986 when he assumed leadership of the Count Basie Orchestra from Thad Jones. In addition to performing, Foster has also served as a musical consultant in the New York City public schools and taught at Queens College and the State University of New York at Buffalo. Foster is the recipient of two Grammy Awards.

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011 PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Columbia University Salutes The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce on Harlem Week 2011

City and Columbia Expand Program for Minority and Women Contractors

The city’s expansion of Columbia’s contracting mentorship program comes at a time when the University is also expanding its role as the host of the first and only Small Business Development Center serving Harlem and Upper Manhattan. trades industry and at the same time help identify firms that might be able to work with Columbia or other large institutional firms,” said Joe Ienuso, executive vice president at Columbia University Facilities. “We have been successful in both regards.” Participants are trained in such topics as marketing and communications, disputes and negotiations, and insurance and bonds, as well as project planning and sustainability. They are assigned mentors, who are building and business experts from banks, unions and large construction firms. “The program touches on every aspect of how to create a business,” said Roxanne Tzitzikalakis, who graduated in the first cohort in 2008. “Class projects gave us a chance to connect schooling with the practical aspects of running a business.” Now, New York City’s Small Business Services is building on the program and expanding it as part of its Corporate Alliance Program, which aims to connect program participants to contracting opportunities in the private sector. “The city has made tremendous progress in expanding the opportunities available to minority and women business owners under Mayor Bloomberg’s leadership,” said Rob Walsh, commissioner of the city’s Department of Small Business Services. “Partnering with Columbia was one of the ways we were able to do that. And we will now take the lessons learned from this three-year experience to create an even better program.”

BRUCE GILBERT

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haron Sinaswee, who owns Armada Building Services in Harlem, has participated in a number of professional development courses for small business owners. But Columbia’s construction trades management certificate program, from which she graduated May 23, stands out, she said. “The work we did in class was so very practical, and I learned from conversations with my partners—we’re all in the same industry,” said Sinaswee, who was selected to speak at the graduation. The program is already paying off for Armada, which just completed a large painting job at 415 Riverside Dr., a Columbia-owned residence. “For a Harlem business, being recognized by Columbia is a very big thing,” Sinaswee said. She is one of 25 professionals from 19 firms who earned certificates this year from a joint Columbia University-New York City Small Business Services mentorship program for minority, women and local entrepreneurs. The nine-month program’s curriculum is based on the School of Continuing Education’s highly successful master of science in construction administration. Since the program’s inception in January 2008, professionals from nearly 50 firms have graduated and garnered more than $32 million in construction trades work, including jobs with the city and Columbia. “From the beginning, our vision was to create a program that would benefit minority, women and local firms in the construction

From left: Columbia University Construction Master’s Program Director Dennis Green; NYC Department of Small Business Services Executive Director Tanya E. Pope; Sharon Sinaswee, president, Armada Building Services; Columbia University Facilities Executive Vice President Joe Ienuso; and NYC Department of Small Business Services Assistant Commissioner Colleen Galvin during the Columbia University-New York City Small Business Services Construction Trades Management Certificate Program graduation May 23, 2011.

Tzitzikalakis, CEO of Eagle Two Construction in Brooklyn, says her sales have nearly tripled since participating in the program, and she has hired more than 30 new employees in just two years. While Columbia is currently her biggest client, she is also doing work for the State University of New York and the state of New York. “We know that building your portfolio and diversifying your client list are key to becoming more competitive,” said Walsh. “The Corporate Alliance Program will offer this edge to the firms that need help building capacity.” Indeed, Jimmy Moyen, a graduate of this year’s cohort, says that the majority of his business now comes from municipalities, and Columbia is his largest private client. As the head of First Choice Mechanical in Queens, he is now exploring a joint venture with a larger mechanical contractor and has secured a small business grant from Goldman Sachs. The certificate/mentorship program is part of a larger initiative for minority, women and locally owned businesses undertaken by Columbia. The University’s goal is to spend at least 35 percent of all construction dollars with such firms and have at least 40 percent of its construction labor force made up of women, minorities and local workers. “We have one of the most aggressive goals around,” said La-Verna Fountain, associate vice president in Facilities. “The CAP program will help us by identifying those construction trade firms that are a good match for the University, and it will help firms that come through the program by introducing them to potential clients.” Sinaswee’s Armada has expanded to include general contracting work, including tiling, painting and handyman services. In addition to the work at Columbia, Sinaswee’s firm is currently working on a large painting project at the Yonkers YWCA. She makes sure to hire from her Harlem neighborhood. The city’s expansion of Columbia’s contracting mentorship program comes at a time when the University is also expanding its role as the host of the first and only Small Business Development Center serving Harlem and Upper Manhattan. A publicprivate collaboration funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration and led by the University’s Office of Government and Community Affairs and engineering school, the SBDC provides a wide range of technical assistance, training and support to entrepreneurs, small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the local community.

Visit http://news.columbia.edu/mwl to see a video about the mentorship program.

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

HARLEM WEEK 2011 kicks off with “It’s a New York State of Mind�

(L to R) HARLEM WEEK Scholarship Recipients, with sponsors of Harlem Week-Joncarlos Maldonado -Scholarship Recipient, Marci McCall, Manager New Business, Development, Emblem Health, Shawndesha Johnson - Scholarship Recipient, David Alan Grier Harlem Week Kick-off, Emcee, Comedien (Back), Jesse Walker, Scholarship Recipient, Art Torno, Vice President of NY, American Airlines, Dolf van der Brink, President & CEO, Heineken, USA, Reginald Idlett, Jr. -Scholarship recipient, Kim Jasmin, Vice President, JP Morgan Chase and Meiling Jabbaar Scholarship Recipient

Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, Comedian David Alan Grier, Mayor Bloomberg

(L-R) Maureen Walter, Roscoe Brown (Tuskeegee Airman Commander WW11), Bernadette Brown, Laurentina McKetney. Debbie Jackson, WBLS Hal Jackson and WBLS Host Shala Photo credit: Gideon Manasseh Photo Credit: Hubert Williams from the More than 1,000 former business owners, Manhattan School of business executives, Music. In addition, actor, comedicommunity organi- renowned an David Allen Grier zations and presented an award to Harlemites partici- WRKS “KISS FM� radio pated in the celebra- station, celebrating its tion to kick off 30th Anniversary Harlem Week is a celHARLEM WEEK 2011. The event was ebration of the history of America’s best hosted by Mayor Harlem, known community, Michael R. highlighting some of the Bloomberg at Gracie neighborhood’s immeasMansion. urable contributions to Participants were the arts, culture, civil Hal Jackson (Radio talk show Host) posed with the cast from hit Broadway show, "Baby It's You" entertained by members rights, politics, religious at the kick off reception at Gracie Mansion. of the cast of the hit and education. What Photo credit: Gideon Manasseh Broadway show “Baby began as Harlem Day in long celebration. This from July 31st to ther information, please v i s i t It’s You� and by Assata the summer of 1974 has year’s events will run August 30th. For furcall 212862-8477 or www.harlemweek.com. Alston, a budding per- expanded to a month

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

President Lisa S. Coico and the students, faculty and staff of

THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK

S

alute

our neighbors in

HARLEM

and look forward to building new partnerships for our community and our city.

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DAILYDAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011 CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

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Esther Armah’s “SAVIOUR?� to Premiere this Fall in Harlem Esther Armah, an award winning international journalist and a favorite New York radio host of listeners on WBAI-FM Radio, will return to the Dwyer Cultural Center in Harlem this Fall with her highly anticipated new play, “Saviour?� It is directed by Passion, an Audelco Pioneer Honoree and part of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. Esther’s work has been nurtured and developed by the New Heritage Theatre since she arrived in New York City. ‘Saviour?’ is the fourth play of Esther has written that’s been produced by New Heritage. “Her second

play ‘Forgive Me?’ debuted with the highest audience we’ve had in 11 years of doing the Roger Furman Play Reading Series,� recalled Voza Rivers, executive producer of the New Heritage Theatre. According to Rivers, on July 13-14, New Heritage presented ‘Saviour?’ to two full houses at the Dwyer. ‘Saviour?’ is a fastpaced, provocative two man piece. The characters are complex, powerful and vividly human—One man is in trouble; one man is on a mission. And, one is Black and one is white. The play is an intensely compelling drama about a man who sues

his company for discrimination because he’s white and the promotion he hoped for has gone to a Black woman. Although he gets a Black lawyer willing to do anything and sell out anyone to win, all is not as it seems. One working day is all they have to build their case before they face the press. Will they make it? For one man, his profile and reputation is on the line; for the other, ambition and family threaten his big shot. Family, secrets, ambition, pride, media, white privilege, race insecurity, frustration, law and justice - all on the line in a case that may make or break one

Voza Rivers/New Heritage Theatre Group, Take Wing and Soar Productions and The City College of New York Presents: SAVIOUR? Written by Esther Armah and Directed by Passion ‘SAVIOUR?’ is a fast paced provocative two man play. The characters are complex, complicated, powerful and vividly human. One man in Trouble. One man on a mission. One Black. One White. A man sues his company for discrimination because he’s white and his promotion has gone to a black woman. He gets a black lawyer willing to do anything and sell out anyone to win. But all is not as it seems. One working day is all they have to build their case before they face the press. Will they make it? For one his profile and reputation is on the line, for the other ambition and family threaten his big shot. Family, secrets, ambition, pride, media, white privilege, race insecurity, frustration, law and justice – all on the line in a case that may make or break one or both of them.

Premiering October 7 thru 30th, 2011 Dwyer Cultural Center 258 St. Nicholas Avenue Entrance on 123rd Street For Additional Information on SAVIOUR call: 212-926-2550 Presented in part by the Department of Cultural Affairs New York City, New York City Council, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York City Council Member Inez E. Dickens, The New York City Council committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations, Jimmy Van Bramer, Chair, The New York State Council on the Arts, International Communications Association (D/B/A Dwyer Cultural Center) and the Arlen Charitable Trust

or both of them. New Heritage Theatre is planning to have a full scale production of ‘Saviour?’ in October at the Dwyer

Cultural Center. For further information call 212-926-2550. New Heritage Theatre Group is the oldest not for profit

Black theatre in New York City. It has had the pleasure of producing readings and plays by extraordinary writers for 47 years.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29,29, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 2011

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HARLEM WEEK 2011 kicks off with “It’s a New York State of Mind�

Vy Higgenson at the Gracie Mansion kickoff to Harlem Week

With you when

Photo credit: Gideon Manasseh

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

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Halle Berry’s unwanted house Beyonce could publish her guest hit with burglary charge very own mom inspired recipes By JOSH GROSSBERG The legal hole just got deeper for the man accused of stalking Halle Berry. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has charged Richard Anthony Franco with an additional count of burglary Wednesday resulting from his arrest earlier this month when he tried to break into a guesthouse on the actress’ estate. After previously professing his innocence to one count of felony stalking, Franco pleaded not guilty to the new charge, which by itself carries a six-year prison term. The 27-year-old was taken into custody July 11 at Berry’s Hollywood Hills mansion after he was spotted scaling an outer wall of her residence three days in a row. At one point, he spied on the Oscar winner through a kitchen door, prompting Berry to call police fearing for her safety. A judge subsequently granted the

thesp’s request a temporary restraining order barring the unwanted houseguest from coming within 500 yards of her, her home and her family and attempting to contact her. Franco, who is on probation in a separate misdemeanor battery case for which he pleaded no contest, remains behind bars and bails is set at $150,000. A preliminary hearing is schedule for Aug. 4.

Who would have thunk Beyonce knew how to cook, given her busy celebrity schedule. Even though the singer is busy promoting her latest album, she’s already thinking of her next project — a cookbook. According to recent reports, the star has been encouraged by actress Gwyneth Paltrow to go ahead and publish her own soul food recipes. “Her mom Tina started the tradition whereby anywhere in the world they are, she always puts on a soul food spread of collard greens, cornbread, mac ’n’ cheese and fried chicken,” one source told The Mirror. “Bey would love to include these family recipes in a book.” Without looking too deep into the move, it could be a sign that Beyonce is ready to slow things down in life and start making a family. “As she thinks about a family, she’s spoken about this with Gwyn and is raring to go,” the insider said Beyonce hasn’t commented on it

yet, but fans would sure be in for a treat to see what the singer cooks up.

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA AN ORIGINAL FILM/BIG KID PICTURES PRODUCTION A DAVID DOBKIN FILM RYAN REYNOLDS JASON BATEMAN “THE CHANGE-UP” LESLIE MANN OLIVIA WILDE AND ALAN ARKIN MUSICBY JOHN DEBNEY EXECUTIVE PRODUCED PRODUCERS JOE CARACCIOLO, JR. ORI MARMUR JEFF KLEEMAN JONATHON KOMACK MARTIN BY DAVID DOBKIN NEAL H. MORITZ WRITTEN DIRECTED BY JON LUCAS & SCOTT MOORE BY DAVID DOBKIN A UNIVERSAL PICTURE

UNIVERSAL PICTURES/DREAMWORKS PICTURES/RELIANCE ENTERTAINMENT PRESENT IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA AN IMAGINE ENTERTAINMENT/K/O PAPER PRODUCTS/ FAIRVIEW ENTERTAINMENT/PLATINUM STUDIOS PRODUCTION A JONEXECUTIVE FAVREAU FILM DANIEL CRAIG HARRISON FORD “COWBOYS & ALIENS” OLIVIA WILDE SAM ROCKWELL ADAM BEACH STEVEN SPIELBERG JON FAVREAU DENIS L. STEWART BOBBY COHEN RANDY GREENBERG RYAN KAVANAUGH PAULPRODUCED DANO NOAH RINGER MUSICBY HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS PRODUCERS BASED ON PLATINUM STUDIOS’ “COWBOYS AND ALIENS” BY SCOTT MITCHELL ROSENBERG BY BRIAN GRAZER RON HOWARD ALEX KURTZMAN ROBERTO ORCI SCOTT MITCHELL ROSENBERG SCREEN STORY SCREENPLAY BY MARK FERGUS & HAWK OSTBY AND STEVE OEDEKERK BY ROBERTO ORCI & ALEX KURTZMAN & DAMON LINDELOF AND MARK FERGUS & HAWK OSTBY DIRECTED BY JON FAVREAU A UNIVERSAL PICTURE VISUAL EFFECTS AND ANIMATION BY INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC

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MOBILE USERS: For Showtimes - Text COWBOYS with your ZIP CODE to 43KIX (43549)!

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

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THE RELIGIOUS ROUTE BY VELMA HART Graduates, I have them. Now let me introduce you to a few. Topping the list is toddler Master Khy Dunlap, who graduated from day care. His attitude: Enough of this light stuff; let’s get to the real thing. Bring in on, world. Khy is the great grandson of Tom Watkins, the Challenge Group publisher. Not just once, but twice the First Church of God in

Christ, Inc., St. Albans, Rev. William Armstead, pastor, saluted its graduates. On July 10 and 17, after the 11 a.m. worship service, the church had an outdoor barbeque. It was held on the front lawn. The yum-yum aroma attracted many passersby. Several of them asked for a serving. They were gladly served by Pastor Armstead. By the way, Pastor Arm-

stead was the head chef. I recommend his service highly (smile). The graduates celebrated were Nicole Brady, a 12th grade graduate who was the presider for the Youth Day Service. Then there was Mackenley Pierre, the church musician. But now hear this: Mackenley is a graduate of the American University of Antigua College. His aim is to specialize in

cardiology and practice in New York. It was Christmas in July as Pastor Armstead gave each student a gift. It was a happy day for all. I did not graduate from any place but Pastor Armstead gave me a gift as well. Good for me. Church of God in Christ, Eastern New York jurisdiction, held its 90th convocation July 18-23. It was held

at Healing From Heaven GOGIC, Harlem, Elder Stalling, host pastor. Bishop Jaymes Gaylord, pastor at Kelly Temple COGIC, was prelate. He delivered his annual address on July 23. Report from Elder Armstead, “It was a grand message.” All roads will lead to the Progressive National Baptist Convention, which will be held in Washington, DC, Aug.

1-6. Washington is the PNBC headquarters. On Sunday, July 31, at 8 and 11 a.m., Rev. James C. Wade will be the guest preacher at the New Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 171 W. 140th St., Harlem. Rev. Carl Washington is the pastor. Rev. Wade is my first cousin. He is from East Chicago, IN.

Until next time, show love.

Survey: Americans cut back on sugar-sweetened soda By KERRY GRENS Americans downed nearly a quarter less added sugar in 2008 than they did nine years earlier, a new report concludes. The drop is largely due to a decrease in the amount of sugar-sweetened soda that people drank. “We were surprised to see that there was a substantial reduction over the years,” said Dr. Jean Welsh, a researcher at Emory University in Atlanta and the lead author of the report. Although the reasons for the dip are still murky, she said a big push by the government and private organizations to alert consumers to the potential health hazards of sugar — obesity in particular —

A shopper walks by the sodas aisle at a grocery store in Los Angeles. might have played a role. Welsh and her colleagues used national surveys of more than 40,000 people’s diets collected over a decade by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers calculated from the responses how much added sugar — that is,

extra sugar used to sweeten food — people ate. Sugar that is originally a part of a food, such as the fructose in an apple, was not included. Between 1999 and 2000, there was about 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces, of added sugar in a typical person’s daily diet. By 2007 to

2008, the number was 77 grams, or 2.7 ounces. That corresponds to a drop from 18 percent to 14.6 percent of people’s total calorie intake. “That’s good to see, but it’s still too high,” Welsh told Reuters Health. “All our discretionary calories shouldn’t exceed five to 15 percent of our calories, and

we’re consuming that much in just added sugar.” Two-thirds of the decrease was due to people chugging fewer sweetened beverages, according to the study, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The report notes that in the early 2000s, schools began to limit sugar-sweetened drinks for students, and lowcarb diets for adults became more popular. Dr. Barry Popkin, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the recession that began in late 2007 also sparked a change in the food people bought. “They all shifted toward cheaper goods, and shifted down the calories they bought,” he told Reuters Health. Still, Popkin, who

was not involved in the new work, added that the survey might not tell the entire sugar story. Fruit juice and fruit juice concentrate are also used to sweeten foods and drinks, he said, but are not included in survey data on added sugar. “Fruit juice concentrate is just another sugar. It’s deceiving to think this is a long term trend, and to interpret while ignoring fruit juice concentrate and fruit juice,” Popkin said. Energy drinks were the one source of added sugar in people’s diets that increased from 1999 to 2008, although they still only make up a small part of the total calories. The trend for energy drinks in the future “will be interesting to watch,” said Welsh.

Palms scanned to cut medical errors at NYC hospital By JONATHAN ALLEN A New York City hospital has stopped asking many patients to dig out health insurance cards and fill in endless forms, instead identifying them by scanning the unique lattice of veins in their palm. The new biometric technology employed by New York University’s Langone Medical Center was expected to speed up patient check-ins and eliminate medical

errors. Studies have shown that hospital errors are behind as many as 98,000 deaths a year in the United States. “The primary reason we actually got into this was patient safety,” Bernard Birnbaum, the center’s vice dean and chief of hospital operations, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. The system also has the virtue of not requiring the patient be conscious at the time of check-in, as is some-

times the case in emergency rooms. “The benefits so greatly outweighed the disadvantages it was a no-brainer to implement,” Birnbaum said. The scanners are made by the technology services company Fujitsu and exploit the principle that, as with fingerprints and iris patterns, no two individuals’ palm-vein configurations are quite the same. Using near-infrared waves, an image is taken of an individual’s palm veins, which software

then matches with the person’s medical record. The initial set-up for a new patient takes about a minute, the hospital said, while subsequent scans only take about a second. “We can then just ask one question: Has your insurance changed?” Birnbaum said. “If ‘no’, you don’t have to fill out a single form.” Since some 250 scanners were installed at the hospital in early June at a cost of about $200,000, more than 25,000 patients have

had their palm-vein patterns registered in the system, he said. The hospital logs about 1.7 million patient visits in a typical year and is in the process of getting as many of them as possible to agree to inclusion in the system. Registration into the new system is optional, but less than 1 percent of patients have demurred, Birnbaum said. The palm scan does not appear in the patient’s medical records, nor are the scans stored as images but instead are

converted into a unique numeric code. Although the technology has appeared at other hospitals in the United States, this is its first appearance in the Northeast region, a Fujitsu spokesman said. Since its introduction in 2007, the technology has also been used to identify customers at ATMs in Japan, to monitor the movements of employees at firms, and to replace cash or cards in the canteens of the Pinellas County school system in Florida.

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

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Jobless claims 3-month low By LUCIA MUTIKANI WASHINGTON — The number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits hit a threemonth low last week and contracts to buy existing homes rose in June, hopeful signs for the economy which has struggled to regain momentum. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 398,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, well below economists’ expectations for a fall to 415,000. A separate report from the National Association of Realtors showed pending home sales rose 2.4 percent, increasing for a second month. Actual sales usually follow a contract after a month or two. The reports offered

A job seeker walks the floor at a large career fair at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. some relief after recent weak data and deadlocked talks to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and avoid a damaging debt default and credit rating downgrade. “Claims provide some hints that the economy is going to do better in the third quarter,” said Michael Strauss, chief economist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut. “Assuming we don’t get massive government furloughs because

we don’t get the debt limit raised in the next couple of days or couple of weeks, we would probably see GDP growth in the 3 percent range in the second half of year as opposed to sub 2 percent in the first half.” The labor market took a beating in May and June, with the increase in nonfarm payrolls totaling only 43,000. The government is expected to report on

Friday that the economy grew at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the second quarter, according to a Reuters survey, after a tepid 1.9 percent pace in the first three months of the year. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said growth slowed in much of the country in June and early July. While the rise in pending home sales was encouraging, there has been an increase in contract cancellations because of problems with property valuations and a tight lending standards. High cancellations pushed down home resales in June. The weak housing and labor markets are high on the list of factors frustrating the economy’s recovery from the 2007-09 recession. But with claims dipping below the 400,000 mark that is normally associated with a stable

labor market, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic. “The recent softness in the labor market may be beginning to subside,” said Troy Davig, a senior economist at Barclays Capital in New York. “The full unwinding of the high gasoline prices and supply chain disruptions stemming from the Japanese earthquake, which led to much of the softness in the second quarter, will take time, but appears to be proceeding.” A Labor Department official said there were no special factors in last week’s jobless claims data. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, fell 8,500 to 413,750.

The number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid declined 17,000 to 3.70 million in the week ended July 16. Data for the so-called continuing claims covered the survey week for the household survey from which the unemployment rate is derived. The jobless rate rose to 9.2 percent in June from 9.1 percent in May. The number of Americans on emergency unemployment benefits rose 18,427 to 3.17 million in the week ended July 9, the latest week for which data is available. A total of 7.65 million people were claiming unemployment benefits during that period under all programs, up 320,152 from the prior week.

Nintendo sees lowest profit in 27 years, slashes 3DS price By JAMES TOPHAM TOKYO — Japan’s Nintendo Co. Ltd. posted its first-ever quarterly operating loss, cut the price of its 3DS handheld game player and slashed its full-year profit forecast far below market expectations, hit by sluggish sales and a strong yen. The weak result posted on Thursday confirmed investor fears that the video games maker is too focused on hardware when the market is shifting toward software, with games played on the Internet and on smartphones seen as key drivers of industry growth. Weaker-than-expected sales of Nintendo’s 3D-capable games device and doubts that it can replicate the success of its Wii home console have dampened enthusiasm for the company’s stock, which has slumped about 30 percent in the past three months versus a 2 per-

cent rise in the benchmark Nikkei average. Nintendo kept its full-year sales forecast for the 3DS at 16 million units but said it would cut the device’s suggested retail price in Japan by 40 percent to 15,000 yen ($192). “It’s not normal if you cut the price on a device you put out on the market in March within half a year by 10,000 yen. It was a big surprise,” said Yasuo Sakuma, portfolio manager and executive officer at Bayview Asset Management. It will also cut the price of the device by nearly one-third in the United States to $169.99. “We feel the price change and several prominent software releases by the end of the year will definitely change the situation,” President Satoru Iwata told reporters at a briefing in Osaka, referring to 3DS releases due out later this year from its hit Super Mario and Mario Kart franchises. As part of its transition to new-generation

hardware, Nintendo this year launched the 3D-capable handheld games player to fend off growing competition from other games companies, as well as makers of smartphones and tablets. But a limited selection of new software releases for the games player led to poor sales. Nintendo booked an April-June operating loss of 37.7 billion yen, its first quarterly loss since it began reporting quarterly earnings in the 2003/04 financial year, against the market consensus estimate for a 7.1 billion yen profit in a poll of four analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Increasing competition from a growing share of gamers using mobile devices like Apple Inc’s iPhone and iPad, as well as gadgets based on Google Inc’s Android operating system, has presented challenges for Nintendo, which began as a playing card company. The loss contrasted with results at Sony

Corp and other Japanese consumer electronics makers on Thursday that showed a faster than expected recovery from Japan’s devastating March earthquake, even as they grappled with a weakening TV market and an uncertain outlook for the global economy. A stronger-thanexpected yen also weighed on profits for the Kyoto-based company, which from July expects an exchange

rate of 80 yen to the dollar, versus its prior forecast of 83 yen, and 115 yen per euro, versus 120 yen previously. Nintendo slashed its annual operating profit forecast to 35 billion yen, its lowest since 1985, from an initial forecast of 175 billion yen. The new estimate is far short of the previous consensus of 154.9 billion yen based on 24 analysts’ forecasts. “A terrible Q1 and worse guidance ... are

likely to send the stock into a tailspin tomorrow,” MF Global FXA Securities Ltd Trading Desk said in an e-mailed comment. The 122-year old company has been looking to repeat past successes in the gaming market, when its Wii took the industry by storm five years ago by offering motion-based gaming that appealed to a broad audience rather than just core video game fans.

U.S. to tighten fuel efficiency WASHINGTON — Washington is to announce new fuel efficiency measures for cars and light-duty trucks starting with model years 2017, a White House spokesman said. White House spokesman Jay Carney said U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday would announce new fuel efficiency measures meant to reduce gasoline costs

and cut oil consumption. The measure would require U.S. vehicles to average more than 50 miles per gallon and cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2025, sources familiar with the agreement told The Washington Post on condition of anonymity. The fuel-efficiency standards would increase incrementally for model years start-

ing in 2017. By 2016, the Post notes, car and light trucks must average more than 30 mpg and 250 grams per mile of carbon dioxide equivalent. Last year’s models averaged 28.3 mpg and 314 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. Beijing in 2009 had fuel efficiency standards of 35.8 mpg while Europe requires cars by model year 2016 to get 50 mpg, the EUobserver reported.

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DAILYDAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULYJULY 29, 2011 CHALLENGE FRIDAY, 29, 2011

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DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29,29, 2011 CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 2011 DAILY

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Plaxico Burress to Giants, Steelers? By CHRIS MORTENSEN It appears likely that Plaxico Burress will be playing for one of his two former teams, the New York Giants or the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to team and league sources. After a dinner with Giants coach Tom Coughlin on Friday night, Burress plans to fly to Pittsburgh to meet with coach Mike Tomlin, sources said. Sources believe only a productive, fence-mending meeting between Burress and Coughlin stands between the wide receiver rejoining the Giants and potentially making an incentivelaced $10 million over two years. However, Tomlin expects to make his own strong sales pitch for Burress to join the Steelers, who made him a first-round draft choice out of Michigan State in 2000, sources

added. The Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets also have expressed varying degrees of interest in Burress, according to sources. Burress traveled to New York on Tuesday night via a private jet courtesy of billionaire Seth Bernstein, who is serving as an unofficial broker between the wide receiver and the Giants, sources said. Bernstein is CEO of Empower Software Solutions and is a friend of Giants coowner Steve Tisch. Burress had hoped to meet with Couglin on Wednesday, but NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told ESPNNewYork.com that the new league rules do not allow free agents to meet with teams, even at a neutral site, until the free-agent signing period begins at 6 p.m. ET Friday. The New York Post reported Wednesday that Burress will fly back to Florida to resume training. Bernstein made an independent pitch

Tuesday night to Burress and also to Burress’ former teammate, Michael Strahan, who has said he believes a return to the Giants would be too great of a distraction for the team and the player. By the end of the evening, sources say Bernstein had made a persuasive case for the reunion. The Giants released Burress in April 2009 after a nightclub gun incident late in the 2008 season led to a selfinflicted leg wound and the receiver’s imprisonment. The Giants have talked of paying Burress in the range of $10.5 million over two years — approximately 60 percent in salary and bonuses, with the balance to be earned on playing-time and performance incentives. Terms remain negotiable and the second year may be an option year, sources said. While Burress has been contrite since his release from jail, he has had harsh words about

his prior relationship with Coughlin. Sources say Bernstein convinced Burress that Coughlin is the right coach and the Giants are the right organization for the receiver’s re-entry into the NFL. Coughlin fined Burress repeatedly for team rules violations. Burress also frustrated others within the organization, including quarterabck Eli Manning, for his failure to practice on a regular basis, but his big-game performances were lauded by all when the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2007. Coughlin also has stated that his desire is for Burress to grow as a husband, father and community man now that he has been released from jail. Coughlin and Burress were unavailable for comment. Attempts to reach Drew Rosenhaus, Burress’ agent, were unsuccessful. One Giant said Wednesday that he would love to see

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Plaxico Burress back in blue. “It’ll be another match made in heaven,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “I know this team would love to see him back,” Tuck said, adding that he had spoken to Burress. “I don’t see there being any other place for him to be (rather) than here in New York. But he has to do what’s best for him

Burress and his family, and that’s what I’d advise him to do.” Tuck hopes Coughlin and Burress can work out their differences. “I can’t speak for Plax or Tom, but it’s been well-documented that they have bumped heads in the past, so hopefully a little time apart can rekindle that love that they shared for each other,” he said.

Alber t Hayneswor th traded By ADAM SCHEFTER Before defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth could get to training camp and take his conditioning test, the Washington Redskins traded him to the New England Patriots for a 2013 fifth-round draft pick, according to league sources. Haynesworth still must pass his physical,

and Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Thursday morning that the trade was not yet completed. “I talked to [Redskins coach] Mike Shanahan last night and we’re in the process of acquiring Haynesworth, but that’s not complete yet, so I can’t really comment on that at this point until it’s completed — if it does get completed,” Belichick said during a news conference. “So, we’ll see how that goes.”

The Patriots play a base 3-4 — Haynesworth’s leastfavorite defense. But there’s plenty of room in their playbook for a player of his size and skills. Haynesworth clashed repeatedly with Shanahan and frequently skipped workouts. Shanahan suspended him for the final four games of last season for conduct detrimental to

the team. The 30-year-old Haynesworth was at his best when playing in the 4-3 scheme as a Tennessee Titan and seemed to prefer that over the Redskins’ 3-4 defense. The Patriots, though, run plenty of multiple fronts, and Haynesworth lends needed help along their defensive line for a reduced price. The former Pro Bowl

player’s base salary for the coming season is $5 million. He is two years into a seven-year, $100 million contract that the Redskins signed him to in 2009, which included a then-NFL record $41 million in guaranteed money. He played only 20 games with the Redskins, recording 61/2 sacks. Speaking in generalities about adding a pass rusher, Belichick said:

“Defensively, the two things you want to do are pressure the quarterback and cover the receivers in the passing game. That’s what pass defense is: those two things working together and the timing of it, the coordination of it and the execution of it. . . . You can never have too much pass rush. You can never have too much pass coverage. You’re always trying to improve that.”

Lawyers tell courts 3 cases settled, pending CBA The NFL and players already had let the world know they worked out their differences. On Tuesday, they formally gave word of the settlement agreement to a pair of federal judges overseeing three pending court cases.

In separate conference calls Tuesday, lawyers for both sides in pro football’s labor dispute spoke to U.S. District Judges Susan Richard Nelson and David Doty to say they’ve settled, contingent on a new collective

bargaining agreement being finished by Aug. 4. The leadership of the NFL Players Association voted unanimously Monday to agree to a deal to end the 41/2month lockout. Owners OK’d an agreement last

week. Nelson was the judge in the federal classaction antitrust lawsuit filed by Tom Brady and nine other players March 11, the day that federally mediated negotiations in Washington broke down, allowing

the old CBA to expire. The NFLPA said it was dissolving the union and becoming a trade association, which allowed players to sue under antitrust law. Now, as part of Monday’s deal, the NFLPA will re-establish

the union this week. The sides then will negotiate areas that only a union can bargain in a CBA, including drug testing, player discipline and disability and pension programs. - HOWARD FENDRICH

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011 DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

NBA, union to meet Monday By CHRIS SHERIDAN NEW YORK — One month after the NBA lockout began, the heavy hitters will finally be back at the bargaining table Monday. Commissioner David Stern, union director Billy Hunter and their top lieutenants have agreed to resume collective bargaining discussions, sources told ESPN.com Wednesday, for the first time since talks broke down hours before NBA owners imposed a lockout July 1, shutting down the league for the first time since the summer of 1998. The sides remain far apart on the parameters of a new deal, but the decision to meet face-toface again is one of the first possible signs of progress after four weeks of stagnancy. Aside from Stern and Hunter, the meeting is expected to include NBA deputy commis-

sioner Adam Silver, players association president Derek Fisher and Peter Holt of the San Antonio Spurs, the head of the owners negotiating committee. When the sides last met on June 30, the players offered a six-year agreement in which they would cut their take of basketball-related income (BRI) from 57 percent to 54.6 percent — or $100 million per year over the six years. Owners are seeking a 10-year agreement with a hard salary cap, and their most recent proposal targeted paying the players at least $2 billion in salaries in each of the 10 seasons. Players have argued that their cut of BRI would be cut from 57 percent to less than 40 percent under the owners’ most recent proposal, while owners have maintained they need fundamental financial changes to an operating system in which they claim 22 of the league’s 30 teams lost money last season. The union disputes that contention. Attorneys from the league

office and the players’ union met July 15 ago to conclude the annual BRI audit, and it was agreed that the sides desired to put the negotiations on a faster track than they were on during the 1998 labor dispute, when nearly seven weeks elapsed between the last pre-lockout negotiating session and the first bargaining session after the imposition of the work stoppage. But that dispute was not settled until late-January of 1999, forcing the cancellation of games because of a work stoppage for the first time in the league’s history. Last Friday, a number of prominent player agents met with Hunter and urged him to consider fast-tracking a move toward decertification, which would enable the player to sue the owners in federal court on anti-trust grounds. Hunter, however, prefers to await a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board on an unfair bargaining practices complaint the union filed earlier this year.

Reggie Bush, Dolphins agree The final hurdle to a trade between the Saints and Dolphins was cleared when running back Reggie Bush reached agreement with Miami on a new two-year contract, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter Thursday. New Orleans and Miami had agreed to a trade if and when Bush agreed to a new deal. The Dolphins and Joel Segal, Bush’s agent, worked into the earlymorning hours to produce the needed agreement. Bush will fly to Miami at some point and sign his new contract to make the trade official. Bush’s contract is worth $10 million, a source told ESPN’s Andrew Brandt. The Saints will acquire safety Jonathon Amaya from Miami as part of the

deal, a source said. Amaya played 10 games as a backup for the Dolphins as a rookie last season. The Dolphins have been seeking a running back to pair with second-round draft choice Daniel Thomas. Last year’s leading rushers, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, are free agents.

While Bush has been paid handsomely since signing his six-year rookie contract worth up to $62 million, his pro career has never reached the heights he and many fans expected when he was selected second overall in the 2006 draft. Bush has had his share of highlight-reel touchdowns on punt

returns, receptions and runs, but has never been to a Pro Bowl or even rushed for as much as 600 yards in a season. Last season he missed eight games, and during the other eight games was used as a role player, with only 36 carries for 150 yards and just 34 receptions for 208 yards.

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SPORTS BRIEFS NBA postpones rookie transition program

NEW YORK - With its players locked out, the NBA has postponed its rookie transition program scheduled for Aug. 9-11. The event, run jointly by the NBA and the players’ association, provides first-year players with information to help prepare them for their futures. Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver says in a statement Tuesday that the program will be rescheduled once the sides agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. The league already has canceled its Las Vegas summer league as a result of the lockout that began July 1. Players are given three years to complete the rookie program in case they are unavailable the summer before they begin their careers.

Tarvaris Jackson in as Seahawks QB RENTON, Wash. - Tarvaris Jackson is in as the Seattle Seahawks next quarterback and Matt Hasselbeck is reportedly looking elsewhere. A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press Tuesday that Jackson has agreed to terms with the Seahawks and is expected to sign a contract Friday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because free agents aren’t allowed to sign contracts until Friday. The Seattle Times first reported Jackson’s agreement. Reports surfaced Tuesday afternoon that the Seahawks told Hasselbeck he was no longer in their future plans. Yahoo! Sports first reported the Hasselbeck decision on Twitter. Hasselbeck and his agent did not return messages left by the AP. The decision to move on from Hasselbeck contradicted Seattle coach Pete Carroll’s pronouncement in January that re-signing Hasselbeck was Seattle’s No. 1 priority. The two sides could not reach an agreement before the NFL lockout. Hasselbeck spent the past 10 seasons in Seattle and for much of that time was the face of the franchise. He took the Seahawks to their only Super Bowl appearance and captained Seattle to five division titles. He leaves as the team’s all-time leader in numerous passing categories. But the signs that Hasselbeck’s time in Seattle could be coming to a close started a year ago when the team acquired Charlie Whitehurst from San Diego. Whitehurst was supposed to challenge Hasselbeck for the job before the 2010 season, but his only two starts last season came in games Hasselbeck was injured. One of those starts was the season finale when Seattle beat St. Louis 16-6 to wrap up the NFC West title with a 7-9 record. Hasselbeck then seemed to affirm his importance to the franchise by leading Seattle to a stunning NFC first-round playoff upset of New Orleans before the Seahawks lost to Chicago in the NFC divisional playoff. After that loss, Carroll said the Seahawks’ No. 1 priority was re-signing Hasselbeck. But it won’t be Hasselbeck back under center when the season begins on Sept. 11 at San Francisco. Whitehurst was one of the first Seahawks to arrive at their training facility on Tuesday morning after catching a late flight back to the Northwest and not getting to his apartment until about 1 a.m. Still, he was driving through the gates of Seahawks headquarters shortly after 8 a.m. ready to pick up his playbook. - TIM BOOTH

DAILY CHALLENGE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011

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