What’s Going On’s 40th anniversary MORE ON PAGE 10
INSIGHT NEWS May 16 - May 22, 2011 • MN Metro Vol. 37 No. 20 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com
Roland Martin keynotes Minneapolis Urban League Gateway to Opportunity Gala By Ivan B. Phifer Staff Writer Nationally syndicated Journalist and CNN political analyst, Roland S. Martin will deliver the keynote address at the Minneapolis Urban League (MUL) Gateway To Opportunity Gala, May 18, 2011 at the Minnesota Orchestra Hall Auditorium. The Chicago-based CNN contributor and a key member of CNN’s “Best Political Team on Television” was a guest on the May 10th broadcast of “Conversations with Al McFarlane” on KFAI 90.3. Since joining the CNN network in February 2007, Martin has hosted a variety of programs including the “What Would Jesus Really Do?” series and, most recently, a three-part series on the issues presidential candidates avoid addressing as Election Day nears. At the 2011 Minneapolis Urban League Gateway to Opportunity Gala guests of the event will have an opportunity to purchase Roland’s latest book entitled The First: President Barack Obama’s
Road to the White House and have it signed by the author. Martin also made a guest appearance on community radio station KMOJ (89.9 FM) last week to promote the event. WCCO TV News Anchor, Angela Davis is the Emcee for evening. Minnesota State Representatives Bobby Joe Champion and Jeff Hayden will be honored with the 2011 MUL Trail Blazer Awards for advocating for social and economic justice for all Minnesotans. Selected area students representing the Minneapolis Public School District will be acknowledged and receive scholarship awards made possible by corporate contributions. Born in Houston, TX, Martin is a 1987 alumnus of Jack Yates High School and a 1991 graduate of Texas A&M University; he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. “One of the things I’ve always focused on is that you have to start just where you are,” Martin said. “I want to
lay out a blueprint to achieve mass community action with this concept.” Martin said that in order to achieve this mission, doing must accompany and reflect what we say. “We love to talk in the third person,” Martin said. “When you say, ‘I want to dig a well in an African nation’, but turn your nose up at poverty right around the corner from where you live, what are you saying? It is not a problem digging the well, but don’t turn your nose at the folks in front of you,” he said. Martin was named one of the 150 Most Influential African Americans in the United States by Ebony Magazine in 2008, 2009 and 2010. He is the 2008 winner of the NAACP Image Award for Best Interview for “In Conversation: The Sen. Barack Obama Interview.” Martin is also the 2009 winner of the NAACP Image Award for Best Interview for “In Conversation: The Michelle Obama Interview.” Broadcast host Al McFarlane, asked Martin,
MARTIN TURN TO 3
Roland Martin
Justice Page receives Champion for Youth Award The Community Justice Project at the University of St. Thomas School of Law awarded Justice Alan C. Page of the Minnesota Supreme Court with this year’s Champion for Youth award. Each year, the Community Justice Project recognizes an individual or organization that makes a difference in the lives of youth. This year’s Champion for Youth award sought to recognize an individual that strives to dismantle the pipeline to prison and help Minnesota youth succeed. Justice Page’s career achievements, both professionally and academically, attest to his
personal mission to empower children to succeed and excel academically. His nominator highlighted that “few can claim an academic, professional or philanthropic resume comparable to that of Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan C. Page. His accomplishments as a professional football player alone are enviable, being the first defensive player in NFL history to win the ‘Most Valuable Player’ Award, and subsequently being inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Yet Justice Page has made abundantly clear through word and deed that he intends to be
remembered for far more than his accomplishments on the football field.” One of these accomplishments is the founding of the Page Education Foundation in 1988. The mission of the Foundation is to encourage Minnesota’s youth of color to pursue post-secondary education. The Foundation provides students of color in Minnesota, Page Scholars, the opportunity to continue their education and foster community involvement. Receipt of educational scholarships is contingent upon fifty hours of tutoring or mentoring with children in kindergarten
Courtesy of University of St. Thomas School of Law
Justice Page receives award from former Page Scholar, Artika Tyner
through 8th grade, Page Scholars impart onto younger children the importance and value of education. Beginning with only ten scholars in 1988, Page Foundation has expanded tremendously and now provides scholarships to over five hundred and sixty scholars. Page Scholars have contributed more than three hundred thousand hours of service to promote education and strengthen the community. The Honorable Justice Alan C. Page’s dedication to youth in Minnesota and many notable achievements exemplifies the qualities of a Champion for Youth.
Ramsey Commissioner McDonough at White House summit WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ramsey County Commission Jim McDonough and fellow county officials from across the country participated in an historic fivehour White House Summit on May 3 to discuss critical issues of concern to county governments and the communities they serve. The highlight of the half-day National Association of Counties summit was an appearance and remarks by President Obama and Vice President Biden. Leading the in-depth policy discussions were four cabinet secretaries: Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services; Secretary Janet Napolitano, Homeland
Security; Secretary Ray LaHood, Transportation; and Secretary Shaun Donovan, Housing and Urban Development. Also leading discussion was Administrator Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency. “This was an extraordinary opportunity for county officials to speak directly – and at length – with President Obama’s cabinet secretaries and other key Administration officials,” said Glen Whitley, president of the National Association of Counties. The summit was divided into three sessions led by a cabinet secretary or his/her designee: Session I: Breaking the Cycle of Jails & Poverty: A County
Business
Seeking better trained teachers for region
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President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden
Aesthetics
McBride connects jazz, funk idioms
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Peers honor
Professor Nekima Levy-Pounds
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Perspective. Session II: Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities. Session III: Health Reform Implementation & Medicaid. “It was an honor to be invited by the White House to discuss federal issues affecting counties and communities and the challenges counties face in providing the services people depend on,” said McDonough. “Only through strong collaboration with our federal partners can we achieve our shared vision of safe, prosperous, sustainable communities and continue to provide the ‘safety net’ services upon which our residents rely.”
Sports
Could Miami sneak up and win the NBA crown?
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Page 2 • May 16 - May 22, 2011 • Insight News
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Pakistan’s sovereignty and the killing of Osama bin Laden By Ashley S. Deeks This article, first published as an ASIL Insight, is reprinted with permission from the American Society of International Law, www.asil.org. Introduction On May 2, 2011, U.S. forces entered Pakistan—without the Pakistani government’s consent—to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. In the wake of the successful U.S. military operation, the Pakistan Government objected to the “unauthorized unilateral action” by the United States and cautioned that the event “shall not serve as a future precedent for any state.” Former President Musharraf complained that the operation violated Pakistan’s sovereignty. The episode implicates a host of important legal and political issues. This Insight focuses on one of them: when may one state use force in another state’s territory in self-defense against members of a non-state armed group, and what constraint does the
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Insight News is published weekly, every Monday by McFarlane Media Interests. Editor-In-Chief Al McFarlane CFO Adrianne Hamilton-Butler Publisher Batala-Ra McFarlane Associate Editor & Associate Publisher B.P. Ford Vice President of Sales & Marketing Selene White Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Sr. Content & Production Coordinator Ben Williams Production Intern Andrew Notsch
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U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with members of the national security team, receive an update on Operation Neptune’s Spear, a mission against Osama bin Laden, in one of the conference rooms of the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. principle of sovereignty impose on that action? Non-state actors, including terrorist groups, regularly launch attacks against states, often from external bases. When a state seeks to respond with force to those attacks, it must decide whether to use force on the territory of another state with which it may not be in conflict. Absent consent from the territorial state or authorization from the United Nations Security Council, international law traditionally requires the state that suffered the armed attack to assess whether the territorial state is “unwilling or unable” to unilaterally suppress the threat. Only if the territorial state is unwilling or unable to eliminate the threat may the victim state lawfully use force. This Insight explores the scope of that test and considers what types of factors the United States might have taken into account
in concluding that Pakistan was “unwilling or unable” to address the threat posed by Bin Laden. Background A. Armed Conflict with Al Qaeda Both the Bush and Obama Administrations have taken the view that the United States is in an armed conflict with al Qaeda. In the U.S. Government’s view, al Qaeda undertook an armed attack against the United States on September 11, 2001, which triggered the U.S. right of self-defense consistent with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of this position is the U.S. argument that this conflict can and does extend beyond the “hot battlefield” of Afghanistan to wherever members of al Qaeda are found. For the United States (and others that adopt this position), once a state is in an armed conflict with a non-
state armed group, that conflict follows the members of that group wherever they go, as long as the group’s members continue to engage in hostilities against that state (either on the “hot battlefield” or from their new location). Those who support the view that armed conflicts have geographic limits as a matter of international law usually begin with the proposition that one must determine the existence of an armed conflict based on the facts on the ground in a particular state. The hostilities there between a state and an organized non-state actor must be protracted and intense for an armed conflict to exist. If the level of violence is sporadic or the non-state actors lack a certain level of organization, no armed conflict exists, and any state wishing to address the threat posed by those non-state actors must use law enforcement tools.
These contrasting positions come into high relief in the Bin Laden case. If the U.S. conflict with al Qaeda is limited to the “hot battlefield” of Afghanistan (and possibly Yemen, Iraq, and the border regions of Pakistan), then the United States could not lawfully have targeted bin Laden as a belligerent in an armed conflict. If, alternatively, the U.S. conflict with al Qaeda is not limited to “hot battlefields,” then the United States could make a determination that Bin Laden was a lawful target under the laws of armed conflict, even when unarmed and at home in his compound in Abbottabad. The United States clearly made the latter determination. However, this does not end the inquiry about whether using force in Pakistan against bin Laden was internationally lawful. B. The “Unwilling or Unable” Test
International law restricts the situations in which a state may use force in the territory of another state. There are three situations in which such an act is lawful: pursuant to U.N. Security Council authorization under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter; in self-defense; or (at least in some cases) with the consent of the territorial state. Once a state concludes that it has a right of self-defense, it must assess what specific types of actions it can take in response, including whether it can use force. The standard inquiry has three elements: whether the use of force would be necessary; whether the level of force contemplated would be proportionate to the initial armed attack (or imminent threat thereof); and whether the response will be taken at a point sufficiently close to the armed attack (i.e., whether it would be immediate). In determining whether it is necessary to use force against a non-state actor operating in another state’s territory, the victim state must consider not just whether the attack was of a type that would require force in response, but also the conditions within the state from which the non-state actor launched the attacks. In this latter evaluation, states, absent consent, employ the “unwilling or unable” test to assess whether the territorial state is prepared to suppress the threat. If the territorial state is either unwilling or unable, it is reasonable for the victim state to consider its own use of force in the territorial state to be necessary and lawful (assuming the force is proportional and timely). If the territorial state is both willing and able, the victim state’s use of force would be unlawful. Thus, if the United States located a senior member of al Qaeda in Stockholm, it almost certainly would be unlawful for the United States to use force against that individual without Sweden’s consent, because there is no reason to believe that the Swedish government would be unwilling or unable
BIN LADEN TURN TO 9
Daniella Gibbs Leger named Center for American Progress VP for New American Communities Initiatives
Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Facilities Support / Assistant Producer, Conversations with Al McFarlane Bobby Rankin Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Staff Writer Ivan B. Phifer Contributing Writers Maya Beecham Brenda Colston Julie Desmond S. Himie Marcia Humphrey Alaina L. Lewis Ryan T. Scott Lydia Schwartz Stacey Taylor Photography Suluki Fardan Tobechi Tobechukwu Contact Us: Insight News, Inc. Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis., MN 55411 Ph.: (612) 588-1313 Fax: (612) 588-2031 Member: Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium (MMMC), Midwest Black Publishers Coalition, Inc. (MBPCI), National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Postmaster: Send address changes to McFarlane Media Interests, Marcus Garvey House 1815 Bryant Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55411.
Daniella Gibbs Leger Washington, D.C. — John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress, announced today that Daniella Gibbs Leger will join the Center for American Progress as VP for New American Communities Initiatives. Daniella served as a special assistant to the president and director of message events in the Obama administration. In this role she was responsible for helping to plan and execute the president’s official domestic events. Prior to joining the White House in January 2009, Daniella was the Vice President for Communications at American Progress. At the Center she specialized in domestic and economic policy, as well as the Center’s overall communications strategy. Prior to joining the Center, Daniella was deputy director of communications
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at the Democratic National Committee. She began working at the DNC in June 2002 in the political department as communications director for the Women’s Vote Center. During her tenure at the DNC, Daniella also handled AfricanAmerican and specialty media and was a regional media director during the 2004 presidential cycle. Daniella spent two years at the National Newspaper Publishers Association as their marketing associate and political liaison before joining the DNC. Before moving to Washington, D.C., Daniella worked at Sony Music in New York City for three years. Daniella has been a guest on numerous TV and radio shows and has been quoted in various print publications. Daniella holds a degree in government and a minor in sociology from the University of Virginia.
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Insight News • May 16 - May 22, 2011 • Page 3
BUSINESS Seeking better trained teachers for region By Ivan B. Phifer Staff Writer The Bush Foundation and The Network for Excellence and Teaching recently announced an initiative to hire more better trained teachers in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Peter Hutchinson, president of the Bush Foundation, explained the initiative on the May 3rd broadcast of “Conversations with Al McFarlane” which airs each week on KFAI 90.3FM. The Network for Excellence in Teaching (NEXT), an innovative partnership between the Bush Foundation and 14 higher education institutions in the upper Midwest, has created the “Make Your
bushfoundation.org
Peter Hutchinson
Mark” television and Internet advertising campaign to attract more teachers to the classroom,
Hutchinson said. On May 10, two television ads began airing in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The 30-second spots offer poignant reminders of the profound and lifelong impact teachers have on the lives of people, and ask viewers if they’re ready to become a teacher and “make their mark” on people’s lives. The ads run throughout May with shortened versions of each ad online. With nearly half of the teachers in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota expected to retire over the next decade, the Bush Foundation is investing $40 million in teacher-preparation programs at partner higher education institutions. The goal of the
initiative is to ensure teacher effectiveness by transforming how teacher candidates and new teachers are recruited, trained, placed and supported. “We asked ourselves, who will replace them. Can we influence in some way the next generation of teachers,” Hutchinson said. Research commissioned by the Bush Foundation identified the characteristics of those likely to be attracted to teaching, and those likely to be highly effective as teachers. The goal is to reach out to young people entering college to motivate them to select a career in education. “When you see these ads you will see they are about recruiting a diverse candidate pool. That’s number one,” Hutchinson said.
“We set out two years ago to see who would take on that challenge. We cannot have great teachers in our classrooms if we do not recruit them into colleges and prepare them to be teachers,” Hutchinson said. “The real question is how do we recruit those most likely to succeed in our classrooms and get a diverse population able to meet the needs of our students,” Hutchinson said. “We cannot have a diverse teaching force if we do not have a diverse student population. We cannot succeed if we think there is only one kind of person who can become a teacher,” he said. One process in creating a diverse work pool according to Hutchinson, involves higher education, including
community colleges and universities, collaborating with the public school system, he said. “When I was superintendent, I cannot tell you how many times I hired graduating students who never been in a classroom with Black, or Hispanic kids,” he said. “It’s not their fault. It’s where they are from. It is the fault of the preparing institution that does not give people real life classroom experience.” This motivates the moving of teaching off campus into real classrooms, to confront challenges as they exist. The ads can also be viewed at www.nextteacher.org. For more information call (651) 297-0891 or visit http://www. bushfoundation.org
Co-worker clutter? It’s time to come clean Plan Your Career By Julie Desmond julie@insightnews.com Working alongside other people is still a way of life for most people. During those forty hours they are together each week, co-workers stand in for roommates, existing in close proximity, dining at adjacent desks and sometimes sharing a stapler. If a workspace is a reflection of what’s inside a brain, what does that say about the guy in the cube next door? If his space is a mess, he might be disorganized… or highly creative. Can he easily find what he needs, even if nobody else can? Some people are visually oriented, but that need to keep everything in plain sight can translate into fire hazard: piles of paper, folders, books and office supplies scattered across the desk and spilling onto the nearby chairs, onto the floor and into the hallway. Challenging your neighbor’s organizational strategy is not advised. Instead, take a walk over to your own desk and take a long look. What does your space say about you? Are you visually ordered, too? Or a confused and disorganized scatterbrain? Try this simple party game to find out. Next time you are away from the office, call in and ask someone to help you locate something you need, a phone number or a file. Can you direct your friend to the needed information fairly quickly? Then your desk, and probably your brain, are in fine shape. If you can’t lead someone through your own maze, if you frequently lose or misplace information, if you re-do work because things tend to disappear, then it’s time to clean up your processes. This will be painless and does not involve a half-day field trip to Office Max. Just use your eyes. What’s in your space? And why? Remove
Martin From 1 “how do we get people engaged and involved; get them to take responsibility, shoulder their duty for stewardship of community and humanity.” “The first thing is, what do you really care about?” Martin said. “I think for all of us there is one thing that takes place where we say, ‘this is it, this is my passion.’ After that, it’s walking people through the expectations. “We have to hold those around us and ourselves to a higher standard. I can stand here, and be concerned about the state of education; high drop out rates, poor reading and math numbers of African American kids. If I’m speaking to and expressing these issues, but I have illiterate nieces and nephews, what is the point? That’s the mistake so many folks make,” Martin said. Martin previously served as owner/publisher of the
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those items you no longer need. Reading material can be donated or stored on a shelf. Paper can be recycled. Last year’s reports? If they’re on a computer somewhere, you do not need to keep the paper copies. It should feel like playing pick-up-sticks; you are not rearranging anything. You are just removing the noise. Next, note where everything that’s left is located. Do you often lose your phone? Where is it now? Put a phone charger in that place on your desk. Now your phone is where it belongs; no more calling yourself before you can leave for lunch. If your stapler is on the right side of the desk because that’s where you left it, then putting it in a drawer only forces you to take the extra step of tracking it down when you need it. Decide that the stapler belongs where it is, and look for it in that spot tomorrow. Trust me, it will be there. The key is to intentionally leave things where you want them. Your desk might not be a reflection of your brain’s ability to function, but a sense of control over your space will certainly free your brain up for more interesting tasks… like taking this party game to that guy in the next cube.
Dallas-Fort Worth Heritage, a Christian monthly newspaper. He also has worked as managing editor of the Houston Defender and the Dallas Weekly, which led to a number of local, state and national journalism awards. Martin has worked as a morning drive reporter for KRLD/1080 AM; news director and morning anchor at KKDA-AM in Dallas; city hall reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram; and county government and neighbors reporter for the Austin American-Statesman. He has also written pieces for Ebony and Essence magazines. The Minneapolis Urban League Gateway to Opportunity Gala takes place 5:30-7:30 pm at Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. Sponsors of this year’s program include Best Buy, Comcast, General Mills, MSU-Mankato, US Bank and Insight News. For ticket information call the Urban League at (612) 3023105 or visit the Urban League online at www.mul.org.
Page 4 • May 16 - May 22, 2011 • Insight News
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EDUCATION Rohit Agrawal wins business scholarship Rohit Agrawal, a Wayzata High School senior in Plymouth, MN was one of only five students nationally to win the secondhighest National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Foundation scholarship, the educational arm of America’s leading smallbusiness association announced today. Agrawal is now in contention for the $10,000 top scholarship prize to be announced in June. Agrawal has already won a $5,000 NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Scholarship and additional $1,000 from the NFIB/Tim and Debbie Clayton Young Entrepreneur Award for a total of $6,000. “Through my business, I design, develop, and sell applications for Android smartphones harnessing these phones’ advanced capabilities. I focus on using emerging technologies (GPS, speech synthesis, voice recognition, etc.) to enhance business productivity and user experience. My applications help realize the
full potential of smartphones as a consumer’s mobile office,” Agrawal wrote in his scholarship application. This is the ninth year NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards have been given out. They are a scholarship program designed to reward and encourage entrepreneurial talents among high school students. The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Award recipients will attend the university, college, community college or vocational/technical institute of their choice with $1,000-$10,000 in tuition assistance from the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation. More than 4,500 students nationwide applied for a YEF scholarship this year. NFIB is awarding 131 scholarships to young entrepreneurs across the country, thanks to the financial support from numerous small business leaders, corporate and foundation supporters. This year’s major corporate sponsors are Sam’s Club, EMPLOYERS, and SunTrust. “This year’s scholarship
winners represent an incredibly impressive group of young adults. Their ingenuity and ambition prove that entrepreneurship is thriving in high schools today, which is very promising for our nation,” said Dan Danner, NFIB president and CEO. “Today we celebrate the accomplishments of all of our winners. We hope our scholarships will assist these young entrepreneurs as they continue on their paths towards successful futures.” In June, NFIB YEF will honor the four students selected as $5,000 scholarships winners and name the “2011 Young Entrepreneur of the Year” who will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship. To qualify for a YEF Award, students must be running their own business. They were required to write an essay describing their entrepreneurial endeavors and future goals. Standardized test scores, GPA, and class rank were also considered in the selection process. NFIB members around the country nominated applicants for the Young Entrepreneur Awards.
Rohit Agrawal
Metro State appoints DeVore to institutional research post
Cynthia DeVore
Metropolitan State
Cynthia DeVore, Saint Paul, was appointed institutional research director for Metropolitan State University. The full-time appointment was effective April 13. DeVore replaced Ed Mack who retired earlier this month. As the university’s institutional research director, she is responsible for planning, directing and coordinating institutional research projects and activities, and implementing a plan for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating data on students, services and academic programming. She consults with a variety of personnel throughout the university and provides interpretation of institutional
information to inform decision making at the highest administrative levels. DeVore has been working since 2008 as a research analyst specialist at Metropolitan State. Earlier she served as director of institutional effectiveness, research and planning for Inver Hills Community College; as a program coordinator, instructor
and E-Prime consultant for the University of Minnesota Psychology Department; and after a career in information technology. She holds a B.A. in computer studies from Macalester College and an M.A. in industrial organizational psychology from the University of Minnesota. Metropolitan State
University, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, provides high-quality, affordable academic and professional degree programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. It is the only state university in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
National Equity Project selected to provide equity, diversity, inclusion consulting and training services for Minneapolis Public Schools Minneapolis Public Schools selected National Equity Project to assist in developing a long-term equity, diversity and inclusion strategy. The organization will provide leadership in the development, design and delivery of comprehensive consulting and evaluation services in the areas of equity, diversity and inclusion. Key elements of the work include leadership development, training, plan development and a listening campaign that will seek out potentially silenced voices to contribute to a dialogue about the impact and influence of race, class, and culture on disparate educational outcomes. The National Equity Project has a track record of success with a wide variety of partner schools, districts, and nonprofits who are working to improve outcomes for students. In the past ten years, the National Equity Project has supported over 100 schools, 15 district offices and 15 nonprofit organizations to improve their
capacity and effectiveness to serve diverse students and families. The MPS strategic plan calls for the identification and correction of practices and policies that perpetuate the achievement gap and institutional racism in all forms. “Commitment to equity and diversity is one of our core values and is essential to our goal of keeping children first and shaping them to be collegeready,” said Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson. “This commitment to inclusion of the diverse families that we serve must permeate every level of our organization.”
MPS has a more diverse, more mobile, more complex body of students than most school districts in Minnesota. The student body is 68 percent students of color. Sixty-six percent of students qualify to receive free or reduced price meals. English Language Learner (ELL) services are provided to 23 percent of MPS students and nearly 20 percent of students receive special education services. “We consider this diversity to be one of our greatest strengths,” added Superintendent Johnson. “Our urban educational experience gives young people a competitive edge in a multiethnic global economy.”
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Insight News • May 16 - May 22, 2011 • Page 5
AESTHETICS
McBride connects funk, jazz idioms playing the metric bass at age nine. One of the teachers in my middle school had to convince me to play the acoustic bass, because I had no talent for the trombone. I went over to play the acoustic bass and it was gradual, it actually wasn’t love at first touch. Eventually I fell in love with it. I mean it didn’t take very long, maybe a couple of weeks. I don’t know what I fell in love with, just the feel to have such a big, strong, and deep, resonating instrument up against your body like that. I affectionately call the acoustic bass Mother Earth, because that’s what she is.
By Maya Beecham Contributing Writer Funky music connotes dance, high energy, rebirth, or experimentation. It temporarily relieves internal strife, worries and fears, with rhythmic twangs of guitar strings, meteoric drum beats, reverberations of a horn, or the sound of hypnotic vocals. When you envision funky music, you might see images of James Brown doing the splits, or George Clinton dismissing all rules of the normal and taking music to another level. On Sunday, May 22, 7:00pm Piper Jaffray Jazz at Minnesota Orchestra Hall presents, Foundations of Funk, featuring Maceo Parker and A Christian McBride Situation, will give you a taste of funk ranging from its roots to present day interpretation. Christian McBride, a musical genius in his own right, has blazoned the international jazz music scene in the last 20 years as an acoustic bass player, composer, arranger, educator, curator, and administrator. A native of Philadelphia, McBride has worked with a long line of musical greats, ranging from jazz to opera, including musicians Wynton Marsalis, Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, and Herbie Hancock.
Christian McBride He arranged for Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, and James Brown. He collaborated with Sting and Carly Simon in pop music. He collaborated with Roots and Queen Latifah in hip hop. And he worked closely with opera legend Kathleen Battle. Additionally, McBride serves as co-executive director of the first National Museum of Jazz Music in Harlem, New York, and the artistic director of Jazz House Kids, a jazz music learning center for young people, their families, and teachers, in Montclair, New
Jersey. Maceo Parker, a music pioneer, known for his ‘funky music’ style with his alto saxophone has fueled his forty year career by his sheer love of performing. In his twenties he began his professional career playing with James Brown for more than 16 years, which led to work with George Clinton, Prince, and producing solo projects such as Roots Revisited, Mo’ Roots, and Life on Planet Groove. Today, Parker continues to work on projects across the world with his
Brian Callahan / Creative Commons
special style of ‘funky music’. Insight News Contributing Writer, Maya Beecham, conducted interviews with the jazz greats—McBride and Parker—in an in depth conversation with the masterminds behind the music. CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE Maya Beecham: What part of playing acoustic bass did you fall in love with? Christian McBride: Well I didn’t want to play the acoustic bass at first, because I was already
Funkmaster Maceo Parker By Maya Beecham Contributing Writer Maya Beecham: When did you develop your style of playing music? Maceo Parker: I got into playing my style, what they call funky, because it doesn’t have restrictions. It invites people to party and have fun, be loose, forget about your problems, and that’s why I like it. It doesn’t have any inhibitions. That’s why I like to play the kind of music I do, because it invites people to party and have fun and have a good time and that’s why I like it. I started listening to all kinds of music styles early on. I was blessed to have a brother to play drums a year younger than me, and a brother who played trombone a year older than me. We started a group with a couple cousins. We had a group in elementary school but we started listening to music early on. As we got older, maybe right before we graduated from high school, I noticed that the funky side of what I thought I was trying to do was present in my thinking so I decided to give it a go with that feeling. And then when I got to college I noticed everybody wanted to play traditional jazz and
I wondered why nobody wanted to play funky. I found out it was like a gift, like an athlete that can throw a baseball or run a football, it’s a gift and you have to be born with; the ability to hear funky stuff. And luckily James Brown, who also created funky music, all his stuff came into place and it was perfect for me. MB: Do you remember the first performing gig for you and your brothers? MP: I was lucky enough that my mother had a brother who had a band called the Blue Notes and we called ourselves Junior Blue Notes. We would be at their rehearsals all the time and some of the songs they played we tried to play, tried to imitate them. So that means the first time we actually played as a group was probably at one of his night club things where he would take us as little kids and put us in the dressing room and then they would play, and around 10 o’clock at night they would take a break and during their intermission we would come out and do 2 or 3 tunes, the same songs they already played. That had to be the first time we played in front of people who really didn’t know us, or in front of people who weren’t a part of the family. We were probably 12, 13,
14 years old or younger. MB: Why did you select the alto saxophone as your instrument of choice? MP: I wanted to be in a marching band. My first instrument, believe it or not was piano, but I do remember being really excited about the marching band. I remember the big hoopla and fanfare of the marching band and I remember being really excited about being old enough to play in the marching band, where a uniform, see pretty majorettes, and seeing the drum majors playing down the street. I had to choose a marching band instrument, and somehow I said the saxophone seems to be nice and I noticed when a lot of people recorded music there was a saxophone solo and even in big bands there are a lot of saxophone solos. They walk from behind the stands and walk to the front and do a little solo and come back and I thought that was cool. So, all of these things made me choose the alto saxophone. MB: What musician has had the most impact on you? MP: Probably James Brown because it was with him that I got to be on a stage of that magnitude and travel. I was with him off and on, somewhere between 16
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to 17 years. So probably when I perform it’s a lot of the stuff…that I picked up from James Brown. MB: What life lessons did you learn from James Brown? MP: Early on he was really particular about the clothes, the way you dress, punctuality, respect, being proud of yourself,
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MB: What did you learn from the musician and your great uncle Howard Cooper? CB: That music should be fun no matter how esoteric or how abstract music can sometimes get, it should still also be fun. My great uncle could listen to the most challenging music and still laugh and clap his hands. There
was always something in that music that would get some joy out of him. And too many times in the jazz world we tend to take the music and ourselves way too seriously and there is no fun. I always try to keep that fun element in it. You can still be progressive; you can still be far reaching; you can still be as experimental as you want, but it’s got to be fun. MB: What did you learn from Wynton Marsalis? CB: I was 15 in 1987. Actually a couple of years leading up to that period of the 1980’s, you think about who was popular in American culture, you know like pop culture; Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Cyndi Lauper, Boy George, and New Edition. And here is a person like Wynton who was antithetical to those images. He was a guy who was wearing a suit, was very well spoken, very
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Page 6 • May 16 - May 22, 2011 • Insight News
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HEALTH A new health care plan for all Minnesotans By Lydia Schwartz Contributing Writer The MN Legislature may soon be voting on the MN Health Plan, a single-payer system that would cover all of Minnesota’s medical needs. Health care would be publicly-financed while being delivered through existing medical providers. A single-payer health care system would not affect the ownership and management of physician groups, clinics, and hospitals. Currently, hospitals and clinics need to hire a large number of staff people just to manage billing operations. This is because insurance companies use different formulas to determine which services they choose to cover. However, instead of the multitude of insurance plans currently available, each with a different network of providers, we could have one, comprehensive plan for everyone. Health care organizations can use these administrative savings
to reinvest back into improving preventative and emergency health care. State revenue can and should be provided to hospitals and clinics to make up financial shortfalls. This will give local governments the continuous reassurance that the people’s health will be protected in times of crisis. The MN Health Plan will also return medical decision making to the doctor-patient relationship. Miscommunication and mistakes are too common in our current system because physicians do not have the necessary continuity of care with their patients. Changes in insurance coverage greatly limits the medical providers that uninsured can turn to. Under a single-payer system, patients can stay with the providers they know, and trust and who know their medical history. As DFL legislators debate the specifics of how a single-payer health care system will develop, and how to manage a system of medical providers across the state, they hope to ensure that the plan
is based on individual community needs. State Rep. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) says that he is excited about the MN Health Plan, “the direction we are taking to improve health outcomes and getting people well”. A single-system is the least expensive, and the fairest, way to provide health care. Rep. Hayden believes that Minnesota should enforce a system of payment that is fair across the fields of medical technology and expertise. While many community clinics are on the verge of bankruptcy, he said, “Certain medical specialists are making record incomes.” Rep. Hayden also hopes to bring attention to medical communities who typically go unnoticed in the overall health care debate. One overlooked issue, is the disproportionate number of autism diagnoses among Somali children. “Many third-world countries don’t have the medical technology to identify this type of problem. We need to look at how to get these kids the treatment they need,”
Hayden said. He suggests the establishment of virtual ‘medical homes’ for families with autistic children, where doctors and case managers can develop treatment plans. Hayden also hopes to look at child maltreatment and create a child well-being improvement plan. This is a critical issue because the longer these children are in the foster care system, the less likely that they will become healthy, productive citizens. “We need to take a look at what’s going on in the foster care system and how to quickly get adoptive parents for kids who were removed from the home because of maltreatment,” he said. An employer-based insurance system forces many Minnesotans to work even when they become ill, if only to pay for medical expenses. And many are simply going without necessary health care because they cannot afford it. The DFL admits that by eliminating the insurance industry, many will lose jobs. Even so, currently the
loss of health coverage for many laid-off workers is one of their most expensive and dangerous problems. This worry will not exist under a single-payer health care system. Being able to discuss healthy lifestyle practices with the physician of your choosing will stimulate job growth across health care fields. The job losses in administering health insurance will soon be exceeded by new job creation in health care delivery. Poor health habits are a problem for those with jobs, as well as for those without jobs. The first step to getting people to take care of their own health is to get them in the health care system earlier. The knowledge, tools, and preventative measures to take care of ourselves are fundamental rights. If we shut others out of the system, it is harder for all of us to make healthy changes. The DFL praises US President Barack Obama for the advances in health care reform made at the federal level. The ‘Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act’ provides states with supplemental funding to expand government insurance coverage for low-income residents. This federal support will greatly improve the health of our citizens because more Minnesotans will be eligible for Medicaid benefits, which will result in better care for more people and at less cost to the state. As a society, we share an interest in ensuring that all who live in our state are as healthy as possible. We don’t want the person at the check-out counter, in the classroom, or riding the bus to be spreading infections because they do not have access to health care. When everyone has access to preventive health care, the costs in terms of health and taxes are lower for all of us. UPDATE: The MN Health Plan is currently in the State Senate and the House of Representatives Health and Human Services Committees. Ask your legislators to support House File 51/Senate File 8.
Timothy Valentine, courtesy Flickr
These have been engineered to withstand repeated dousing with the herbicide, glyphosate (also sold by Monsanto and marketed as RoundUp). According to the nonprofit Non GMO Project, this allows soybean farmers to repeatedly spray their fields with RoundUp to kill all weeds (and other nearby plant life) except for the soybean plants they are growing. The U.S. government permits the sale and consumption of GM foods, but many consumers aren’t so sure it’s OK to eat them—given not only the genetic tinkering but also the exposure to so much glyphosate. Due to these concerns, the European Union has had a moratorium on GM crops of all kinds since 1998. The fact that genetically modified soy may be present in as much as 70 percent of all food products found in U.S. supermarkets means that a vast majority of Americans may be putting a lot of GM soy into their systems every day. And not just directly via cereals, breads and pasta: Some 98 percent of the U.S. soybean
crop is fed to livestock, so consumers of meat, eggs and dairy are indirectly ingesting the products of scientific tinkering with unknown implications for human health. Since GM soy has only been around and abundant for less than a decade, no one yet knows for sure what the long term health effects, if any, will be on the populations of countries such as the U.S. that swear by it. Natural foods stores like WholeFoods are your best bet for finding non-GM foods of all sorts.
How safe is soy? By EarthTalk® E - The Environmental Magazine Dear Earth Talk: How healthy is soy? I heard that, despite its healthy image, most soy is grown using chemicals like other crops and is even being genetically modified. -- D. Frinka, Syracuse, NY Food products made with soy have enjoyed great popularity in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years. Two decades ago, Americans spent $300 million a year on soy food products; today we spend over $4 billion. More and more adults are substituting soy—a great source of protein— for meat, while a quarter of
all baby formula contains soy instead of milk. Many school lunch programs nationwide have added soy-based veggie burgers to their menus, as have countless restaurants, including diners and fast food chains. And there are hundreds of other edible uses of the legume, which now vies with corn for the title of America’s most popular agricultural crop. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration promotes the inclusion of soy into other foods to cut down on heart attack risk. Clinical studies have shown that soy can also lower the risk for certain types of breast and prostate cancer. But there may be a dark side to soy’s popularity and
abundance. “Many of soy’s health benefits have been linked to isoflavones—plant compounds that mimic estrogen,” reports Lindsey Konkel in Environmental Health News. “But animal studies suggest that eating large amounts of those estrogenic compounds might reduce fertility in women, trigger premature puberty and disrupt development of fetuses and children.” But before you dump out all your soy foods, note that the operative phrase here is “large amounts” which, in laboratory science, can mean amounts substantially above what one would consume in real life. Also at issue is that
Americans today spend upwards of $4 billion yearly on soy food products. Although the versatile soybean provides many health benefits, some 90 percent of the U.S. crop is grown using genetically modified seeds, engineered to withstand repeated dousing with Monsanto’s herbicide, glyphosate (popularly known as RoundUp).
upwards of 90 percent of the U.S. soybean crop is grown using genetically modified (GM) seeds sold by Monsanto.
McBride From 5 articulate, he was playing jazz, he was in his twenties, and he was very successful. So that was quite an eye opener for a very strong group of young men and young ladies at that time to see somebody who can make it in the world playing his music, and not have to worry about some sort of pop culture image that was sort of the norm, you know. It showed us that you could be successful and play a very sophisticated kind of music, or mature sort of music so to speak. So Wynton was very important for musicians of my generation. MB: What young musicians do you have your eye on today? CB: Well I have used a number of different young musicians that are coming up on the scene that I have my eye on, young
men and young ladies. Gerald Clayton, young pianist who is absolutely incredible, his father is John Clayton, the great bass player; Christian Sands, another fantastic, dynamic young pianist; Ulysses Owens Jr., fantastic drummer; and Jaleel Shaw, great alto saxophonist. There are so many good musicians out there in the world that I really appreciate. I think the music is in a healthy state. MB: What generally makes these young musicians stick out for you? CB: The hunger, the enthusiasm, that fire in the eye. They are not looking for you to wait to tell them how good they sound, they really want some feedback. They want you to tell them what they need to get together. And they go to real lengths to let you know that they are serious about that. They have that sense of I really want to be out there playing with the best musicians I can play with. That’s what we look for.
CONTACTS: Environmental Health News, www. environmentalhealthnews. org; Non GMO Project, www. nongmoproject.org. EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@ emagazine.com. Subscribe: w w w. e m a g a z i n e . c o m / subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial. MB: I read that you have a unique skill of memorizing music after hearing it for the first time? CB: Well you know I am not sure that I can do it quite that easily. I have this habit when I get music I really enjoy; I repeat it over and over again. If you listen to music as often as I do, that would be ad nauseam for most people. If I hear music that I really enjoy I just want to internalize it, because I want to be able to listen to it when I don’t have my headphones on. It’s almost like I burn the song into my own brain. Music that I am paid to play, sometimes if I have to go on tour and work with a particular musician and learn his or her music, I feel it’s my duty to memorize that persons music because I am getting paid to do so. I feel it’s my duty as a professional to at least try to memorize the music. MB: What do you look for in musicians you work with? CB: This sounds very simple, but you would be surprised how many musicians don’t do it. I like musicians who listen. People will say, of course all musicians listen that’s a part of what they do. Well that’s actually not true, sadly. A lot of musicians decide that what they do is good enough for anybody else so why should they change what they do when they are playing with you. Everybody has a certain confidence in what they do, there is nothing wrong with that, but if you realize that something you are doing is not bringing music to its full potential than you should change that. MB: What has been the key to success in your career? CB: Well you know when I was saying that I don’t take myself too seriously, you know I don’t want to mislead anybody, because I think I am deadly serious about what I do with my music. I enjoy it so much it’s not really work for me. I realize that to be a jazz musician, to be a professional musician, to be respected by your peers and your elders, that’s a lot of work. So I think the love I have for music and the appreciation for what I am able to do for a living. I get to play music every night, see the world, make money, and make a contribution to American culture. So I am happy.
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Insight News • May 16 - May 22, 2011 • Page 7
Peers honor Professor Nekima Levy-Pounds Professor Nekima Levy-Pounds from University of St. Thomas (Minn) has won this year’s Shanara Gilbert Emerging Clinician Award announced The Executive Committee of the AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education. Professor Levy-Pounds is an Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Community Justice Project at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, were she has taught since 2003. Levy-Pound’s commitment to teaching and achieving social justice is best exemplified by her vision in founding the Community Justice Project (CJP), an award winning civil rights clinic. The University of St. Thomas School of Law website describes the CJP as follows:
The CJP is a part of the Interprofessional Center for Counseling and Legal Services. [Professor] LevyPounds teaches and supervises law students as they use the law as a tool to advance the cause of social justice in poor communities of color through problem-solving, legal research and writing, community engagement and legislative advocacy. [Professor] Levy-Pounds’ goal in founding the CJP was to take a more holistic approach to addressing complex issues affecting the poor and working poor. Professor Levy-Pounds has also served the greater clinical community. She presented at the 2008 Society of American Law Teachers Conference in
Courtesy of the University of St. Thomas
Nekima Levy-Pounds
Berkeley. With law fellow Artika Tyner, she spoke about teaching for social change. Levy-Pounds and Tyner also collaborated on a conference presentation entitled, “Teaching
in the Moment: a Workshop of Curricular Development” in April 2009. Notably, in 2010 the CJP received a “Service Learning” designation from the University of St. Thomas. Professor Levy-Pounds has also served the international clinical legal community. In 2008 at the 6th International Conference on Clinical Legal Education in Cork, Ireland, she presented a paper about igniting students with a passion for social justice through law clinics. In 2007, she presented about using the clinical model to teach lawyers about social change at the 5th International Conference on Clinical Legal Education Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, and at the Towards an Africa Without Borders Conference
in Durban, South Africa. In June 2006, Professor LevyPounds presented a paper in Gloucester, England about the U.S. criminal justice system’s effect on African-American children and families. The Shanara Gilbert Award will be presented at the Conference on Clinical Legal Education’s Awards Luncheon on Thursday, June 16th, in Seattle, Washington. The Award is for a recent entrant into clinical legal education who has demonstrated all or some of the following qualities: 1) a commitment to teaching and achieving social justice, particularly in the areas of race and the criminal justice system; 2) an interest in international clinical legal education;
3) a passion for providing legal services and access to justice to individuals and groups most in need; 4) service to the cause of clinical legal education or to the AALS Section on Clinical Legal Education; and 5) an interest in the beauty of nature. This year, as in past years, the Awards Committee had a very difficult task, choosing among many incredible and superb nominees. The Executive Committee would like to thank the Awards Committee for its work in the selection process: Susan Jones (George Washington); Alan Minuskin (Boston College); Alex Scherr (Georgia); Dana Thompson (Michigan); Miye Goishi, Chair (UC-Hastings).
Freedom Riders: A living legacy By Marian Wright Edelman “Boarding that Greyhound bus to travel through the heart of the Deep South, I felt good. I felt happy. I felt liberated. I was like a soldier in a nonviolent army. I was ready.” Today, Congressman John Lewis is serving his twelfth term representing Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives. But in May 1961 he was a twentyone-year-old student leader from American Baptist College in Nashville who volunteered to join the interracial group traveling through the South by bus to test the recent Supreme Court decision banning segregation in interstate travel. As a result, he was attacked by angry mobs for entering “Whites-only” waiting rooms, left unconscious on a bus station floor in Montgomery, Alabama after being hit in the head with a wooden Coca-Cola crate, arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for trespassing and disturbing the peace, and sentenced to time at Mississippi’s notorious Parchment State Prison Farm.
Congressman Lewis was one of the Freedom Riders— more than 400 Black and White volunteers, mostly young people, who risked their lives and freedom to face down segregation in the Deep South. The original group, organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), began with thirteen riders who left Washington, D.C. on May 4 with plans to arrive in New Orleans on May 17 on the seventh anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. By the time the Freedom Rides actually ended months later, many in the original group had been beaten, brutalized, or arrested, and buses they rode on had been firebombed and destroyed. But at every step brave new determined volunteers traveled to meet them and take their places. The Freedom Rides brought national attention to the cause, led Attorney General Robert Kennedy and the Justice Department to strengthen the laws outlawing segregation in interstate travel, and marked a crucial early turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. The fiftieth anniversary this month
of the start of the Freedom Rides is receiving widespread national attention, in part thanks to the powerful new documentary film “Freedom Riders” by award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, which chronicles the entire bold and dangerous journey. One of the important lessons in this documentary is how integral students and young people were to the Freedom Rides, just as they were to the sit-ins, marches, voter registration drives, and every other piece of the Civil Rights Movement. Those of us in my generation were blessed to be in the right places at the right times to experience and help bring transforming change to the South and to America, and we seized that opportunity and responsibility. Today, the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) is helping train the next generation of young leaders through our youth leadership development programs, including our Young Advocate Leadership Training (YALT®) Program. We’re so proud that Michael Tubbs, one of our young YALT leaders, was
among the students selected to ride on the 2011 Student Freedom Ride bus that will retrace the Freedom Rides starting on May 6 and end up in New Orleans on May 16th. We also are taking the next step forward with the CDF Freedom Schools® program, rooted in the Civil Rights Movement’s Mississippi Freedom Summer 1964, and the efforts of college students to make a difference. Today, the CDF Freedom Schools program trains college-aged young people to provide quality summer and afterschool enrichment through a model curriculum that supports children and families around five essential components: high quality academic enrichment; parent and family involvement; social action and civic engagement; intergenerational servant leadership development; and nutrition, health, and mental health. About 90,000 children have had a CDF Freedom Schools experience since 1995 and 9,000 college teachermentors have been trained to serve them. The ongoing deep need in communities across
the country for many, many more CDF Freedom Schools programs reminds us that today we don’t have to travel to Alabama or Mississippi to make a difference. Legal segregation has ended, but inequality is alive and well and school segregation still exists and is resurging all over America. Without a good education, millions of America’s 15.5 million poor children will remain poor throughout their lives and many will become trapped in the Cradle to Prison Pipeline® crisis that leads to dropping out of school, arrest, and incarceration at earlier and earlier ages. This is the unfinished business of the Civil Rights Movement, and the powerful example of heroes and heroines like the Freedom Riders is a reminder to us all that there is work to be done. The world premiere of the “Freedom Riders” documentary will be presented by American Experience on PBS television stations May 16. CDF is hosting a live and virtual “Watch Party” that evening to celebrate this important event. We’ll gather with an audience at Howard
University for a conversation that will be streamed online starting at 8:30 PM EST, a halfhour before the documentary starts. After the film, audience members will be able to participate in a live question and answer session with several of the original Freedom Riders, including Bernard Lafayette, Jr. and Lenora Taitt-Magubane. Join us on the Web on Monday, May 16th from 8:30 PM – 11:30 PM EST for this free special event wherever you are! Host your own “watch party” at home, at a community center, or in your place of worship, and share in the inspiration of the Freedom Riders and their lessons for today. Marian Wright Edelman is President of the Children’s Defense Fund whose Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. For more information go to www. childrensdefense.org.
Page 8 • May 16 - May 22, 2011 • Insight News
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LIFESTYLE Park Board gets $10,000 for JD Rivers’ Children’s Garden The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) was recently awarded a $10,000 grant by the National Recreation and Park Association’s (NRPA’s) Grow Your Park program—made possible through a gift from the J.R. Albert Foundation—to support the JD Rivers’ Children’s Garden, located north of Glenwood Avenue in Theodore Wirth Park. Through programming at the garden, children and teens plant, weed, water, compost, harvest, prepare, sample and take home garden produce from late-
May to late-September. Grow Your Park funds will be used to address the needs and wishes of 2010 program participants and will focus on three main areas: perennial plants and crops, garden infrastructure and new intergenerational programming. Children involved in last year’s programs expressed strong interest in growing and eating fruit. Grant funding will increase perennial berry crops such as strawberries, which can be harvested early in the growing season and raspberries for the end of the season. It will also
allow for the planting of fruiting shrubs such as blueberries and gooseberries. “Staff are excited about being able to add more fruit bearing plants to the JD Rivers’ Children’s Garden,” said Mary Lynn Pulscher, Environmental Education Coordinator. “The kids really wanted to grow mangos but I’m sure they’ll be happy with strawberries and blackberries.” Plans also include improvements to the garden’s infrastructure. Installing a hoop house, cold frames and raised
beds will make it possible to begin planting earlier in the spring to create a longer growing season. Extending water lines will allow for use of under utilized garden space. Grant funding will also facilitate an intergenerational program series in which parents and grandparents work with youth to create jams and salsa from the food the youth grow in the garden. Together they will share healthy eating education and possibly inspire families to garden at home. “Providing extended
education about healthy eating to Minneapolis youth and their families takes the Park Board’s green initiatives to another level,” said MPRB President John Erwin. “I’d like to thank the NRPA and the J.R. Albert Foundation for providing the opportunity to reach a broader audience with education about healthy lifestyles.” The Park Board is one of 10 agencies in the U.S. to receive a 2011 NRPA Grow Your Park grant. The National Recreation and
Park Association is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing park, recreation and conservation efforts that enhance quality of life for all people. Through its network of 20,000 recreation and park professionals and citizens, NRPA encourages the promotion of healthy lifestyles, recreation initiatives, and conservation of natural and cultural resources. For more information, visit www. NRPA.org. For digital access to NRPA’s flagship publication, Parks & Recreation, visit www. parksandrec-magazine.org
How to start composting for your garden for composting. This spot can either be indoors in a compost bin or outdoors in a semi-shaded and well-drained area. Don’t put your compost pile under acid producing trees like pines. * Combine organic wastes such as yard trimmings, food scraps and biodegradable products into a pile, then add bulking agents such as wood chips to accelerate the breakdown of organic materials. * Let nature take its course. Typical compost will turn into rich soil in two to five weeks. A properly managed compost
bin or pile will not attract pests or rodents and will not smell bad. Therefore, make sure you know what you can and cannot add to a compost pile. Many everyday items can be used, including fruits and vegetables, yard trimmings, eggshells, coffee grounds, teabags, and certain paper products. For example, Chinet’s Classic White and Casuals lines of paper plates are 100 percent biodegradable and endorsed by the U.S. Composting Council. You can also add dryer and vacuum cleaner lint, pet fur and
fireplace ashes. Other biodegradable materials, like hay, straw, grass clippings, saw dust and leaves can also be added to compost piles, with the exception of black walnut leaves, which release chemicals that are harmful to plants. Also, don’t include diseased or insect-ridden plants, or plants treated with chemicals or pesticides; these, too, will make the compost harmful or toxic. Be sure to avoid adding food and organic matter that will make the compost pile smell, such as
dairy products, egg yolks (whites are okay), fats, grease, lard and oils. Meat and fish scraps are compostable, but make sure they do not contain parasites or bacteria. For more tips on composting and other environmental activities, visit www.mychinet. com and click on “Environment.” “The average American produces four pounds of landfill waste daily,” says Happell. “Composting is a simple solution to reducing your family’s ecological footprint.”
(StatePoint) Ecological experts have proposed countless ways to improve the environment, but something as simple as changing the way you dispose of your trash could have a significant impact on the future of our planet. By composting biodegradable materials, such as yard trimmings, food waste and disposable paper products in a pile or bin, a nutrient-rich soil is created that can be used for gardening. This soil reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, is better for the environment and will save you
money. It also promotes healthy foliage and growth -- a boon to gardeners everywhere. “Few Americans realize that nearly 50 percent of the waste from their home is compostable,” says Eric Happell, Director of Fiber Business Unit at Huhtamaki, the makers of Chinet paper products. “If every American household composted, we could reduce our solid waste stream by more than 60 percent.” Here’s a step-by-step guide to starting a composting pile at home: * Select a convenient spot
Parker
those mistakes too many times. If somebody misses something over and over again, I give them that signal to let them know, but I don’t take their money. I want my guys to have fun, but we still have to be on the same page. You have to be aware that you are not playing too loud or too soft, I have little signals for that too. But I enjoy being captain of the ship and I thought about way back when I was 20, 21 years old just hoping I would have my own group and be in control of it and I really enjoy it today
When you come in you have to be wide open to what styles, volume, speed, and tempo of the person you are working for. That is the same thing I had to do when I worked with Prince or somebody else. You have to go with their concept and forget yours. It’s coming along really fine. He started drumming in 1995 or 1996, and there is still a little bit more room for improvement but he is really good, in fact he is looking better than good as far as playing the drums. When you come to the concert you will see.
MB: What has been your most rewarding project to date? MP: I think perhaps maybe the big band thing I do with the big band out of Cologne, Germany. I did a project with them where I did Ray Charles stuff. I am sort of singing like Ray Charles, and I am also playing a lot of Ray Charles tunes and they did some of my tunes but it is a big band of 20 some pieces or so. I never thought of doing anything like that, but once it materialized I am really proud of the result that we got to the point where I am going to do another project with that same band. It is really something where I can stick my chest out and be really proud, because a lot of people when they hear it think its Ray Charles singing. A lot of people over the world have named their kids, pets, intangible objects, Maceo, because of me, especially a lot of the boys, there are so
MB: What can the audience expect to hear at Minnesota Orchestra on Sunday, May 22? M.P.: I try to put music out there where people forget about their problems. If they need new tires for the car, if their grandparents are getting older, if they got to pay that bill; we try to play music where people forget about their problems and just have a good time.
From 5 being proud of your race, being respectful of women, he preached all these things. Early on these things were important to him and those were the things I learned early on. I was 21 and my brother was 20 and that’s pretty young. Those qualities were things that he preached that were really important to him. Certainly the way you dressed on stage. You couldn’t wear your uniform like you slept in it. Those lessons really stuck with me and I will always be grateful for that. MB: What is your style as a bandleader? MP: Similar. I don’t give fines if somebody missed something but I kind of let him know it. James used to wiggle his fingers. He would ball his fist, open it real fast, and bring it back and close it and open it again, that meant you owed like five dollars. Or sometimes he would say hundreds...Somebody would be in the wings counting how many times he would do that. Or sometimes he may change it, he may do it three times for 15 dollars, or he may charge 200, to indicate something didn’t go right. His concept was if you take somebody’s money they will be really alert and learn what they should learn and not make
Maceo Parker many I can’t give you a number on that. That ranks up there with something that I recorded. There is a group out of France, a positive thinking group, they call that group Maceo. I could just go on and on, but coming from a little small town, Kingston, NC, to being known worldwide it’s like unbelievable to me. I never set out to achieve these kinds of things but you know it’s all happening, and its great and something I can be really proud of. MB: What has been your most challenging project to date? MP: Prince’s stuff maybe and that’s because it’s not what I think, it’s what somebody else thinks and I have to go back to hearing it and try to have the concept of that particular leader and I haven’t
done that in a long time so that was sort of challenging for me. It was sort of rewarding too to be on the stage with him, a genius. He doesn’t like to be mentioned that much in interviews, but I can say I always love hearing him and I am proud of the fact that I have the relationship that I have with him. But it sparked and awakened a lot of creativity in me. I think working with him was the most challenging. MB: What do you try to teach your young relatives who work with you today? MP: My son works with me and he has been working a long time and now my nephew too. My son works with me some of the time. My brother who started working with me in James Brown
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band, his son is now playing drums with me. He started at the beginning of this year. I try to tell him things that I think are important, to verbally say to him like the things James Brown did early on, the punctuality thing, to be proud. He is straight out of college, from the drum line concept, where everything is really, really loud and really, really tense. My son who plays drums calls it aggressive. Everything doesn’t really have to be really aggressive. Sometimes you have to pull back a little bit with your intensity. Other than that he has been listening for a long time. He is beginning to understand my particular concept. You have to learn the other person’s concept.
MB: What do you do to prepare for a concert? MP: I practice two hours a day, do some walking, and make sure my suits are together. MB: What keeps you going? MP: Lots of time I am asked what keeps me going so many years and I think it’s important for people to know that I just LOVE performing, playing the saxophone. It makes me feel good when I look out and see people really enjoying what we do. I just love people to a point where if you are at my concert 6 or 7 times you hear me say on behalf of all of us, ‘we love you.’
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Insight News • May 16 - May 22, 2011 • Page 9
COMMENTARY Competing events deflect focus from Arab Spring By Ahmed Tharwat Two big events last week contributed to distracting public attention from the ongoing Arab revolution: the revolution that has inspired so many people around the world, and also here in the US. First, last Friday the British launched their 24/7 live fairytale royal wedding. Friday, a day of choice of the Arab revolutionaries to deliver their message to their dictators after Friday prayer gathering, when millions of Arabs began their march to topple dictators at Tahrir Square and other Arab streets.
This was replaced by images of millions of Brits swarming the streets from Westminster Abbey to the Buckingham Palace just to have a glimpse of their royalty. Then comes Sunday with our President Obama, rather robotically, announcing the killing of Osama bin Laden and the disposal of his body into the sea—savagely I may add. This event too has deflected the focus on the historical developments churning the Arab world: the people’s revolution sweeping across Tunis, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Bahrain, and elsewhere. Commenting on the killing of the terror mastermind an Obama’s national security aide was quoted in New York Times
saying, “It’s important to note that it is most fitting that bin Laden’s death comes at a time of great movement towards
I’m not sure if the Arab world, which was busy revolting against despotic rulers, had time to share the euphoria of
“The celebration of death ritual I believe is a sign of declining empire.” freedom and democracy that is sweeping the Arab world...” The Arab spring has changed the narrative for Arabs and Muslims who for years were under the influenced of the Al Qaeda script.
bin Laden’s death and the royal wedding. But for many Americans the dramatic images of millions of peaceful Arab demonstrators in Tahrir Square and on Arab streets repeatedly chanting
“Irhal” (Arabic for Go Away), asking their dictator to leave was replaced by the images of thousands of Americans pouring out into the street, chanting “USA, USA” and waving the flags, singing the Star Spangled Banner, celebrating the death of bin Laden. The celebration of death ritual I believe is a sign of declining empire. “To celebrate the killing of a life, any life, is a failure to honor life’s inherent sanctity,” explained Dr. Pamela Gerloff in Psychology Today. My question is: Why now? If Obama waited for the Royal wedding to be digested by the public, (“Thanks Mr. Obama for waiting after the wedding and not spoiling the kiss” someone
twittered), he could have waited a few months for the Arab revolution to reach its fruition. It is evident that Obama gambled his political career on this daring operation, because he has been eager to appease the right wing Tea Party angry folks, showing his inclination to do anything to get them to accept him as fully American; first they forced him to produce his original birth certificate now he needs to produce bin Laden death certificate before Donald Trump asks for it. Ahmed Tharwat is a Public Speaker and Host the Arab American TV show BelAhdan which airs on Public TV, Saturdays at 10:30pm.
Take different, smarter approach to crime Mathis’ Mind
By Judge Greg Mathis The nation’s decades long war on drugs and ‘tough on crime’ posture has failed to reduce crime rates and control the rising prison population. Additionally, our current crime fighting strategy
bin Laden From 2 to take appropriate measures against that al Qaeda member. Although the test is easy to state, international law gives the United States (or any state in a similar position) little guidance about what the “unwilling or unable” test requires. Considerable state practice supports the existence of the test and reveals its historical roots in neutrality law, but neither states nor scholars have discussed what the standard means. What facts should the United States have considered when evaluating Pakistan’s willingness or ability to suppress the threat Bin Laden posed to the United States, NATO and Afghan forces, and the security of other states that have suffered al Qaeda attacks? Does international law require the United States to ask Pakistan to take measures itself before the United States lawfully may act? If so, how much time must the United States give Pakistan to respond? What if Pakistan proposes to respond to the threat in a way that the United States believes may not be adequate? Based on an examination of state practice, it is possible to ascertain a few key principles that the international community might expect a state using force (the “acting state”)
puts us at a disadvantage in other critical sectors, namely education. Knowing what we now know, it is clear that it’s beyond time to take a different approach on crime…a smarter one. According to a recently released NAACP report entitled “Misplaced Priorities: Over Incarcerate and Under Educate,” state spending on prisons in the last 20 years grew six times faster than education spending. In fact, 33 states increased prison spending in 2009 while simultaneously reducing
education funding. Much of this increase in prison spending can be blamed on mandatory sentencing laws that require mandatory jail time for even low-level, non-violent offenses rob the sentencing judge of the ability to hand down a punishment that is more suitable to the crime. Instead, offenders who might be better served in a drug rehab program are sent to prison, causing prison populations to go up and requiring prison budgets to increase in order to keep up with the ‘demand’.
As states around the country are forced to make tough cuts to balance their budgets, very few are pulling funds from those allocated for prisons. Instead, they are pulling money from education, healthcare and social services programs that serve those in need. This is definitely not the right approach. Reducing the prison population and, in turn, reducing prison budgets, stabilizes state budgets so that other key programs won’t have to take such hard hits. Restoring the judge’s ability to use creative sentencing
to follow. The principles might include requirements that the acting state: (1) ask the territorial state to address the threat and provide adequate time for the latter to respond; (2) reasonably assess the territorial state’s control and capacity in the region from which the threat is emanating; (3) reasonably assess the territorial state’s proposed means to suppress the threat; and (4) evaluate its own prior interactions with the territorial state. However, an important exception to the requirement that the acting state request that the territorial state act arises where the acting state has strong reasons to believe that the territorial state is colluding with the nonstate actor, or where asking the territorial state to take steps to suppress the threat might lead the territorial state to tip off the non-state actor before the acting state can undertake its mission.
bin Laden or other key al-Qaida officials . . . and Pakistan is unwilling or unable to strike against them, we should.” Based on the facts that have come to light to date, the United States appears to have strong arguments that Pakistan was unwilling or unable to strike against Bin Laden. Most importantly, the United States has a reasonable argument that asking the Government of Pakistan to act against Bin Laden could have undermined the mission. The size and location of the compound and its proximity to Pakistani military installations has cast strong doubt on Pakistan’s commitment to defeat al Qaeda. The United States seems to have suspected that certain officials within the Pakistani government were aware of Bin Laden’s presence and might have tipped him off to the imminent U.S. action if they had known about it in advance. Further, it would have been reasonable for the United States to question Pakistan’s capacity to successfully raid Bin Laden’s compound, given that he was known to be a highly sophisticated and likely well-protected enemy. Pakistan might argue that it would have been able to stage an effective mission against the compound, or that the United States at least should have constructed the mission as a joint operation, given that the two countries work closely
together in other intelligence and military contexts. It also could point to the fact that it conducted searches for al Qaeda leaders in Abbottabad in 2003 and in subsequent years, and that it passed on information about the 2003 search to U.S. officials.[12] On balance, however, Pakistan’s defense of its sovereignty in this case, while understandable from a political perspective, seems weak as a matter of international law.
Applying the Test In an August 2007 speech, thenPresidential candidate Barack Obama asserted that, if elected, his Administration would take action against the leadership of al Qaeda in Pakistan if the United States had actionable intelligence about al Qaeda targets in Pakistan and thenPresident Musharraf failed to act. Obama later clarified his position, stating, “What I said was that if we have actionable intelligence against
Conclusion The facts and politics in this case make it unlikely that Pakistan’s defense of its sovereignty will find significant international support. Nevertheless, it would be useful as a matter of international law for states to agree that the “unwilling or unable” test is the correct test for situations such as the U.S. raid against Bin Laden in Pakistan and to provide additional content to that test. Doing so potentially could serve international law’s interests by minimizing legal disagreements at times when political and factual disagreements are running high. About the Author: Ashley Deeks, an ASIL member, is an Academic Fellow at Columbia Law School. She formerly served as the Assistant Legal Adviser for Political Military Affairs at the Department of State.
for non-violent offenders is one way to reduce prison populations around the country. Employing alternative sentencing methods, such as home confinement and drug treatment, is another. Our priorities as a nation are currently skewed…we are placing far more emphasis on incarcerating people than we are on educating and healing them. By taking a smarter approach to crime, one that looks for lower cost ways to punish and rehabilitate offenders, we can free up billions of dollars that can be put to much better use.
Judge Greg Mathis became the youngest judge in Michigan’s history and was elected a Superior Court Judge for Michigan’s 36th District. He has been called upon as a regular contributor to national television programs, including “Larry King Live,” “Politically Incorrect,” CNN’s “Talk Back Live,” “Showbiz Tonight” and “Extra” to discuss his opinions on complex issues of the day, such as national security, unique sentencing, affirmative action and celebrity scandals. He also offers his take on highprofile legal cases.
Honorable Judge Pamela Alexander
File photo
Community dialogue on racial and ethnic fairness in the courts Judge Pamela Alexander convenes a community dialogue on racial and ethnic fairness in the courts, 6:30 - 8:30 PM Wednesday evening May 18th, 2011 at the Powderhorn Park Recreation Center in Minneapolis Minnesota. Alexander, former Assistant Chief Judge at Hennepin County District Court., is president of the Council on Crime and Justice, which is sponsoring the dialogue in cooperation with The Fourth Judicial District Equal Justice Committee. Event organizers say the community dialogue invites residents and stakeholders to “let your voice be heard by providing insights, perceptions, and experiences as the Justice System aims to best fulfill their mission of providing equal access and justice under the law for the citizens of Hennepin County.” Representatives from the Fourth District Court, Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office, Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, and Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department will all be in attendance to listen to members of the community. The event is free and open to the public and persons interested in attending are asked to RSVP by email to thomas.pohl@courts. state.mn.us. For further information contact Thomas Pohl at 612348-8745.
Page 10 • May 16, - May 22, 2011 • Insight News
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What’s Going On 40 anniversary album th
On May 21, 1971, Motown Records released an album unique to its vast, already classic catalog: a suite of protest songs, railing, albeit softly and with an undeniable groove, about the planet’s woes and the pain of war. With What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye forever changed the sound and subject matter of popular music, influencing and inspiring every generation since. Formerly Motown’s reigning smooth-faced, smiling, mass-appeal artist, this album was Gaye’s departure for the bearded, brooding, reflective, angry artist he would become. His first self-production, the album was written, sung and solely produced by Gaye. Forty years on, the album remains a timeless classic. Speaking boldly and
Calendar of Events Send Community Calendar information to us by: email, andrew@insightnews. com, by fax: 612-588-2031, by phone: (612) 588-1313 or by mail: 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis, MN 55411, Attn: Andrew Notsch. Free or low cost events preferred. Understanding and Appreciation of Chinese Culture - May 18-22 The public is invited to experience Chinese music, dance, art, history, calligraphy, games, and tea starting on Wed. May 18 with the Grand Opening Ceremony at 6pm and continuing through Sun. May 22 at 9pm. @ Lift Kids Global Village, 153 E. 10th Street, St. Paul. Registration: www.liftkids.org North Suburban Youth Connection May 18 Youth resources including: employment, housing/shelter, education, health and parenting. Over 30 organizations represented. Free haircuts! Grab-bags for participants and delicious dinner provided. With a hip-hop performance by Beats & Rhymes. Brooklyn Center High School 6500 Humboldt Ave. N. Brooklyn Center. Minneapolis Fearless Caregiver Conference - May 19 Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging and Today’s Caregiver magazine are offering a limited number of paid scholarships to family caregivers for this day-long event that includes lunch, exhibits and trainings. Family caregivers should register at FearlessCaregiver. com. May 19, 8:30am-2:30pm at the Ramada Mall of America 2300 E. American Blvd. Bloomington, MN 55425 Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Open House - May 19 Demonstrations including: Dive Team demonstrations, Crime Scene Unit displays, Extrications using the “jaws of life” equipment, Fingerprinting Booth, Weapons of Mass Destruction Tactical Response Team, K-9 demonstrations, Drug abuse prevention education, Vehicle & equipment displays, 911 safety information. Thur. May 19 10am-3pm at Sheriff’s Patrol Division
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9401 83rd Avenue N., Brooklyn Park. Free and open to the public. American Dream, Where Is It? - May 20 An original play tackling issues from street violence and education, to immigration and living stuck between two cultures. Central High School, 275 N. Lexington Avenue, Saint Paul, MN on Friday, May 20th at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $5.00 with special rates available for students, seniors & groups. No one will be turned away! The show will open with the Washburn High School Acting Troupe. “The Moment of Truth” CD Listening Reception - May 20 CD listening reception for contemporary jazz artist Wenso Ashby on Fri., May 20 at SOCIAL ENCORE 400 3rd Ave N (Historic Crane) 8-10pm. After 10pm you are welcome to be a part of the Members only private affair, a NEW ERA of social life in the Twin Cities. Prepare yourself to be dazzled by some of the hottest concepts and engagements, both business and pleasure. Please RSVP by Wed., May 18 to cdrelease@taytaytunes.com The Big Hat Luncheon - May 21 The theme is “Giving Back To Our Youth: Providing Young Ladies with Building Blocks for the Future”. The keynote speaker for this years event is Neda Kellogg, Founder and CEO Of Project Diva. May 21, 11-3pm @ Crowne Plaza Suites, 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington MN. Tickets can be purchased online at www. itsyouraffair.net or 612-640-0244. Breakfast for Champions! - May 21 Minneapolis Gospel Artist Tonia Hughes and Pressing Towards the Mark, Inc. will sponsor an All You Can Eat Buffet breakfast fundraiser on Sat., May 21 9am at the Jerry Gamble Boys and Girls Club, 2410 N. Irving Ave., Mpls. For more information visit www. pressingtowardthemarkinc.com or call (612) 242-0893. Operation Liberty Sports Expo for Veterans - May 21 If you or someone you know is injured or disabled, Courage Center welcomes
passionately about social issues on the street unlike any other album before, What’s Going On provided a soundtrack to life in America—and still does. It was a smash from the start and it’s still one of Rolling Stone magazine’s top ten Greatest Albums of All Time. Two songs from this album are in the Grammy® Hall of Fame, which honors the most important recordings in history. In celebration of the 40th anniversary, Motown/UMe releases What’s Going On – Super Deluxe Edition, on May 31, 2011. This new Super Deluxe Edition includes two CDs and one vinyl LP, 14 unreleased tracks, copious rarities, all complemented by an oversized booklet with two essays and rare photos from the original cover shoot. Inside
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as well is a reproduction of the album graphics, which showcased, for the first time at Motown, the song’s lyrics—and identified the musicians. The anniversary will also be marked on stage this summer when Rickey Minor, Stevie Wonder and Friends (including special guest Janelle Monáe) perform a July 24 Hollywood Bowl concert concluding with a tribute to What’s Going On. In May of next year, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the National Symphony Orchestra with John Legend and The Roots will collaborate for a special What’s Going On concert to note the 40th anniversary of Gaye’s legendary performance at that venue.
EMAIL: andrew@insightnews.com
you to attend the Operation Liberty Sports Expo from 10am-3pm on Sat., May 21 at Base Camp near Fort Snelling. This free event will showcase Courage Center’s Operation Liberty, a nationally-recognized sports and recreation program offered to those who served our country at no cost. Evening of Celebration with Deacon Milton Bruce - May 21 Feat. Former William O. White chorus members in concert and special guest piano talents of Benita Edwards. Sat. May 21, 5pm. Pilgrim Baptist Church 732 W. Central Ave. St. Paul. Solar Boat Regatta - May 21 Teams from schools and organizations across Minnesota will race solar boats they’ve created in the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society’s 19th Annual Solar Boat Regatta. 10am-4pm at Lake Phalen near the Beach House at 1400 Phalen Drive, St. Paul. The Nick Hass Trio will return with live music. Pillsbury United Communities Interpreting Agency Open House May 25 PUCIA is a translation and interpreting agency for more than 20 languages. PUCIA can translate any document – including websites, manuals, emails, letters, birth certificates, brochures and more. On Wed., May 25 11am1pm, guests will mingle and mix with the PUCIA Interpreters and staff while learning more about the Agency and services provided by PUCIA. Oak Park Center 1701 Oak Park Ave. N. Mpls. For more info: perazaj@puc-mn.org Padelford Riverboats Offers Free Rides for Military Families - May 30 In celebration of Memorial Day up to 1,000 military members and veterans and their families are being offered free Mississippi River rides by the Padelford Riverboat Co. at Harriet Island Regional Park in Downtown St. Paul. The 90-minute, narrated sightseeing cruises will depart at Noon and 2pm Mon., May 30. For additional information and reservations go to www.RiverRides. com or call 651-227-1100.
Celebrating the contributions of women at last years Big Hat event are l-r: Shardae Moss (Granddaughter), Charlitta Moss (Daughter), Courtney Grigsby (Little girl), Juanita Moss (Daughter), Sierra Moss (Granddaughter), Elsie Moss (Mother)
It’s Your Affair presents The Big Hat Luncheon On May 21, 2011, It’s Your Affair will host an annual charitable event, The Big Hat Luncheon. The purpose of this event is to enrich the lives of women and girls and provide attendees with a memorable experience and information that is valuable to life’s journey. The theme of The Big Hat Luncheon is “Giving Back to our Youth: Providing Young Ladies with Building Blocks for the Future.” The keynote speaker is Neda Kellogg, Founder and CEO of Project DIVA. Project DIVA provides coaching and consulting services to young ladies in the Twin Cities area with the goal of inspiring and motivating them to be tomorrow’s leaders.
The Big Hat Luncheon will be held at The Crowne Plaza Hotel and Suites in Bloomington, MN and will begin at 11 a.m. You can go online to purchase tickets by visiting www.itsyouraffair. net. It’s Your Affair at 612.460.0244. Ticket prices are $60 for adults and $45 for youth ages 13 – 18. A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Project DIVA. It’s Your Affair is proud to continue our commitment to philanthropy and community service. The Big Hat Luncheon is held annually to extend our humanitarian efforts and celebrate the contributions of women. To learn more about It’s Your Affair visit page www.itsyouraffair.net.
Out Twin Cities Film Festival - June 2-5 2011 marks the Festival’s second annual celebration of connecting and celebrating the diversity of the community through the art of cinema by producing an annual provocative festival, showcasing Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer filmmakers. Visit: www. outtwincitiesfilmfest.com for a detailed schedule.
Bike Walk Week - June 4-12 Events throughout the week include the American Heart Association Heart Walk, Grand Old Day, Women’s Wednesday, Yoga on the Greenway, and Bike Walk to the Twins Game on Sun., June 12. Additional events will be announced on the Bike Walk Week web site (www.bikewalkweek. org), which is also the place to register to participate. By registering for Bike Walk week, participants pledge to make at least one trip each week without using a car.
Coffee Break
S T A T E P O I N T 14. *Given name of civil rights advocate Wells CROSSWORD THEME: AMERICAN HISTORY ACROSS
1. Give this and they take a mile 5. 4 qts. 8. *Original one had six frigates 12. Small, olive-gray bird
15. Fairytale dust-sprinkler 16. Sour in taste 17. 1985 Oscar-winning Kurosawa movie 18. Small island 19. *FDR’s response to Great Depression 21. *U.K., France, Russia to U.S. in WWI 23. Salt in Mexico 24. Radio station location
25. Women’s undergarment 28. Bum 30. *Famous doctrine introduced in 1823 was named after him 35. *Cold War enemies, slang 37. Novelty dance of 1960s 39. Middle measurement 40. Relating to the ear 41. Mount _____ in Israel 43. Indian nursemaid 44. It often precedes “havoc” 46. Scat singer Fitzgerald 47. Kamarupan languages 48. Chewy stuff in “Baby Ruth” 50. Cocoyam 52. Short for Leonard 53. Italian automobile manufacturer 55. Proof of identification, pl. 57. *Fort _______, where Civil War began 60. *Cold War armed conflict locale 64. Beatle-_____, 1960s frenzy 65. Ostrich-like bird 67. Liquid excretory product 68. “In the _____ days” 69. Bother persistently 70. Xe 71. Galley slave 72. Public promotions 73. Direct one’s course of way
DOWN
1. He was “Terrible”? 2. Bon Jovi hit “Have a ____ day” 3. Captain’s team 4. Shepherds’ flocks 5. “My ____,” song 6. Dental group 7. Hawaiian veranda
8. Not yet final or absolute 9. Wheel shaft 10. Competes 11. Up to present time 13. African sorcery 15. Kind of talk shared by lovers 20. Upward 22. An escapee who’s “on the ___” 24. Renaissance man’s jacket 25. *_____ vs. Board of Education, 1954 26. Like poodle skirt today, e.g. 27. Farewell in Paris 29. Slope or hillside 31. Indian flatbread 32. Saudi Arabian money 33. Tributary of Missouri River 34. *_____ Allen, key founder of Vermont 36. Heroin, slang 38. *49ers quest 42. Halves of diameters 45. Sultan’s cloak 49. Loose it on casual Friday 51. Folie _ ____ or shared psychosis 54. NBA venue 56. Spread by scattering 57. *The Louisiana Purchase transaction 58. Backward arrow command 59. Dignified manner 60. Rock cavities 61. Number of judges on Supreme Court 62. In a little while, oldfashioned 63. “Cobbler, cobbler, ____ my shoe” 64. Janitor’s tool 66. Insane Answers
Q
te o u
eek w e h of t “There is a way to look at the past. Don’t hide from it. It will not catch you if you don’t repeat it.
”
—Pearl Bailey
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Insight News • May 16 - May 22, 2011 • Page 11
SPORTS Could Miami sneak up and win the NBA crown? Mr. T’s Sports Report By Ryan T. Scott ryan@insightnews.com It’s been quite a rollercoaster ride for the Miami Heat this year. LeBron James’ “Decision” to come to Miami went way too noticed, and led to a feeling that the season started early. The anticipation of seeing what the newly assembled super team could accomplish set the stage for the rollercoaster’s initial drop. Of course as soon as the team experienced a streak of consecutive losses, panic, jeers, and debates were once again set off. It only took the team losing three games in a row in November to do that—this new age of media is really something else. NBA fans know that the NBA is a game of positive and negative runs. Most who play basketball know that sometimes the ball goes in, and sometimes “it just don’t go”. Sometimes your chemistry is on and the ball is rolling off your fingers real smooth like. I imagine that the chemistry with a full team of players is much the same, just with many more variables. On the more crude side of generally analyzing the ups and downs of basketball, one could say that it’s as simple as putting the ball in the hoop more than the other team, and hustling on defense; with a strong focus on
Miami Heat’s “Big Three”: Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and Lebron James the hustling defense (another note for the youngsters). It was strange seeing the chemistry of the Miami Heat early in the year. James and Dwayne Wade both being great with the ball in their hands put the expected vacuum effect on the teams ball movement. Either player sucked up the ball, but neither seemed to “suck it up” and pass the ball when game situations were more tense. All three of the “Big 3” (Wade,
James, and Chris Bosh) did a poor job of sucking in their hurt feelings in the media too—it seemed because they felt like people didn’t like them, or want them to win. Someone should do a video montage of the Heat’s press conferences this year, and put it to the music of Ralph Tresvant’s 90’s song Sensitivity. Even Heat coach Eric Spoelstra got in the act by telling the world (true or not) that players were in the locker room crying; after a
regular season game. That gets a, “Hmm?” on so many levels. My personal feeling from the start about the Heat was that I didn’t think their highwire act would play out in the playoffs, when teams actually play defense. But it has; though perhaps that’s because they haven’t faced any seemingly top-notch defenses just yet. As far as the Heat’s defense. Wade and James are great defenders, Bosh is long, and
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everybody else on the Heat is at least there to fill space. So though the chemistry still looks odd on defense as well, the Heat has been steadily getting the fundamentals of basketball strategy accomplished: score more baskets than the other team, and hustle on defense. The fact that the Heats’ expectations were promoted as something like “The Greatest Roller Coaster of All-Time”, have dampened the hype
that could have come from the loooong winning streaks they had this year, versus the roughly four losing streaks they experienced. The longest losing streak came around the midseason All-Star break, which is not a new phenomenon as the players minds wander to their version of recess. But there weren’t any losing streaks coming into the playoffs for the Heat. And so their train is virtually on track. A rollercoaster is a rollercoaster. And though the chemistry of the Miami Heat seems a little odd, the supertalented team is where they should be; though it doesn’t come off as the greatest version of basketball ever. Basketball is basketball and the Heat has a ton of talent. President Obama’s first term doesn’t seem like a new version of existence—though many seemingly thought his CHANGE meant life would suddenly become something new. America is America, and the President is making successful changes all over the place. The rollercoaster comes back to port, but most of the talk is about the drops, not the climbs. Maybe it isn’t just the media. Whether the Heat win the whole thing may likely fall to expectations too. At some point in time somebody has to play some good defense. As for me, the Lakers exited the playoffs unglamorously, so I’m going fishing. I should have expected that after Lamar Odom went the reality TV route with his Kardashian wife. A Bell Biv Devoe song comes to mind.
New retractable roof stadium in Arden Hills Ramsey County officials announced last week they have reached an agreement with the Minnesota Vikings to be the team’s local partner in the effort to build a new 1.6 millionsquare-foot retractable-roof, multi-purpose stadium in Arden Hills. The site of the publicly owned stadium will be the former Twin Cities Army Ammunitions Plant property. The agreement reached by the team and the County calls for an $884 million stadium and an additional $173 million for on-site infrastructure, parking and environmental costs, bringing the total project costs to $1.057 billion. The Vikings will commit $407 million to the project — 44% of the stadium costs and 39% of the overall costs. The state of Minnesota has committed $300 million. The county’s $350 million share will be financed with a half-cent sales tax increase. The team and the County are currently working with State legislative leaders and the Minnesota Department of Transportation on identifying costs and funding options for off-site road improvements, estimated to be $7 million per year. “This public-private partnership will allow us to get the redevelopment of the TCAAP site right,” said Ramsey County Commissioner Tony Bennett, whose district includes the TCAAP site. “This project will turn an environmental liability into an asset, clean up the largest Superfund site in the state, return property to the tax rolls, put people to work and provide for much-needed transportation infrastructure upgrades.” “Improvements to the TCAAP site and the surrounding transportation network will provide longterm benefits to the entire state and provide a higher return on public investment than any other proposed site,” said Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega. “This is an opportunity for Ramsey County to support a billion dollar economic development project for a portion of the total cost. No general fund dollars will be used to pay for this stadium development.” “Reaching an agreement with Ramsey County as our local partner is a major milestone in our efforts to finalize a long-term stadium solution, and we are pleased to have found such a strong and forthright partner,” said Zygi Wilf, Vikings owner and chairman. “While we certainly
appreciate the proposal by the City of Minneapolis, as well as the recent efforts by Hennepin County, we believe the Ramsey County site offers the most benefits to our fans, the team and the State and is the ideal site for a new stadium.” The 260-acre Ramsey County site is only 10 miles from both Minneapolis and St. Paul, providing easy access to fans from the entire metro area, as well as the team’s many fans throughout Minnesota and the upper Midwest. The location and the retractable roof will also make the new stadium an attractive option to potentially host largescale events like European and Major League Soccer, the NCAA Final Four, college football Bowl games and a Super Bowl. Finally, with an estimated 21,000 parking spaces, the site will bring back the long-time tailgating tradition, give the team and its fans a “Vikings destination” and make NFL
games a day-long fan experience with friends and family. “With a local partner and a site locked in, we can now focus on working with legislators and the governor to pass a stadium bill that secures the long-term future of the Vikings in Minnesota and supports thousands of muchneeded jobs,” said Mark Wilf, Vikings owner and president. “We look forward to working with State leaders to determine the State’s contribution.” Not only will a new stadium support thousands of jobs, it also will spur significant new economic activity at a time when the State desperately needs it. The stadium project is estimated to support 13,000 full and part-time jobs, including 7,500 construction jobs during the three-year construction period. Nearly $300 million of the overall project costs will be wages for construction workers, who currently have an unemployment rate of nearly
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AMERICAN HISTORY
20%, and approximately 95% of the total materials and labor costs are expected to go to local tradespeople in Minnesota.
The stadium bill was introduced in the House and Senate in April by lead sponsors Representative Morrie Lanning
(R-Moorhead) and Senator Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont), and the first committee hearings are expected to be scheduled soon.
Page 12 • May 16 - May 22, 2011 • Insight News
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