Word(s)PLAY! 2012 Staged readings of new Work at Penumbra Theatre MORE ON PAGE 9
Photo by Ann Marsden
Word(s)PLAY! New Play Festival at Penumbra.
INSIGHT NEWS July 23 - July 29, 2012 • MN Metro Vol. 38 No. 30 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com
Obama recognizes master teachers
Erin Jerabek
Dennis Werneke and STEP-UP intern Faduma Ali
American Chemical celebrates 25 years Business Leadership Profile By Erin Jerabek, Executive Director West Broadway Business Area Coalition North Side business, American Chemical is celebrating its 25th year of operation. The adhesive distributer and
manufacturer’s founder Dennis Werneke credits the success of the company with their ability to listen to their customers and problem solve through their challenges. “We listen to what the customer wants and needs, and work to identify how to solve the problem and find solutions to their adhesive or production needs,” said Werneke. American Chemical’s staff are trained adhesive experts and provide assistance and sales to a
WASHINGTON, DC -The Obama Administration announced the President’s plan for the creation of a new national Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Master Teacher Corps comprised of some of the nation’s finest educators in STEM subjects. The STEM Master Teacher Corps will begin with 50 STEM teachers established in 50 sites and will be expanded over four years to reach 10,000 Master Teachers. These selected teachers will make a multi-year commitment to the Corps and, in exchange for their expertise, leadership and service, will receive an annual stipend of up to $20,000 on top of their base salaries. The Administration will launch this Teacher Corps with the $1 billion from the President’s 2013 budget request currently before Congress. “If America is going to compete for the jobs and industries of tomorrow, we need to make sure our children are getting the best education possible. Teachers matter, and great teachers deserve our support,” said the President. The administration also announced that the President will immediately dedicate approximately $100 million of
STEM TURN TO 5
President Barack Obama
CHEMICAL TURN TO 11
Alexandrea Newell
U.S. Embassy-Dhaka
Congresswoman Betty McCollum and Ambassador Melanne Verveer visit Grameen and BRAC projects at Shingair village, Manikganj earlier this year.
McCollum legislation fights child marriage Washington, DC – Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) have once again introduced legislation to stem the devastating impact of child marriage on young girls in developing countries. An estimated 10 million girls are married before the age of 18 each year, some as young as 7. The McCollum-Schock International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act, H.R. 6087, promotes and protects the rights of girls in the
developing world. H.R. 6087 declares child marriage to be a human rights abuse, establishes a strategy to prevent child marriage and promote the empowerment of girls, integrates the issue of preventing child marriage into existing US development programs, and requires that relevant agencies collect and make available data on the rates of child marriage and its impact on meeting key development goals.
WOMEN TURN TO 11
Voter Suppression
NAACP convention highlighted voting challenges
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The Somali American Youth Conference created a space for Ka Joog Nonprofit Organization members, local youth leaders, and community organizers to voice their concerns and solutions before representatives from the local government and the Department of Homeland Security.
Somali youth seek solutions By Abeni Hill Insight Intern Somali youth are coming together to find solutions for the issues their communities face in Minnesota, specifically in Minneapolis. The Somali American Youth Conference was held on Sat. Jul. 14 at Augsburg College by the nonprofit organization, Ka Joog. Ka Joog, 2625 East Franklin Ave. Ste. LL-7, is a Minneapolisbased non-profit seeking to better many different aspects of the Somali community. One of the discussion topics was gang violence. “Gangs in the Somali community aren’t territorial,”
Education
Bookawocky chemistry program engages inquisitive kids and parents
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said Sgt. Derwin Ellis of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. “They are mobile.” Ellis said there is a lack of communication between law enforcement and the Somali community. He said he believes one of the reasons is because the Somali people do not understand the American justice system. He told a story relating to the Seward killings, where three men were killed at the Seward Market in January 2010. There was a juvenile suspect in custody and Ellis said there were about 200 people in the court calling him a murderer. He tried to explain to them that the suspect is innocent until proven guilty and has rights to a trial and a lawyer.
Ellis also works as a community liaison for minorities in Hennepin County and works mostly on the Northside. He works with Latinos, African-Americans, Native Americans as well as Somalis. Ellis said there should be more accommodations for gang members who practice Islam. “I break up my agenda around prayer time,” said Ellis. Ellis also said he has noticed halfway houses and group homes for gang members are not very inclusive, not providing different meals for Muslim diets as well as meal preparation for Ramadan. Although law enforcement can take part in preventing or
Business
If you are bored, you are boring
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minimizing gang violence, some forum participants also said parents and educators can play a key role. “Everything starts at home”, said Eden Prairie Ka Joog member Omar Mohamed. Mohamed also talked about the lack of role models in the Somali community. “We don’t see the college graduates. All we see are the hustlers.” “Parents need to learn the system,” said Ka Joog member Anquam Mahamoud. Mahamoud also said parents raise boys and girls in distinctly different ways. “Young women have more responsibility at home while when young men come home and the parents say
YOUTH TURN TO 5
Aesthetics
Sugar Ray Leonard: The Big Fight
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Page 2 • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Insight News
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NAACP convention highlighted voting challenges By Aswad Walker Special to the NNPA from The Houston Defender HOUSTON (NNPA) – The NAACP’s recently concluded national convention here saw its share of highlights. They included dramatic and powerful addresses by political and civil rights leaders and a host of workshops aimed at empowering members for active participation in the November presidential election. The speech by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney also drew a lot of attention. Though Romney received a polite reception and a standing ovation at the end of his speech, most of the attention focused on the fact that he was booed for promising
to eliminate what he called “Obamacare.” Romney began, however, by telling NAACP members they would vote for him if they knew his heart. Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke at the convention the day after Romney, received a rousing reception from the crowd. Biden criticized attacks on the right to vote in the wake of voter suppression efforts in states across the country, and also called for an end to racial profiling. President Barack Obama appeared via a taped video message that ran before Biden spoke. “I stand on your shoulders and at the NAACP you have always believed in the American promise,” Obama said. Ben Jealous, the NAACP’s president and CEO, spoke during the convention’s first plenary session. He challenged members to fight back against
efforts to suppress their vote. “In the past year, more states have passed more laws pushing more voters out of the ballot box than at any time since the rise of Jim Crow,” Jealous said. “The right to vote is the right upon which the ability to defend all our other rights is leveraged. We will ensure that our nation continues to practice free and fair elections even as we approach the day when people of color will be the majority in this country.” Attorney General Eric Holder also spoke at the convention. With the theme “NAACP: Your Power, Your Decision – Vote” serving as the programmatic backdrop, Holder held nothing back when discussing Texas’ new voter ID law, declaring that the edict hurts minorities. He said that party politics, rather than the well-being of the nation, was and remains
NAACP President Ben Jealous vows to protect the ballot the driving force behind the Republican-led legislation many view as wanton acts of voter suppression. “We will not allow political pretext to disenfranchise American citizens of their most precious rights,” said Holder,
who identified Texas as the “center of our national debate” on voting rights issues. Holder’s remarks came while the federal trial in the nation’s capital regarding Texas’ 2011 voter ID law witnessed its second day of
NNPA
arguments and testimony. He promised an aggressive fight from the Justice Department to enforce and protect voting rights.
NNPA TURN TO 3
Obama needs another record Black turnout to win By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief WASHINGTON (NNPA) – If Black voter turnout reverts to the level it was before Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in 2008, the nation’s first Black president will have a difficult time winning a second term in the White House, concludes a National Urban League report released Monday. The report, “The Hidden
Swing Voters: Impact of AfricanAmericans in 2012,” was written by Madura Wijewarden and Valerie Wilson of the National Urban League Policy Institute based in Washington. The report observed, “In 2012, if the African-American voter turnout rate in every state declines to 60%, which was the national voter turnout rate for African-Americans in 2004, then we estimate: “President Barack Obama will not win North Carolina – a
decline in African-American turnout will lead to a loss of 63,706 votes which is 4.5 times the 2008 margin of victory. “President Barack Obama will have difficulty winning Ohio and Virginia – lower AfricanAmerican turnout will lead to a loss of almost a quarter of the margin of victory in 2008.” President Obama may have difficulty matching the record Black turnout of 2008.
TURNOUT TURN TO 5
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Insight News • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Page 3
Track and field event
Photos: Suluki Fardan
Chris Schaffer, Director of Mission Delivery for the American Diabetes Association (left) talking to a staff member.
Three legged-race
Stairstep Foundation holds 9th Annual Church Olympics By Ivan B. Phifer Staff Writer Despite the 109 heat index, Stairstep Foundation/His Works United culminated its 9th Annual Church Olympics and Health Fair activities Jun. 29. During the week of activities over 3000 people and 30 churches were involved in Roller Skating, 3x3 Basketball and Track and Field events. The Stairstep Foundation founded by Alfred BabingtonJohnson is a 501(c)(3) formed in 1992 with a mission to promote a strong spirit of community among African-Americans. Stairstep achieves this mission by provoking discussion and encouraging others to embrace community, as well as creating and documenting replicable models and strategies to build community. Many health partners such as U-Care and North Point Health & Wellness, Open Cities health Clinic, manned booths dispensing vital information and provided screenings ranging from blood pressure tests to glucose readings. Rev. Alfred Babington-
NNPA From 2 That same day, the NAACP Voting Rights Initiative hosted a mini summit titled “Confronting the Attack on Voting Rights: Stopping Voter Suppression, Breaking Down Barriers, and Expanding our Rights.” William Barber, president of the North Carolina State Conference and NAACP Political Action and Legislative Committee Chair, led panelists in a discussion on contemporary tactics used to restrict voting rights and new measures needed to combat suppressive efforts. Other mini summit topics included economic development, entrepreneurship and HIV/ AIDS in the African-American community. Convention participants were also treated to a memorable keynote address by NAACP icon and Chairman Emeritus Julian Bond, who added his voice to the chorus of individuals urging active participation in the November election. The breadth of challenges facing Blacks were listed by Roslyn M. Brock, chairman of the NAACP’s National Board of Directors, during the convention’s opening mass meeting. “Today, the enemies of justice are not lynching African Americans and practicing Jim Crow laws of segregation,” said Brock. “They are more sophisticated. But they are equally sinister. They are erecting barriers to economic viability, educational quality, health care accessibility, judicial equity, and political opportunity. The opponents of justice are more refined, but they are equally threatening.” Brock added that the iconic civil rights institution’s mission
Johnson explained that Stairstep has facilitated the Church Olympics as part of a broader effort to strengthen collaboration among African American churches in the metropolitan area, since 2003. “The desired goal is demonstrate the credibility and enhance the capacity of our cooperating congregations to narrow the gap of disparate health outcomes between African-Americans and nonHispanic whites” he said. Stairstep has 22 health site coordinators that meet monthly to learn about health issues and fashion strategies that they implement in their respective congregations. The Church Olympics allow a celebration of the varied activities that take place throughout the year. The first place prize was won by Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, pastored by the Rev. Billy Russell. Greater Friendship always fields a competitive team and including being this years champion that have won the 1st place trophy in three other years. “It’s more than just
placing,” said Brenda Bell, a member of the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. “It is about getting healthy, fellowshipping and coming out to show the community church folks want to have fun too.” Bell said Rev. Russell encouraged members of his congregations to get fit. “Back in January, he challenged us to lose 30 pounds by June 30,” she said. Even though Bell admits jokingly she did not take part in that endeavor, she admires her pastor’s enthusiasm. “Usually people complain about being too heavy, or that they can’t do it and Pastor Russell stands at the pulpit and challenges us to get fit,” she said. “It’s a very important event for our community,” said Babette Jamison, African and African-American Health Coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Health. “This is the opportunity for us to do a lot of health related outreach; an opportunity to reach out to people who may not have an opportunity to access this information and knowledge,”
remains constant – to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and
racial discrimination – but that the organization has developed a new game plan, adapting new strategies to address “this ‘new normal’ in American society.”
she said. Jamison led the partnership of the Department of health with the event by providing funding to have the Southside Clinic’s Community Mobile Unit on site to provide screenings. “One of the main things with the Office of Minority Multi-Cultural Health, is we can contribute to engaging communities in developing programs and supportive services to improve the health of our communities,” Jamison said. “It is also about hearing what the community needs, and wants, and being able to deliver those services.” U-Care is a health insurance service for Medicaid
members with Medicare plans, for low-income individuals. “Everyone should have their annual check-ups, immunizations and make sure they are preventing diseases,” said Dee Dee Brown, Provider Assistance Center worker. “We are here to make sure kids are healthy and staying out of trouble. U-Care represents healthy eating and healthy physical activities,” said Brown. Brown pointed out that in the African-American community; fast food and fried foods are common place. “Eventually, it turns into high blood pressure and diabetes, which is not good in the long term,” said Brown.
The results competition were:
of
the
1st Place: Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church 2 nd Place Living Word Church and Word Outreach Ministries 3 rd Place: Progressive Baptist Church 4 th Place: Wayman A.M.E 5th Place: He is Risen COGIC 6th Place: Greater Mt Vernon Missionary Baptist Church. The Church Olympics and Family Outing are held annually during the fourth week of June. “This is something we should be able to do every weekend instead of just once a year,” Jamison said.
Page 4 • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Insight News
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EDUCATION
Hennepin County Library
Randy Siedschlag (right), a chemistry graduate student at the University of Minnesota, showed Bloomington residents (left to right) Carly Peterson, and Blue and Makae Brieschke how to make “hamster toothpaste” at a “Chemists in the Library” program at Hennepin County Library – Oxboro on July 14. Randy jokingly calls his experiment “hamster toothpaste” because it’s a soapy solution made in a tiny test tube. It is not intended to be used with real hamsters.
Bookawocky chemistry program engages inquisitive kids and parents Kids attended a “Chemists in the Library” program on Saturday, July 14 at the Oxboro Library in Bloomington. The program was sponsored by the Minnesota Section of the American Chemical Society and was part of Hennepin County Library’s “Bookawocky” summer programs for children
and teens. The community room was packed with inquisitive kids, parents, and grandparents. The “Chemists in the Library” program was coordinated by Phil Buhlmann, associate professor of chemistry at the Univ. of MN and chair of the Outreach Committee of the MN section of the American
Chemical Society. Other chemists who participated were Dave Blackburn, chemistry professor at Century College; Wayne Haag, retired Century College chemistry professor; and Linda NankoYeager, a retired chemist at pharmaceutical companies on the East Coast.
Volunteers assisting were Keiko Buhlmann, Phil’s wife; Kelsey Boyle, a U of M chemistry student; Helena Qi, a chemical physics major at Wellesley College in Boston who is in the Twin Cities this summer doing research work with a U of M professor; and Randy Siedschlag, a U of M
chemistry graduate student. The chemists and assistants demonstrated chemical reactions, including: • Color-changing chemical reaction using dry ice • Make your own super ball • “Balloon on a Stick” • “Chemistry in a Bag” --
endothermic (cold) and exothermic (heat) reactions • A “CSI” (crime scene investigation)-type experiment with changing color • Make your own “hamster toothpaste” • Make your own play putty
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Insight News • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Page 5
College can end generational poverty One adult with a college degree can end the cycle of generational poverty in a family forever. However, fewer than nine percent of students from low-income backgrounds receive their bachelor’s degree by age 24. Ayriel Hadley graduated from Saint Louis University this May, and she is the first in her family to graduate from college. She said she wouldn’t have been able to navigate the college process without six years of support from local nonprofit College Bound, founded in 2006. “The whole college process and the friendships I’ve built through College Bound, they have been important in my life and development,” Hadley said. “Without that, I’d either be working at a chain restaurant or worse. In my environment, there are a lot of ways to make money, but they aren’t all legal and that’s the sad truth.” On June 9, Hadley and
Turnout From 2 “Some 2.4 million more African-Americans voted in 2008 compared to 2004,” the National urban League Report found. “This was a 16% increase in African-Americans who voted to bring the total to 16.67 million voters.” And that increase was reflected across various age groups. “African-Americans between 18 to 44 years old had higher turnout rates than their white (non-Hispanic) counterparts – 6 points higher for 18 to 25 year olds and 1.9 points higher for 26 to 44 year olds,” the report stated. “This was the first time any race/ ethnic group had surpassed the white (non-Hispanic) turnout.” In addition, the report found: “The number of AfricanAmericans who voted grew by 16.4% between 2004 and 2008 – this was an additional 2.4 million African-American voters. This was 2.11 times the rate of growth in the African-American citizen, over 18 years population.”
STEM From 1 the existing Teacher Incentive Fund toward helping school districts implement highquality plans to establish career ladders that identify, develop, and leverage highlyeffective STEM teachers. With an application deadline of Jul. 27, more than 30 school districts across America have already signaled their interest in competing for funding to identify and compensate highly effective teachers who can model and mentor STEM instruction for their teaching peers, providing those teachers with additional compensation, recognition, and responsibilities in their schools. These administration plans build on a key recommendation of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), calling for a national STEM Master Teacher Corps to recognize and help retain America’s most talented STEM teachers, build a community of practice among them, raise
Youth From 1 ‘you can do what you like.’” Mahamoud said some young Somali men did not have structure when they were raised. “When you get older, they (the parents) want you to become men.” Some participants said that back in Somalia many people suffered and were oppressed under police brutality. “The Somali people are afraid of law enforcement,” said Youth Leadership Development Coordinator of Somali Action Alliance Hindia Ali. Another issue that was brought up was the no-snitching policy. Members of the Somali
stories through a video. “They always said I was smart, but you just don’t know. You’ve never seen anyone reach that level, so you don’t think that you could,” said Alexis Jamerison in a 2008 interview. She will graduate from Saint Louis University in December. Nelson Dorvlo graduated from Lake Forest College in May. “We all came from the same situation but we made it out,” Dorvlo said. “We all had the same dream of being somebody. College Bound brought us together to help us achieve that goal together.” Tanner Senter, who graduated from Lake Forest College in May, is the first college graduate in his family. “My father has been absent in my life,” he said. “You hear about it on TV – a young black man without a father goes and becomes a criminal.” “Every student who has gone through our program, they graduate from high school, and they go on to college,” Zarin said. This year, College Bound was one of 10 organizations – out of 374 studied – that
the Education Policy Institute recognized as a “blueprint of success” for pre-college outreach programs. It was also the youngest organization selected. Zarin said some students entered the program with a 1.8 GPA. “These kids showed that if you gave them the resources, knowledge, support and love, they could totally do what they needed to do,” Zarin said. Hadley said, aside from academics, she learned selfesteem and trust in people from the program. “Self-esteem came through building strong relationships with basically adult strangers. We trusted them with personal information. And it was a highly supportive environment. Even when you failed, they acknowledged that it occurred and it doesn’t have to occur again,” Hadley said. “This program should be available for everybody not just people in St. Louis. It would bring up society. Because with all the outcasts, College Bound picks them up, polishes them up and puts them back in society, and that’s what we need.”
to 78.3 percent –the same rate as for African-Americans in Maryland – and the turnout remains the same as it was in 2008, an additional 3 million African-American voters can be gained this year, according to projections in the National
the white vote. CNN exit polls in 2008 showed Republican candidate John McCain holding a 54 percent to 45 percent edge over then-Senator Obama among white voters. The November presidential election will pit Barack Obama, the nation’s first AfricanAmerican president, against Mitt Romney, the first Mormon to win the nomination of a major party for president. The Urban League report observed, “This expansion of access to the highest office in the land to different racial, ethnic and religious minorities through leadership of both political parties is a cause for celebration.” For Blacks to celebrate again, however, they will have to match or exceed the enthusiasm generated in 2008 by the election of the nation’s first AfricanAmerican president. As the report reminded readers, “This was perhaps the first time in the history of the world that a people had popularly elected a member of a racial minority as their head of state with executive authority.”
35 other students of the College Bound’s first college graduating class celebrated together at Cap & Gown Ball at the Hyatt Regency downtown. These students come from
low-income backgrounds and lacked the support they needed to navigate the college process. “I had been looking forward to it for weeks,” said
Hadley, who was also the keynote speaker. “It was better than my high school prom.” When Lisa Zarin founded the organization in 2006, she had just gone through the college application process with her own son. Her son had one counselor to every 20 students, and getting the paperwork together still felt overwhelming, she said. Counselors serving lowincome neighborhoods often look after 500 students. “It just kept me up at night,” Zarin said. “So I said I am going to figure out a way to bring the process and the privileges that kids from high-income backgrounds have to kids from low-income neighborhoods.” Today, College Bound is working with 469 students attending 39 local high schools and 70 colleges and universities throughout the country. Their seven-year program begins at the end of a student’s freshman year of high school and follows them through completion of college. At the event, several students from the first graduating class shared their
African-Americans clearly made a difference in North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana and Florida. “The 2008 victory by thenSenator Barack Obama in North Carolina was primarily due to the growth in African-American voters in that state,” the report said. “The number of additional African-Americans who voted in North Carolina in 2008 compared to 2004 was nearly nine times the margin of victory in North Carolina – an additional 127,000 African-Americans voted and the margin of victory was 14,177.” The National Urban League study estimated that if John McCain had received an additional 2 points in support from African-Americans in North Carolina, he would have defeated Obama, a lesson that is apparently not lost on Mitt Romney, who has begun courting the African-American vote. Growth in the Black vote between 2004 and 2008 in Virginia was nearly equal to Obama’s margin of victory there in 2008. And in Indiana and Florida, African-American
growth over that same period represented nearly 80 percent of the margin of victory in those states in 2008, according to the report. The progress of 2008 could be undermined if efforts to dilute the Black vote are successful, the
of government depends more on achieving that expansion of the electoral franchise than anything else. This makes 2012 a crucial election.” Even though phenomenal growth has been achieved in Black voter turnout, voter
report said. “Efforts by several states to introduce voter identification requirements and limitations on early and postal voting are casting doubts on whether the diverse electorate of 2008 will be maintained, let alone expanded,” it stated. “The stability and legitimacy of the republican form
registration has not kept pace with that progress. The 69.7 percent Black voter registration rate in 2008 was 3.8 percent lower than the rate for whites. But the turnout rate for African-Americans was only 1.4 points lower than whites. If the Black registration rate of 69.7 percent in 2008 can be increased
Urban League report. Getting Blacks registered is half the battle because once they sign up, they are more likely to vote (92.8 percent) than whites (90 percent) or Latinos (84 percent). Like Bill Clinton before him, Obama became president without winning a majority of
the profile of the STEM teaching profession and leverage excellent teachers to collaborate with their peers to strengthen STEM education in America’s public schools.
in improving learning outcomes for their students, model outstanding teaching and share their practices and strategies with their professional colleagues to lead and guide improvements across education. Master teachers know and are deeply interested in their subject, care about improving their craft, and inspire both their students and fellow teachers. PCAST recommended that the STEM Master Teacher Corps become a national resource – a networked community of outstanding public school teachers of STEM subjects who can serve as resources to each other and to other educators in schools and communities nationwide, and who would signal the value of STEM education to America’s future. An administration statement said in order to ensure America’s students are prepared for success in an increasingly competitive global economy, we must do more to ensure that teaching is highly respected and supported as a profession, and that accomplished, effective teachers are guiding students’
learning in every classroom. The Obama Administration’s 2013 budget includes a new, $5 billion program – the RESPECT Project, which stands for Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence, and Collaborative Teaching – that it said will re-envision the teaching profession for the 21st Century. The announcements build on the RESPECT project by supporting STEM master teachers as a key strategy to retain and reward our nation’s most accomplished STEM educators, and by enabling them to work in new ways to dramatically improve student achievement. Lifting up
America’s teachers is critical to recruiting promising talent, retaining the best, and continuously improving outcomes for students. As part of the RESPECT project, the STEM Master Teacher Corps will be supported by the U.S. Department of Education, and established in collaboration with independent, non-profit organizations and local publicprivate partnerships between STEM-related businesses and industries and school districts. Key parts of the plan include a rigorous selection of the best and brightest math and science teachers from across the country, a national recognition and rewards, including
By Rebecca Rivas Special to the NNPA from the St. Louis American
Photo by Peter Wochniak
Ayriel Hadley, who graduated from Saint Louis University in May, celebrated on Saturday with 35 other students of College Bound’s first college graduating class at the Cap & Gown Ball at the Hyatt Regency downtown.
Supporting Master Teachers through recognition, respect, and rewards Early in his Administration, President Obama called for a national effort to help move American students from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math achievement. The Obama Administration is committed to preparing young people both to learn deeply and think critically in STEM, and to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary for jobs in the high-growth fields that fuel American innovation. Improving STEM teaching is a key strategy to reaching this national goal. To meet this critical need, PCAST issued the Prepare and Inspire report, with a key recommendation calling for the creation of a new, national STEM Master Teacher Corps. Master Teachers are classroom-based educators who are highly effective
community fear retaliation from gang members if they tell the police they witnessed a crime. “One person does something, no one is going to talk,” said Mohamed. Ali said there was a program to protect people who gave law enforcement information about crimes, but it is underfunded. “We are asking people to speak out, but it is still quiet,” said Ellis. Most gang members are male and between the ages of 17 and 25. There is belief that young people in the Somali community might not want to listen to their elders. “There is still a disconnection between the elders and the youth,” said Ka Joog Director of Operations
“Growth in the Black vote between 2004 and 2008 in Virginia was nearly equal to Obama’s margin of victory there in 2008. And in Indiana and Florida, African-American growth over that same period represented nearly 80 percent of the margin of victory in those states in 2008, according to the report.”
Abdimalik Mohamed. One solution that was suggested was for peer mentors. “Youth should talk to youth,” said Mohamed. “I have talked to a gang member and we saw eye to eye.” Mohamed also said we should not treat gang members as a problem. “We need to get to know them as who they are as people,” said Mohamed. “If we don’t treat them as people, they can’t treat us as people.” Other topics discussed at the conference were health disparities and lack of economic and educational opportunities. For more information about the issues facing the Somali community or about Ka Joog, visit http://www.kajoog.org/.
compensation to keep Corps members in the profession and Corps members as a national resource, for their schools and for other STEM educators. The statement went on to say these efforts will be complemented as well by private sector responses to the President’s call for an “all hands on deck” approach to excellence in STEM education. The announcements align with the President’s belief that excellent STEM teaching requires both deep content knowledge and strong teaching skills, and his strong leadership in working to improve STEM education.
Page 6 • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Insight News
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COMMENTARY Shift wasteful defense spending to domestic needs Nobody Asked Me
By Fred Easter
INSIGHT NEWS www.insightnews.com
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 Culture and Education Editor Irma McClaurin Director of Content & Production Patricia Weaver Sr. Content & Production Coordinator Ben Williams Production Intern Natalie Benz Distribution/Facilities Manager Jamal Mohamed Facilities Support / Assistant Producer, Conversations with Al McFarlane Bobby Rankin Receptionist Lue B. Lampley Staff Writer Ivan B. Phifer Insight Intern Abeni Hill Contributing Writers Cordie Aziz Harry Colbert, Jr. Julie Desmond Fred Easter Oshana Himot Timothy Houston Alaina L. Lewis Lydia Schwartz 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.
Nobody asked me, but a lot of people are paying attention to the wrong set of facts. I hear Tea Party politicians complaining about the deficit. They say that Obamacare and Medicare are too costly, not sustainable. I’ll tell you what’s not sustainable. Did you know that China has the second largest defense budget in the world? They spend just under 90 billion dollars a year on defense. It shouldn’t surprise you that we’re in first place. In fact, we’re on the other side of just first place. Our defense budget is larger than the COMBINED defense budgets of the countries that rank 2 through 11 on the list. Our defense budget is 739 billion dollars per year. What is even more shocking to me is that we
have troops deployed in 175 countries around the world. Please don’t ask me what we’re doing in each of the 175 countries. We are not, happily, fighting 175 wars although, at times, it has seemed that way.
have quite the same impact as “The Teacher Corps”. Sadly, when you look into the realities of our military involvement in 175 sovereign nations, at least two disturbing categories emerge. There is
“How can we justify spending billions per year on their defense while cutting the salaries of firemen and policemen at home?” Happily, we do not have 175 enemies. Heck, we may not have 175 friends either. In fact, having arrogant, entitled, wellarmed foreigners wandering around one’s country does not
a set of countries that wish we would go away, but can’t compel us to do so. Cuba falls into this category. Guantanamo Bay is in Cuba. Maybe you could make
the argument that we need to keep an eye on those “commie Cubans,” but Cuba’s defense budget is probably smaller than Minneapolis’ budget for snow removal. Plus, they’re close enough to us to be monitored electronically. Defectors from there have shown up on our shores in boats that would have three guys with their limit of walleyes if you found them on Mille Lac. A second category, even more troubling, includes most of the countries of western Europe. We are a major part of the “national” defense of the likes of Germany, France, England and others. How can we justify spending billions per year on their defense while cutting the salaries of firemen and policemen at home. How can the Tea Party
complain about entitlement programs for Americans like unemployment benefits and Medicare and be OK with western Europeans being entitled to U.S. funded “national defense” of western Europe? I’m sure there are important strategic advantages to some of our foreign deployments, but 175 is a tough sell. And, what effect on our deficit or our recession would a defense budget of, say, 600 billion or 500 billion have? More than 5 times more defense than China ought to be sufficient to keep us safe. Nobody likes China and WE are the bastion of freedom, right? Yeah, unless you’re poor, dark skinned, elderly, gay, Muslim, or in a union, and you like to vote.
Bye, bye state prison shutdowns, hello jobs, perhaps By Sharon Brooks Commentary (Part 1 of 4) When we hear the phrase private schools we often think of a “better education” for our children. But what exactly comes to mind when we hear private prisons? Do we think better incarceration for those who are locked down? I’m asking because this topic is hot and
currently on the table. One reputable company, Correction Corporation America –CCA (NYSE: CXW) is very interested in making private prison ownership a reality across the entire United States. They offered to save each of our debt-ridden states, Minnesota included, by buying out the state prisons for millions of dollars above whatever debt is owed (close to $50 million here), which would put our state (and the other 48 states – Ohio already closed the deal in
2011 at $72 million) in a good position financially. Bye, bye state shutdowns, hello jobs, perhaps? Before getting too excited about this seemingly great opportunity for the financial situation here, I must warn there is some small print to consider in this contract. Our beloved state government would have to agree to keep the prisons at least 90 percent full at all times during the proposed 20-year contract. That means that everybody is at risk for incarceration. Things
could get real ugly around town with the state trying to stay in compliance with this big money contract. CCA, which was started in 1983 by three businessmen in Tennessee, is an extremely wealthy company and it intends to stay that way. With its support, stricter criminal laws are being passed by legislation, increased arrests, convictions and sentencing can occur, and then there is our own additional participation in CCA’s increased wealth. We as African-Americans provide a
steady influx of young and old men and women daily, who are out of work, out of school and low on hope. With this mixture, the state will not have a problem keeping the quota filled for a long time to come. Contact your state representative today and find out if he or she supports the bid that CCA has put in. Then ask yourself, do you? Sharon Brooks is founder of Peace of Hope, peaceofhope@ excite.com
What can we do to end violence in our community? By Demetairs Bell Nearly sixteen years ago on Oct. 16, 1995, Minister
Louis Farrakhan called upon one million Black men for a meeting in the nation’s capital. This meeting was a call to action. During this meeting
Black men were instructed to apologize to Black women for the unfair burden placed on their shoulders of keeping the Black family, church and
community afloat. We as Black men were instructed to get involved in our children’s lives, participate in the political process, join a civic group, take a stance in our community and rid it of guns, drugs and senseless violence. Many of the social ills that affect the Black community were identified at this meeting. They included high unemployment rates, damaged school systems, crime, drugs and etcetera. After leaving the meeting I felt good, recharged and ready to do my part to make the community, thus my country I live in a better place for children that came after me to enjoy as I did as a child. I’m a 1970s child. I lived in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul, Jordan neighborhood in North Minneapolis and the West Side of Des Moines, Ia. Some people would view those communities as a tough place to live but I can honestly say the communities I grew up in were a safe place for children. Sure crime existed, always has and always will, however children were off limits. Fast Forward to July, 2012, North Minneapolis, and two Black children under the age of seven were murdered in cold blood less than eight months apart. In South Side Chicago, gun violence is spiraling out of control averaging more than 25 shootings a weekend. Many of the city’s mortuaries are concerned because they are burying more children than elderly adults. Black man, Black woman, this is downright awful. So often I hear people say, “Children are the future” or how much they love children. I say really? After the call to action in 1995 things did get better in our communities, but lately there seems to be some serious regressing with the emergence of a new enemy. This new enemy does not care about anyone or anything that isn’t a part of whatever they’re a part of. It has been identified that Blacks do not have the means to flood our communities with illegal guns and drugs, yet this new enemy gladly partakes in the drug trade which is largely responsible for much of the crime in urban areas inhibited by Blacks. This new enemy does not realize how they are being played by the power players that allow them to turn the Black community into Beirut, thus causing many to leave the community and driving down property values leaving the door wide open for gentrification. My question to
Black men and women is how much longer will we continue to suffer in silence? How much more running are we going to do? How many more innocent children do we have to lose before we say enough? There has been much talk in Black communities throughout America lately regarding how to address this wave of crime that is literally robbing our children of their childhoods. One tactic that has been brought up is to bring in the National Guard. Some oppose this idea for various valid reasons; one being the guard does not know when to leave. Some people within the Black community do not believe things are that bad but I say, don not be fooled. It is that bad and maybe help from outside the Black community is not such a bad idea. I firmly believe we as Blacks have had ample opportunity to work out any differences and clean-up our communities ourselves however that has not happened. We have not learned and or practiced conflict resolution which is resulting in generational beefs. Personally, I would gladly take some harassment from the National Guard about a curfew rather than to catch a stray bullet from someone that does not know how to correctly use his or her weapon. It is admirable how other communities are able to set aside differences when it comes to the welfare of their children. Had one child been murdered in any other community over some nonsense heads would have rolled. Are not Black children worthy of that same affection, love and protection? Or does saying, “I love children” just sound good coming out of people’s mouths? The problems that exist within the Black community are extremely complex and no one person or idea is going to fix them. I will not pretend to have the answer because I do not. But just like in 1995 I would like to be a part of a call to action to make the community I live in a better place for children. How far are you willing to go for peace? How much do you love Black children? Do you want Black parents to allow their children to play outside in front of their own homes or at a park without the fear of gunfire erupting? The time for action is now. We have already identified that guns and drugs are not manufactured “in the ‘hood.” Now is the time to stop selling drugs and using guns versus intervention as a means to settle differences. My question is a simple one. What are we as Black people going to do?
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Insight News • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Page 7
LIFESTYLE Attract birds, butterflies no matter what size your landscape By Melinda Myers Add a little extra color and motion to your summer garden with containers designed to attract birds and butterflies. Many garden centers continue to sell annuals throughout the summer and many of these midseason annuals are a bit bigger, providing instant impact. It’s easier than you think to attract birds and butterflies and the good news is you don’t need a lot of space to do it. Container gardens give you the ability to attract wildlife to your backyard, patio, deck or even balcony. Simply follow these four steps and your garden will be filled
with color, motion and a season of wildlife. 1Provide food for birds and butterflies. Include plants with flat daisy-like flowers like pentas, zinnias, and cosmos to attract butterflies. For hummingbirds, include some plants with tubular flowers including nicotiana, cuphea, salvia, and fuchsia. And don’t forget about the hungry caterpillars that will soon turn into beautiful butterflies. Parsley, bronze fennel, and licorice vines are a few favorites that make great additions to container gardens. You can even create containers that will attract seedeating birds. Purple Majesty millet, coneflower, coreopsis, and Rudbeckias will keep many
of the birds returning to your landscape. 2Include water for both the birds and butterflies. It’s a key ingredient and a decorative small shallow container filled with water can be included in a large container. Or include a free-standing birdbath within your container collection. I used a bronzed leaf birdbath in just this way. It created a great vertical accent, added interest to a blank wall and provided a water supply for the birds. 3- Give them a place to live and raise their young. Add a few evergreens, ornamental grasses, and perennials to your container garden. Use weather resistant containers that can tolerate the extreme heat and cold in your garden. Then fill with plants that are at least one zone hardier. Or add a few birdhouses. These can be included in the container or mounted on a fence, post, or nearby tree. 4Skip the pesticides, please. Nature, including the birds you invite into your
landscape, will devour many garden pests. Plus, the chemicals designed to kill the bad guys can also kill the good bugs and wildlife you are trying to attract. And, if pests get out of hand, use more eco-friendly products like soaps, Neem, and horticulture oil as a control mechanism. And, as always, read and follow label directions carefully. And to conserve time and energy, try using one of the selfwatering containers or hanging baskets that are on the market. This helps to make it both easy and convenient when time constraints and vacations get in the way of providing ideal care. I recently tried using one of the Gardener’s Supply Easy Roller self-watering containers. I filled one with wildlife-friendly petunias along with papyrus and golden moneywort. After a five-day trip during hot dry weather I returned to find my container garden in great shape and hummingbirds visiting the
LANDSCAPE TURN TO 8
Melinda Myers LLC
Page 8 • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Insight News
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BUSINESS
If you are bored, you are boring Plan Your Career By Julie Desmond julie@insightnews.com That’s what Grandma used to say, most often on a hot afternoon in late summer when even the neighborhood pool was painfully old. Fast forward to today, you are an adult reading this because you are either interested, curious, or bored with everything else in your life at the moment. Whatever you are, don’t be bored. Maybe you checked into your twitter account because you were curious about the day’s events. Now, you’ve been reading other people’s tweets for the last couple hours, and can hardly keep your eyes open. Rub the sleep out of your eyes and challenge yourself. You are bored by everyone else. What is your next tweet going to say? More of the same? Or do you have something valuable and clever
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to add to the conversation? The very act of striving for something clever to say will force your mind to wake up
and get interested. Maybe your job requires talking to customers all day long. You know you need to treat every shopper as if they are your first and only.
Landscape From 7 flowers. So gather your family and get started planting your wildlife container garden today. Nationally known gardening
But realize, the weather bores them, too. Listen up for a clever joke or passing comment made by your first client (nothing confidential, of course) that you can pass on to
your second client. That could lead to something interesting you can bring to the third customer and so on. If you live in Minnesota, try going through one entire day without
expert, TV/radio host, author & columnist Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening. She hosts the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment segments which air on over 115
TV and radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and writes the twice monthly “Gardeners’ Questions” newspaper column. Melinda also has a column in Gardening How-to magazine. Melinda hosted “The Plant Doctor” radio program for over 20 years as well as seven seasons of Great
mentioning the weather. Good luck on that. Maybe you are looking for work and have told your job history story a hundred times. Are you so disinterested in your own background that you wouldn’t even hire yourself? Your interviewer is just as worn out as you are. Really, they have to ask the same questions of dozens of people; you only have to talk about this position a few times. Try using anecdotes to explain your background. You sell insurance, you say? Okay. You work for the company that insures the limbs of Olympic athletes? Now, to many people, that’s more fascinating. Maybe you picked up the paper because you had to wait for a ride. You notice a catchy headline. You read on. Now you are moving from bored to interested. How easy is that? If think you are tired of something, get yourself into situations that make other people more interesting. Because if you are interested and curious, you will never be bored and, it follows, you will never be boring. Julie Desmond is a Certified Staffing Professional. Write to julie@lakeregionstaffing.com.
Lakes Gardener on PBS. She has written articles for Better Homes and Gardens and Fine Gardening and was a columnist and contributing editor for Backyard Living magazine. Melinda has a master’s degree in horticulture, is a certified arborist and was a horticulture instructor with tenure. Her web site is www.melindamyers.com
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Insight News • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Page 9
AESTHETICS Sugar Ray Leonard: The Big Fight on to become the first fighter to earn over $100 million over the course of an enviable career, winning world championship titles in five different weight classes while squaring-off in classic showdowns with such formidable opponents as Roberto “No Mas” Duran, Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns, Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Wilfred Benitez. Ray retired from the ring in 1997 with a record 36-3-1, with 25 of those wins coming by knockout. Today, he lives in California with his wife, Bernadette, and their children, Camille and Daniel. Here, he discusses his moving memoir, “The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring.”
Interview
By Kam Williams kam@insightnews.com One of the most prodigious pugilists of all time, Sugar Ray Leonard was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina on May 17, 1956 to Cicero and Getha Leonard. The fifth of seven kids, his family moved to Washington, DC in 1959 before settling down seven years later in Palmer Park, Maryland where his father was employed as a supermarket night manager and his mother as a nurse. Though shy as a young child, Ray followed his brother Roger’s footsteps into boxing, ultimately eclipsing his elder sibling in terms of potential and finding fame by capturing the gold medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. He went
Kam Williams: Hi Sugar Ray, I’m honored to have this opportunity to speak with you. How’re you doing, champ? Sugar Ray Leonard: I’m alright, Kam, how’re you?
Sugar Ray Leonard, 1995
KW: Great! I understand our
mutual friend, filmmaker Janks Morton, Jr., the son of your first boxing coach, gave you a call on my behalf. SRL: Yeah, man, this kid was so special, although he’s not a kid anymore, obviously, but he was there from day one of my rise through boxing. You know how the years go by and then, when you stop to reflect, you realize that someone was a part of your whole evolution as an individual? That’s what I share with Junior. KW: Yeah, he told me you guys go way back. I have a lot of questions from fans who sent in questions for you. Editor/legist Patricia Turnier says: I am from Montreal where you won your gold medal at the ’76 Olympics. What is your best memory of the city? SRL: My very best memory of Montreal was the moment inside the Olympic arena when I was waiting under the stadium and those majestic gates opened up. It was a whole other world.
Kam, I was just a youngster from the ghetto. I suddenly felt like a star. It was emotionally overwhelming. It was something I’d wanted, but it was also something I didn’t understand. It was a whole different world, and Montreal was an absolutely beautiful setting unlike anywhere I’d ever been before. So, Montreal in ‘76 was an encompassing experience I will cherish for the rest of my life. KW: Patricia also says: It is widely known that it is very difficult for men to talk about sexual abuse. What made you decide to go public with your story, and was it a cathartic and healing experience to write about it? SRL: It was cathartic, Patricia. I only wish that I had had the courage and the knowledge to have gotten that out of my system, out of my mind or my heart years earlier. But there is no book, there is no manual to
LEONARD TURN TO 12
A frenetic animated adventure strictly for tykes By Kam Williams Unfortunately, the brains behind the latest installment of this animated series abandoned the family-friendly formula which made it so popular with kids of all ages. Instead, they decided to produce a kitchen sink comedy more concerned with generating cheap laughs by any means possible than with spinning a coherent tale that might engage an adult. Besides an unfocused,
scatterbrained storyline, Ice Age 4 features a plethora of preposterous anachronisms which suggest that pirates, togas and telephones existed in an age of prehistoric creatures. Plus, the picture makes a number of distracting allusions to everything from the movie Meet the Parents (“Why do males have nipples?” to Trix cereal TV commercials (“Silly Rabbit!”) to Homer’s Odyssey (seductive Sirens as characters) to the Bible (Book of Jonah). The upshot is a frenetic, attention-deficit adventure apt to
enthrall tykes at the expense of appealing to other demographics. In addition to the principals reprising their roles, noteworthy newcomers to the voice cast include Jennifer Lopez, Drake, Wanda Sykes, Joy Behar, Peter Dinklage, Nicki Minaj and Keke Palmer. The fun starts when halfsquirrel/half-rat Scrat (Chris Wedge) accidentally triggers the continental divide of the planet while trying to bury an acorn in the frozen tundra. Elsewhere, Woolly mammoths Manny (Ray
Romano) and his wife, Ellie (Queen Latifah), exhibit concern about their daughter Peaches’ (Palmer) having developed a crush on bad boy Ethan (Drake). Meanwhile, the smitten teen rides roughshod over the feelings of a secret admirer (Josh Gad) she barely recognizes since he’s just a nerdy molehog. Additional subplots involve sloth Sid’s (John Leguizamo) having to care for his sassy grandmother (Sykes) and, later, Saber-toothed tiger Diego’s (Denis Leary) pursuit of a love
interest (Lopez). However, the film’s primary concern is reuniting families left separated from each other on different land masses in the wake of Scrat’s cataclysmic hijinks. Too bad the resolution of every piece of this cinematic jigsaw puzzle proves predictable. Sad to
see a once-beloved franchise jump the prehistoric shark. Fair (1 star) Rated PG for rude humor, action and scenes of peril Running time: 94 minutes Distributor: 20th Century Fox
THE WILSON PRODUCTIONS Presents
Word(s)PLAY! 2012: Staged readings of new work at Penumbra Theatre Penumbra Theatre Company announced the final staged reading of Word(s)PLAY! 2012, a forum designed to develop new plays by African American playwrights. Word(s)PLAY! will present Holly Down in Heaven by Kara Lee Corthron, directed by Ching Valdes-Aran, Sat., Jul. 28 at 7:30 p.m. This event will offer a staged reading of the play followed by an open talk with the playwright, director, artists and audience. The play will be read by a company of professional actors that include Ansa Akyea, Sun Mee Chomet, Shavunda Horsley and Daniel Laird. “Kara Lee Corthron is an exciting new voice in American theater,” said Penumbra’s associate artistic director and curator of Word(s)PLAY!, Dominic Taylor. “(Corthron) is an artist we want to invest in, nurture and partner with.” When Penumbra launched Word(s)PLAY! in 2008, it was hailed as a breakthrough in theater. “This is the first major Black play development project of the 21st century. It now holds the position of standard bearer, due to the caliber of the playwrights and complexity of the works,” said Sydné Mahone an associate professor of playwriting and dramatic literature at the University of Iowa. “This distinguishing mark is a result of the status and reputation of Penumbra, the leadership of Dominic Taylor, and the professionalism of the presentations.” Mahone said the program shows the potential to join the elite play development programs such as Sundance Institute Theatre Lab and the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. “Unlike these flagship programs, Penumbra has the unique ability to fulfill the promise of play development with the production of new Black plays,” said Mahone. Holly Down in Heaven centers on a fifteen year-old, whipsmart, born-again Christian, Holly, who recently discovered that she is pregnant. Holly relegates herself to the basement to wait for the arrival of her baby. Guiding Holly’s premature journey
Kara Lee Corthron, playwright
Ann Marsden
Dominic Taylor, associate artistic director
from girlhood to motherhood is a council of prized dolls collected from around the world. What begins as a kind of peculiar penance is revealed to be Holly’s desperate and illuminating search for sanctuary in a chaotic and confusing world. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased through the Penumbra Theatre Box Office at 651-224-3180 or online at www.penumbratheatre.org
“A JOURNEY…” A Play / A Story / A Song
Written & Performed by Kimberly Wilson
THE CAPRI THEATER 2027 West Broadway, Minneapolis, MN
Friday, August 3, 2012 Doors Open 7:00pm / Showtime 8:00pm
TICKETS $20/thewilsonproductions.com/203.571.7709
Page 10 • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Insight News
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FULL CIRCLE Marriage is about commitment Man Talk
By Timothy Houston “When this happens, seven women will grab the same man, and each of them will say, “I’ll buy my own food and clothes! Just marry me and take away my disgrace” (Isaiah 4:1 CEV). The book Isaiah talks a day when seven women will look for one man to give them his name. They will be willing to marry the same man and share him with six others. This will never work because marriage is a union between two people that results in something greater. Marriage requires, an exclusive, committed relationship that result in two people becoming one emotionally and spiritually. Marriage is about commitment. One man cannot have an exclusive relationship with seven women. Furthermore, if he tries to do so, all seven relationships will suffer. The exclusive, solid relationship a husband has with his wife serves as physical, emotional, and spiritual support. Both the man and the woman most both agree to be in an exclusive relationship. This
must be decided up front. When men fail at any level of relationships, all the other levels suffer along with it. Even relationships that simply involve friendship require some level of commitment. Men and women view commitment differently. I believe this can be traced back to the first relationship recorded in the bible between Adam and Eve. When Adam was created, he was alone, but when Eve was created, Adam was her companion. Even today, relationships are face with the challenge of creating the balance of space for the man and companionship for the woman. For some men it is easier to be alone than to deal with the pressures that come with commitment. This may, in turn, lead the man to avoiding all relationships, particularly that of marriage, while the woman will seek out relationships just for the sake of not being alone. Both of these situations will most likely end with negative outcomes. Marriage requires commitment. Not all men are ready to be husbands. When it comes to relationship as it pertains to marriage, some men get “cold feet.” They view matrimony as “lock down” or the “old ball and chain.” This approach is a negative view of marriage, portraying, as it does, the highest level of commitment as a loss of freedom. This view of relationships may cause
men to shy away from dating and any sort of friendship that could lead to commitment, resulting in their seeking to distance themselves from the women in their lives. This “space” or lack of commitment can, over time, lead to neglect. To avoid this confusion, the man must be the keeper of the relationship. He must choose to commit. But before making this choice, he should paint the picture he has in his mind and heart concerning relationships. The clearer the man paints the picture, the healthier the relationship. “And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband” (Ephesians 5:33 MSG). There are no words more powerful than that of a husband. A real husband will praise his wife because of the love he has for her in his heart. She can trust him because she is safe with him. She knows that his words are not motivated by an attempt to take advantage of her, either sexually or emotionally because they are already committed to each other.
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Timothy Houston is an author, minister, and motivational speaker who is committed to guiding positive life changes in families and communities. For questions, comments or more information, go to www. tlhouston.com.
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Insight News • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Page 11
AFRICAN NEWS BRIEF
Dozens of homes demolished, urban renewal strikes river dwellers Jul. 17 (GIN) – City officials in Lagos, Nigeria, have begun the destruction of the Makoko settlement, historic home to some 30,000 residents living in wooden shacks on stilts in the lagoon of Lagos. In a letter from the Waterfront Ministry, Makoko residents were told that “their unwholesome structures on the waterfront” amounted to an “environmental nuisance, security risk and an impediment to the economic and gainful utilization of the waterfront” and undermined the “megacity status” of Lagos, in a letter seen by the press. They were given 72 hours to vacate the premises. Makoko, an 18th century coastal settlement situated off the mainland in Lagos, is believed to have been formerly inhabited by the indigenous people of Lagos island who fled the arrival of the slave traders and colonial masters. Makoko was featured in the 2010 BBC film “Welcome to Lagos,” which angered the Nigerian government. It accused the filmmakers of showing Nigeria in a
Women From 1 “Child marriage condemns tens of millions of young girls in developing countries to a life of poverty and suffering,” said Congresswoman McCollum. “The United States must be a leader in ending this human rights abuse. The Senate has done its job. Now it is up to the House to pass this bill.” “This is a tragedy that is happening on an epic scale around the world, and this issue doesn’t receive the attention in the U.S. that
negative light. Those living in Makoko navigate their Venice-like village on long canoes, or on narrow crossings made of wooden planks. The micro-economy here survives mostly on fishing and trade, without much interference from federal or local governments. City officials have repeatedly tried to remove the vast Makoko community – part of the government’s anti-slum dweller efforts detailed in an extensive report by Amnesty International. Writing In the blog “MakokoSlum,” blogger Jennifer Obado-Joel expressed her frustration. “Makoko is much bigger than the decrepit houses you see from the mainland,” she wrote. “It is a flourishing community. All of these actions are excused with the toga of “urban renewal program”… In 2006, Makoko was one of 9 slums tapped for “infrastructure development” with a $450 million World Bank grant. Exactly how much was allocated for Makoko is unknown.
it deserves,” said Congressman Aaron Schock. “On my trip with CARE to Ethiopia two years ago, I saw first-hand how child marriage devastates young girls physically and emotionally, and destroys any future economic opportunity they once possessed. Girls whose bodies are not yet fully grown having babies frequently causes fistulas, which is a vicious medical problem that leads to incontinence and other horrific problems at a very young age. Children having babies accelerates the cycle of poverty and instability. This crisis has moral, economic and national security consequences for our country.”
Mau Mau fight their way to UK High Court By Njeri Mbure Three elderly Kenyan veterans are back in court seeking compensation and an apology for extreme torture by the British during colonial rule in Kenya. The case, now in its crucial stage, aims to see the UK government take responsibility for what happened to the elders when they were in detention camps. The veterans claim physical mistreatment of the most serious kind, including rape, castration and severe beating, amounting to torture. Last year, the elderly Kenyans won a ruling that they had “arguable cases in law”, but they are now facing the British government’s claim that the actions were brought outside the legal time limit. The case continues for ten days with the court making a decision on whether or not a full trial can take place.
Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) Companion legislation passed the U.S. Senate recently led by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).
Chemical From 1 variety of industries, including packaging and paper converting,
The three allege torture between 1952 and 1960 during the Mau Mau uprising against the British colonial rulers. One of the elders, Paulo Nzili, 85 suffered castration and was burned by a police officer, and also says that he saw others at the detention center being beaten daily. Wambugu wa Nyingi, 84, was in detention for 10 years and claims he was continually beaten and tortured. Jane Muthoni Mara, 73 claims she was beaten and suffered sexual abuse while at a screening centre and prison as alleged by court documents. The fourth claimant died last year. Nyingi said: “I have brought this case because I want the world to know about the years I have lost and what was taken from a generation of Kenyans. The settlers took our land, they killed our people and they burnt down our houses.” In addition to the apology, the trio want a Mau Mau welfare fund to ensure they and other victims can live with an element of dignity in their final days.
South African wins African union top post after close race
Earlier this year, Congresswoman McCollum traveled to Bangladesh to assess U.S.-funded initiatives that impact the health, education, and economic security of women and girls, especially efforts to prevent child marriage. She was joined on the trip by Ambassador Melanne Verveer, U.S. Ambassadorat-large for Global Women’s Issues. Millions of girls in Bangladesh are vulnerable to child marriage. While in Bangladesh, Congresswoman McCollum met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mohamed Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and visited the Asian University for Women in Chittagong to meet with
young female leaders pursuing college degrees. In September 2010, Congressman Aaron Schock traveled with CARE on a learning tour to Ethiopia. The trip focused on the issue of maternal health, and the issue of child marriage was often raised at many of the sites visited. In some parts of the country, over half the girls are married by the age of 15 and they are expected to have children the following year. Schock met many young girls, some as young as nine, who fled marriage and were trying to survive in Addis Ababa. During the visit, Schock visited a program at a community center called Biruh Tefsu, meaning “Brighter Future” in Ahmaric in Addis Ababa. As
of 2010, this program has helped more than 15,000 girls from the ages of 7 to 24 by providing health information (topics include HIV prevention, sexual exploitation and abuse). Many of these girls had fled from rural areas to the city to avoid an arranged marriage. Schock also visited the surgical ward of Hamlin Fistula Hospital. He later mentioned his visit on the House floor. The hospital, which has been operating for nearly four decades, has treated over 30,000 women -- many of them girls -- who had received operations on their fistulas, a birth canal injury often caused by obstructed labor. The hospital provides free fistula repair surgery to about 2,500 women each year.
printing and graphic arts, foam fabrication, fulfillment and product assembly. Like many entrepreneurs, Werneke started his business out of his home. “The garage was my
warehouse and the front porch was my shipping and receiving,” said Werneke. Eventually American Chemical received marketing and growth acceleration assistance from Small Business Association (SBA) and SCORE, a program of SBA, designed to match trained volunteer business counselors with aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses at no cost, and moved into an office space on Lake Street, where Werneke hired his first employee. Soon after, they needed more space and decided to move to another location in South Minneapolis. In 2001, American Chemical made North Minneapolis its home. Werneke took a vacant and abandoned 17,000 sq. ft. building and created a thriving business setting. Currently, Werneke has ten employees. Since relocating American Chemical to the North Side, Werneke has become active in the North Minneapolis business community and Hawthorne Neighborhood. Giving back to the community is a priority for American Chemical, who gives a percent of its profits, time and talent back to the community. For the past seven years, Werneke has hired and trained youth from the community as part of the STEP-UP Achieve Program.
STEP-UP Achieve trains and provides youth from Minneapolis in paid summer jobs with public agencies, local companies, and nonprofits. Faduma Ali, a high school senior, is currently working at American Chemical this summer through the STEPUP Achieve Program. Faduma has found the STEP-UP Program and her work experience this summer very useful, and thankful for the opportunity to build her resume. “I learned a lot,” explained Faduma, “It will look good on my resume and it will help me to get a job in the future.” In addition to mentoring youth, Werneke is also interested in helping start-up businesses. “There are a lot of businesses that have significant growth potential in North Minneapolis,” said Werneke. This is one of the reasons Werneke created the North Minneapolis Business Center, a business incubator space located at 2201 2nd Ave N. Werneke leases out approximately 30-40 percent of the space to start-up companies with office space and/or warehouse needs. A diverse mix of tenants include Net Anchor, Dessco Imports, Boom Island Brewing, Flair Mannequin, Wrecking Day Band studio, and Billy Ray’s BBQ Sauce.
By Fungai Maboreke South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has been named Chair of the African Union Commission, beating the incumbent, Jean Ping of Gabon, after four voting rounds. Her appointment has been viewed as a victory not just for Africa, but for women as well. Dlamini-Zuma won the 60 percent that was required to defeat the incumbent. Accepting the post in Addis Ababa, she said, “I plan to work with all regions for the benefit of our continent and to achieve that goal.” Voting was split along linguistic lines. Dlamini-Zuma’s victory was seen as a win for the English-speaking nations (Ping is French-speaking). But the win was marred by charges of bullying by South Africa, which critics accused of twisting arms
N. Dlamini Zuma
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to win the vote. She addressed the critics: “South Africa is not going to come to Addis Ababa to run the AU... It is Dlamini-Zuma who is going to come to make a contribution.” The ex-wife of President Jacob Zuma, DlaminiZuma won plaudits for her own governmental work. “She’s a capable and hard-working minister,” said Catherine Grant from the South African Institute of International Affairs. “She’s not in her position because of her relationship to Zuma.”
Page 12 • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Insight News
Leonard From 9 tell you how to deal with sexual abuse. I saw Todd Bridges talk about being abused on Oprah. Something that he said, or an expression that he made that gave me that little boost I needed to be open about it and to talk about it as transparently as I did. When I told my wife, she couldn’t believe it. She was petrified, because it’s such a nono, taboo, a hands-off subject. But I’d have to say hearing Todd Bridges on Oprah was my watershed moment. KW: Kate Newell says: I saw you on Stephen Colbert and loved it. She was wondering why a movie hasn’t been made about your life? SRL: Being on Colbert was a real treat for me, too. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but it turned out to be pretty cool. In terms of a movie, we’re talking about it. It’s on the table but, as you know, Kam, that type of thing doesn’t just happen overnight, unfortunately. But I do look forward to seeing the story of my life onscreen someday. KW: You should talk to Tyler Perry. SRL: I would love that. KW: Or better yet, Janks, if you could get him to switch over to drama from directing documentaries. SRL: Janks could do it justice, and I’m not being facetious. You know why? Because he knows the story. He’s been in the story. And it’s real. It’s raw. Maybe a little too raw for people at times. But this generation raised on reality-TV might be ready for it. KW: I agree. Boxing fan Mike Ehrenberg asks: Was Wilfred Benitez the best pure boxer you
ever faced? SRL: Yes, without question. He was a mirror image of what I considered myself as a boxer. That was one of my toughest fights, by far. It’s sad that he’s not mentioned in the same breath as Hearns, Hagler and Duran. It always bothered me that he wasn’t considered in our league, the reason being that he never beat any of us. But he should be right up there. KW: Mike also asks: Was the Dicky Eklund knockdown, highlighted in the movie “The Fighter,” legit? SRL: It was legit that I was knocked down, or pushed down. [Chuckles] But I remember that fight like it was yesterday because that guy, Dick Eglund, was so unorthodox. And it was the first time in my life I really experienced racial hatred from the fans. We’re talking about Boston back in ’78. KW: I lived in Boston from ’75 to ’78. It’s the most racist city I ever experienced before or since. You couldn’t step foot in white neighborhoods… they wouldn’t serve you in some restaurants… and you couldn’t go to Fenway Park or the Boston Garden. SRL: I can believe it. When I arrived at the airport, I had a priest or a pastor greet me with, “Hey boy, welcome.” KW: I could go on and on about Boston. SRL: I could, too. That’s what it was like back then. KW: When I interviewed Governor Deval Patrick last year, I told him I never would’ve believed that Massachusetts would ever elect a Black governor after my experiences in his state. Mike has one more question: Do you regret coming out of retirement past your prime to fight Terry Norris and Hector Camacho? SRL: Do I regret it? Yeah, I do,
insightnews.com but it took that to wake up to the fact that my time was over, my time was gone. Sometimes it just takes that kind of beating, if
equipment. Boxing’s a poor man’s sport. We can’t afford to play golf or tennis. It is what it is. It’s kept so many kids get
“But thank God that I woke and that I had good people around me to support me. There’s not much more I can say about it. You have to want to be a better person.” you will, to wake up. It does. I didn’t want to take it. I took it in intervals. The first time was in ’91. I retired and came back in ’97. Woo! I mean, come on! I don’t know, man. A six-year layoff? That was crazy! My career was relatively short, whether you look at either its length in years or the number of fights I had. But it was brutal. KW: That’s because it was the Golden Age in terms of welterweights and middleweights. SRL: Exactly! You couldn’t mess around in that era there. KW: Harriet Pakula Teweles says: With mounting medical evidence that contact sports aren’t providing ample equipment to mitigate against cerebral concussions, how would you feel about boxing associations mandating protective headgear for fighters, not just for sparring, but also during bouts? SRL: I’m not in favor of that because we learn as amateurs how to protect ourselves. And that’s why there’s a third man in the ring, the referee. And that’s why there has to be a very strong boxing commission that doesn’t allow guys in the ring who don’t belong there. Look at football, where you still have injuries no matter how much they improve the helmets and other
off the street. It kept me off the street. What’s my options? KW: Harriet also asks: Is it true that once, when you were climbing between the ropes and entering the ring, a reporter put a microphone up to your face and asked, ‘Sugar Ray, are you going to win tonight?’ And, you replied, ‘I didn’t come here to lose.’ I hope it’s true because I’ve always loved you for that— it’s a great life lesson story. If it isn’t, I’m going to continue to attribute it to you anyway, because you’re a great life lesson guy. SRL: Thanks, Harriet. But yes, I did say that. KW: Yale grad Tommy Russell says: I really respect your admission about battling drug abuse during the tough times of your professional life. What is the most important thing you have learned from that experience? SRL: I learned that I had character defects, that I was allergic to alcohol and drugs, and that I had an obsession with all the bad stuff. But thank God that I woke and that I had good people around me to support me. There’s not much more I can say about it. You have to want to be a better person. KW: Larry Greenberg says: On Celebrity Ghost Stories, you
appeared with one of my favorite young ancestresses, Leila Jean Davis, and you shared some very personal experiences. How did you like being on the show? SRL: I enjoyed it. I never thought in a million years that I would tell people that I saw a ghost. And I’ve seen a lot of ghosts. [Laughs] KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would? SRL: Yeah, how’s your day? [Chuckles] KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid? SRL: Yes, we all are afraid of something. We might not admit it, but we are. KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy? SRL: Extremely! KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh? SRL: Just now. [Chuckles] KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure? SRL: It used to be a pint of ice cream in bed. KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read? SRL: The Big Fight. http:// www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ ASIN/0452298040/ref=nosim/ thslfofire-20 KW: What inspired you to write the book? SRL: To be honest, I don’t know. I started one back in 1982 or ’83 when I first retired. But I was only 25 or 26 and not ready to write my memoirs. KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What music have you been listening to? SRL: Dance with My Father by Luther Vandross. http://www.amazon.com/exec/
obidos/ASIN/B000099J41/ ref=nosim/thslfofire-20 KW: What is your favorite dish to cook? SRL: I’m pretty good with oatmeal. KW: The Sanaa Lathan question: What excites you? SRL: Success. But not necessarily monetary success. KW: Judyth Piazza asks: How do you define success? SRL: Success is attaining your dream while helping others to benefit from that dream materializing. KW: Dante Lee, author of “Black Business Secrets,” asks: What was the best business decision you ever made? SRL: Remaining conservative. KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory? SRL: At about 6, seeing my mom and dad kissing and understanding it. KW: The Melissa Harris-Perry question: How did your first big heartbreak impact who you are as a person? SRL: It made me realize how much I loved that person. KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps? SRL: You don’t play boxing. [LOL] You really don’t. You play golf, you play tennis, but you don’t play boxing. KW: The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered? SRL: As someone who had an impact outside the ring. KW: Thanks again for the interview, Ray, and best of luck with the book. SRL: Thank you, Kam.
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Insight News • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Page 13
HEALTH Five ways to sleep better starting tonight By Nicole Winbush MD MS Special to Insight News Many people come to my office everyday with complaints of poor sleep. For most, the real answer does not lie with a pill. Good sleep restores. It not only improves your energy, it makes you a better problem solver and more able to deal with stresses in your day to day life. Good sleep also makes it easier to lose weight and maintain weight loss. It is important to remember that poor sleep is a symptom, not a disease. It is a symptom that there is something very out of balance in our lives. Preparation can help bring back that balance and return good sleep. There are some simple
rules to follow that if you stick to them will help you develop good sleep habits. 1) Prepare your sleeping space Sleeping room must be DARK and QUIET and COOL. Keep out extra light, your brain notices extra noises and light. Street lights that shine in our windows, lights that are kept on in the hallway, noise from other family members or neighbors, these can all affect our sleep. You can obtain a sleep mask or if your shades or drapes are not able to keep light out of your room, hang thick blankets over your windows to keep out the light. Purchase a set of earplugs. Keep your bedroom temperature sixty-eight degrees or less. 2) Prepare your mind Lamps, televisions, computers and phones give off strong lights. The strong light can
actually stimulate brain centers that keep us awake. Turn them down in the evening, especially in the hour or two before bed. The media content (violent or stimulating TV shows, disturbing news reports etc.) can also affect our sleep. Turn off the TV and computer at least an hour before bed. For some people, bedtime is when all of their worries or fears come up and their worries prevent them from sleeping. If this is you, try this: Get a notebook and in the evening make a practice of spending several minutes writing down the worries, fears and things that need to be done the next day. Read over the list and then put it aside until tomorrow. You can pick up the notebook tomorrow and review and start making plans. There is nothing more to be done right now. It is
time to rest. 3) Prepare your body There are many practices you can adopt to help prepare your body for sleep. Take a hot bath or shower in the evening before bed. Gentle stretching exercises in the evening can help you to sleep better. You should try side stretches and some gentle stretches for your low back, and some calf stretches before bed. Chronic pain issues also can affect the quality of sleep, and many medications that are used to treat pain also affect the quality of sleep and make it more difficult to get restful sleep. Discuss with your healthcare provider what you can do to decrease your reliance on pain medication. 4) Prepare to let go of expectations Sleep is not about control, sleep is about letting go. You cannot
Minnesota health care spending reaches $37.7 Billion in 2010 Total health care spending in Minnesota increased 2.2 percent to $37.7 billion between 2009 and 2010, which is the slowest growth rate observed since 1997, according to a report released today by the Health Economics Program at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Health care spending also decreased as a share of the state’s economy (from 14.2 percent in 2009 to 13.9 percent in 2010). Growth in health care spending has been declining each year since 2007. “This modest growth is encouraging, but we are anxious to see what happens in the future. Because of the recession, people may have delayed seeking routine and acute care so we are concerned that these rates may increase in coming years as people address their deferred health care needs,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ed Ehlinger. “To get costs under control long-term, we still need to invest in prevention, make our communities healthier, continue
Courtesy East Carolina University
Susie King Taylor, 1902
HealthPartners hosts national exhibit on Civil War medicine HealthPartners hosts national history exhibit that celebrates our country’s diversity. The National Library of Medicine’s traveling exhibition Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine is at the Regions Hospital Medical Library through Aug. 3, then at the 8170 building from Aug. 6 through Aug. 10. The exhibit focuses on the African Americans who served as nurses, surgeons and hospital workers in the Civil War – and how their role as medical providers challenged the notion of race and gender during the war. Last week to honor the exhibit, Regions Hospital hosted a presentation (“Disease and Debility: Minnesotans’ experience of medicine in the Civil War“) by Jennifer Gunn, associate professor and program director at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Gunn is an expert in History of Medicine.
to engage consumers on their role in health and health care, and be value-based purchasers of health care.” Without a continued focus on reforming Minnesota’s health care system, Ehlinger said, health care spending could more than double in 10 years to $76.7 billion, consuming about 18 percent of the state’s economy. Lingering effects of the recession and changes in patterns of utilization are likely responsible for the continued slow growth in spending as residents opted to use less health care and Minnesota’s
uninsured rate remained above 9 percent. The report looks at health care spending from all sources, including private health insurance, out-of-pocket spending, state public programs, and Medicare. The severe economic downturn and slow recovery affected 2010 health care spending in Minnesota in important ways. Private spending accounted for a smaller share of total spending as more Minnesotans took up public coverage, fewer individuals retained private coverage and many used less health care. On
a national level, many observers expect these effects to be largely temporary. “There is the potential that current experimentation with delivery system changes in Minnesota will lead to more permanent changes in patterns of utilization, pricing and spending,” said Stefan Gildemeister, MDH’s state health economist. “But so far the evidence seems to indicate that other factors account for the bulk of slower growth in spending in Minnesota, including the shift towards insurance products with greater cost sharing, a lack of new expensive blockbuster pharmaceuticals on the market, and, of course, the lingering
HEALTH TURN TO 14
force yourself to get a good night’s sleep. When one accepts this, one opens oneself up for better sleep. 5) Prepare for a good night’s sleep by embracing your day Sleep is not just about our nights it is also about how we spend our days. We all need to have a sense of purpose and mission in our lives. Fundamental to our living well and functioning well, is having something to care about and something to do. We have to have a reason to get up in the morning and we have to be able to look back at our day with a sense of accomplishment. Our lives matter and the time that we spend sleeping at night allows us to process and make sense of the many things and people that we encounter during our day, so that we can wake ready to
face the next day’s challenge. The information contained herein should NOT be used as a substitute for the advice of an appropriately qualified and licensed physician or other health care provider. The information provided here is for educational and informational purposes only. In no way should it be considered as offering medical advice. Please check with your healthcare provider if you suspect you are ill. Dr. Winbush is a family physician practicing at a community health center in North Minneapolis. She has a strong interest in wellness and patient education to help individuals feel empowered to optimize their health and functioning.
Page 14 • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Insight News
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COMMUNITY As record heat wave bears down on Minnesota, save money and energy It hasn’t been this hot in 100 years. With a record heat wave bearing down on Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Commerce is offering some simple tips to save money, conserve energy, and stay cool. “The last time it was this hot, most Minnesotans were lucky to have a light bulb in the living room and an ice box in the cellar,” said Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman. “But times have changed as modern homes and businesses rely on electricity to stay cool during the summer. So when the temperature tops 100 degrees, Minnesotans know that staying cool costs money.” The Commerce Department’s Division of Energy Resources is committed to helping Minnesotans make informed decisions about their energy use – particularly as AC units across the state are working overtime to keep homes and businesses cool. In that effort, the Minnesota Department of Commerce
Health From 13 effect of the past recession.” Current projections show that despite the slower growth rate in 2010, health care spending is expected to continue growing
issued the following moneysaving tips for Minnesota consumers today. Switch energy use from high-cost to low-cost periods. Energy costs are usually higher on hot summer days, so try running appliances in the evening when costs are usually lower. Consumers can log on to the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) website to see in real time how high energy prices are in their region at any given time. Use a programmable thermostat or ask your utility if they can automatically adjust your energy use during high cost periods. Install and use a programmable thermostat with your central air conditioner. Or, if you are home throughout the day, manually turn on and off your air conditioner as needed. You can also ask your utility whether they can automatically adjust your energy use during high cost periods. Xcel Energy
customers can sign up for the Savers Switch program. More information about that program is available on the Xcel Energy website. Tune-up your air conditioner. Just like your car, your AC unit needs some TLC from time to time to ensure it is operating efficiently. Cottonwood fuzz, grass, leaves, and dust can accumulate on the coils of your air conditioner causing it to work harder and wear out sooner. To learn more about how to keep your AC unit running well, visit the Home Energy Resource MN website. Keep cool air inside. Keep shades pulled and doors and windows closed during the daytime when temperatures are the warmest. Use fans. Use fans to cool your body or to pull cooler air in through windows at night. The use of ceiling fans and oscillating fans in hot weather will create a windchill effect that can make your home feel
cooler and reduce the need for air conditioning. Air dry dishes and clothes. Reduce the electricity use of your dishwasher and clothes dryer by air drying dishes and clothes. Conserve power. Turn off devices when you are not using them (lights, TVs, entertainment systems, computers, and monitors). Plug home electronics (TVs and DVD players) into power strips and turn of the power strips when the equipment is not in use. Get an Advanced Energy Audit and sign up for utility conservation programs. Find out how your house is working. An advanced energy audit will provide an evaluation of your home’s energy use, insulation levels, air leakage and mechanical systems. Utility companies and private contractors can provide audits; check with your utility or the Minnesota Building Performance Association at
www.mbpa.us. Use CFLs and LED lighting. Replace your old inefficient incandescent lights with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Current ENERGY STAR-labeled CFLs, for instance, use about one third of the energy and last up to 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb with the same light output. Stay safe. Visit the Minnesota Department of Health website for tips and resources to make sure you and your family are safe and healthy during this period of severe heat. Check on elderly and vulnerable neighbors. Make sure elderly and vulnerable neighbors have access to a cool spot and ample liquids. Disconnection during Extreme Heat Conditions. Minnesota consumers should know that a utility may not disconnect your electrical service without the consent
of the customer in any county when that county is under an excessive heat watch, heat advisory, or excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service. This applies to customers of a public utility, municipal utility, or cooperative electric association. To find out if your county is under one of these weather conditions, visit the NOAA website. If you have any questions about the application of this Hot Weather Rule, please contact the Consumer Affairs Office experts of the Public Utilities Commission at consumer.puc@state.mn.us or (651) 296-0406 or (800) 6573782. For more tips on how to save energy and stay cool, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Savers website, talk to your utility, or contact the Minnesota Department of Commerce Energy Information Center by phone at (651) 2965175 or by email at energy. info@state.mn.us.
at an average annual rate of 7.4 percent in Minnesota from 2010 to 2020 as the economic recovery gains momentum and Minnesotans return to previous levels of coverage and health care utilization. Per person health care spending continues to be lower in Minnesota than the country
as a whole. In 2010, per person spending in Minnesota was $7,090, compared to $7,910 nationally. Health care spending in Minnesota also accounts for a smaller share of the overall economy than nationally (13.9 percent compared to 16.8 percent, respectively). The report is called for by
Minnesota’s health reform law enacted in 2008, which aims to significantly slow the growth of health care spending. With bipartisan support, Minnesota passed the law that has resulted in several key efforts including: Provider peer grouping and statewide quality reporting, which is intended to provide
consumers the information they need to choose high-quality, lowcost providers. Health care homes, a new primary care model and certification process for clinics showing promise as a way to improve the quality of care, reduce costs, and be more responsive to people’s needs.
The Statewide Health Improvement Program, an investment in prevention efforts designed to lower costs by reducing obesity and tobacco use in Minnesota. This report is available online at http://www.health.state.mn.us/ healtheconomics.
Calendar • Classifieds Send Community Calendar information to us by: email, natalie@insightnews.com, by fax: 612-588-2031, by phone: (612) 588-1313 or by mail: 1815 Bryant Ave. N. Minneapolis, MN 55411, Attn: Natalie Benz. Free or low cost events preferred.
Events Local Artist – Amie Kieffer to Host Summer Art Show & Sale Aug 17 & 18 Local artist who specializes in painting and drawing. She is hosting an outdoor show this August 17 and 18 4-8pm in Rosemount, MN. For more information contact AK@ AmieKieffer.com or to follow the artist on Twitter simply use @AmieKieffer. Southwest LRT Community Meeting July 25 Get the latest on the Southwest light rail line and learn how to use new media tools effectively to make your voice heard by key decision-makers and others in your community. Wed. July 25., 5:30–7:30pm. Program starts at 6pm with refreshments beforehand. Hopkins Center for the Arts Community Room 1111 Main street Hopkins, MN. This event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs will help us plan enough food for everyone. To register, email ManuM@
tlcminnesota.org. DIASPORAS@MSP Conference July 25 Day long conference, held in conjunction with the US State Department’s Global Diaspora Forum as a satellite conference as the national kickoff of the DIASPORAS@ initiative. Attendees will hear from Minnesota’s leading diaspora leaders, nonprofits, and foundations, along with live streaming of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks and the State Department in the morning. Coffman Memorial Union on July 25, from 8am to 5pm. For more info visit www. diasporasmsp.com or call Ms. Semhar Araia at 612.272.5569. Northside Family Pops Concert July 26 Featuring Northside children from Lundstrum Center performing “Cinderella Updated!” with the Minnesota Sinfonia. Free Admission. Thur. July 26 7pm North Commons Park 1801 James Ave N. MPLS (Rain site: North High 1500 James Ave N. MPLS) For more info visit www.mnsinfonia.org or 612.871.1701. Brazilian Samba Workshop July 28 Learn different styles of Brazilian samba from dance instructor Leo
Phone: 612.588.1313
Paixão, native of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. All levels are welcome! $12 if pre-registered, $15 at the door, $25 for a couple. Sat. July 28 4–5:30pm For more info or to pre-register, call 612.715.4305 or email dancingwithLeo@gmail. com. Camp Komoniwannarock at Camden Music School July 23–26, July 30–Aug. 2 Students divided into rock ‘n roll bands and perform an entire music set on stage on the last day of camp. Campers learn how to establish a groove, how to solo, how to practice and play as a group, and more. grades 5 – 8, or by special arrangement at Marcy Open School, 415 4th Ave. SE, Minneapolis Tuition: $350. Scholarships available. To register or for more information: 612-618-0219 or www. camdenmusicschool.com. Brazilian Forro Dance Workshop Aug 4 Learn the most popular dance in Brazil from dance instructor Leo Paixão, native of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. All levels are welcome! $12 if pre-registered, $15 at the door, $25 for a couple. Sat. Aug. 4, 4–5:30pm For more info or to pre-register, call 612-715-4305 or email dancingwithLeo@gmail.com 2012 Loring Park Art Festival Aug. 4–5 Festival features juried artwork thus by 140 artists in all media. Art at the festival includes; oil
Fax: 612.588.2031
painting, watercolors, handmade paper, sculpture, textiles, photography, glass, ceramics, jewelry, mixed-media, wood, printmaking and more. In addition to art, visitors will enjoy family events, food, music and unique entertainment. This FREE two-day event takes place on Sat. Aug. 4 from 10-6 and Sun Aug. 4 from 10-5 near Oak Grove Street and Hennepin Ave in Loring Park. Visit www.loringparkartfestival. com for event calendar and more info. It’s the BIG FIVE for Live on the Drive! Aug 9 Celebrate by packing a picnic, bringing your family and inviting your friends to the fabulous fifth anniversary summer concerts on June 14, July 12 and Aug 9. The free concerts are held from 6 to 8pm on Victory Memorial Drive at 34th Avenue North in Minneapolis. For further information, call 612-588-1155 or see www. clevelandneighborhood.org Bridge Builders for Kids 5K Race/Run 2.5K Walk Aug. 18 “Taking Strides to Instill Hope” A fundraising event for the Bridge Builders for Kids organization whose goal is to be a shining light for children of prisoners by connecting them & their families with a Christ centered support system that instills hope, healing, & freedom. Sat. Aug 18 8:30am at Como Lake, St Paul, MN. Event info at www.bridgebuilders.cc/5k
Email: natalie@insightnews.com
Change Your Pace and help the Joy Project fight eating disorders Oct. 6 Unique ( leisurely/at your own pace) 5k walk to help broaden and deepen the impact of the Joy Project and actively raising money to fight eating disorders. Dress as your own challenge to the breakneck pace and unrealistic standards set by the media and societal pressure or come as you are, costumes are entirely optional. Registration closes Thur., Oct. 4 2012 at 11:59pm. Event takes place on Sat., Oct.6, 2012 at 10am, Lake Como 1330 N Lexington Parkway St. Paul. Visit joyproject.org for more info or for registration and event details visit: http://www. active.com/fitness/st-paul-mn/ change-your-pace-5k-to-fighteating-disorders-2012. Dip Your Toes or Dive In to Music This Summer at Camden Music School, Now–Aug. 16 Dip or dive in to Musikgarten classes for ages birth to 8, individual, team and group instrumental and vocal lessons for ages 8 and up and a great variety of ensembles for ages 5 and up – including our new bluegrass class and rock ‘n roll and movie music for strings. Registration is now. Summer scholarship applications are due by 5pm Monday, June 18. Check out the CMS website for all your great options, www. camdenmusicschool.com, or
call 612-618-0219. Progressive Summer Youth Program 2012 Now–Aug. 24 Youth, grades K–6 will experience pony rides, water parks, challenge their reading skills, learn about different cultures and learn the Word of God. Cost: $130/week; includes program t-shirt, breakfast and lunch and all activity fees. There is a $35.00 registration deposit. Childcare Assistance is accepted. 7:30am–5:30pm, June 18–Aug. 24. Contact Rev. Areda Stewart 651.774.5503. Space is limited and Registration closes June 15th. Freedom Schools for summer Now– Aug. 24 Free 6 week Freedom Schools summer program for children currently in k-5th grades living in the Promise Neighborhood. Registration packets available at the Rondo Community Education offices (red doors) or at listed locations. Classes Mon –Fri. 8am –3:00pm (with free extended care available until 5:00 p.m.) Free transportation for 8am start and 5pm end times from Promise Neighborhood locations. For more info contact zong.vang@ spps.org
Hennepin County Employee Art on display in Hennepin Gallery Now–Aug. 29 Hennepin County employees perform a myriad of tasks. The exhibit offers them the Looking for Christian Roommates? opportunity to display talent that isn’t part of North & South Minneapolis * $400/month + utilities their daily work routine. urbanhomeworks.org/housing/urban-neighbors Employees show their 612-910-6054 / un@urbanhomeworks.org unique abilities in painting, photography, Saint Paul Public Schools sculpture, drawing, Saint Paul Public Schools seeks a supervisor for the textiles and more. The Discovery Club school-age child care program with Hennepin Gallery is free Saint Paul Public Schools. Candidate must have a and open to the public Bachelor’s degree in education, community education or a related field and five years of professional level exMon.–Fri. 7:30am– 6pm perience in school-age child care which must include at the Hennepin County three years of supervisory experience and experience Govt. Center, A Level, managing a large budget. For a detailed job description 300 S. Sixth St., Mpls. and/or to apply, visit: hr.spps.org/Search_Jobs_and_ Apply.htm and attach a resume and cover letter to your online application. Saint Paul Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer and supports an inclusive workplace environment.
Job Placement Manager Summit Academy OIC, a non-profit adult education Summit Academy is seeking a full-time well accomplished and motivated relationship builder to manage the day-to-day operations of the Job Placement Department, as Job Placement Manager. This important management role requires someone who is well practiced in forming partnerships with hiring agencies, is familiar with job readiness skills training, job placement and recruitment trends and processes, and is passionate about the work of assisting individuals in overcoming various barriers in life necessary to acquire and maintain gainful employment. This position is responsible for ensuring alumni placement into viable living wage paying jobs and that our weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual hiring goals are continually met. Candidates will have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, Project Management, or a similar degree or specialization. Candidates must have at least 5 to 7 years of progressive management experience leading staff and managing the operations of a department in a fast paced, results driven environment. Salary is commensurate with skills and experiences. Valid Driver’s license required. Position is open until filled. Please send resumes with cover letter and salary requirements to the attention of Human Resources Manager at hresources@saoic.org or by fax at 612-278-5242. No phone inquiries please. Summit is an EEO/AA Employer.
We Exist Influences of Graffiti on Art, People and Culture Now–Aug. 30 Curated by Peyton Scott Russel, this exhibition, featuring the work of more than 30 local, regional, and national artists, examines and explores the influences of Graffiti on art, people and culture. July 12–Aug. 30 2012 at Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave South, Mpls. Gallery Hours: Mon–Fri 10am–6pm and Sat 12-5pm. Suggested Donation $3. Opening Reception: Thur. July 12, 6–9pm FREE. Closing Reception: Thur., Aug.30, 6–9pm FREE
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Insight News • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Page 15
Page 16 • July 23 - July 29, 2012 • Insight News
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