Insight News ::: 9.14.09

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Obama Addresses Congress Seeking to build on momentum generated by his health care address to Congress, President Obama ratcheted up his call Thursday for the passage of reform legislation this year.

September 14 - September 20, 2009 • MN Metro Vol. 35 No. 37 • The Journal For Community News, Business & The Arts • www.insightnews.com

Health Care Reform

President Obama asks Americans to make change happen By Al McFarlane and Bobbie Ford Following his nationallytelevised address to the U.S. Congress Wednesday night, President Barack Obama reached out to ethnic media and other individuals and institutions to seek support for his health care reform agenda. In an email communication, the President said, “I just finished laying out my plan for health reform at a joint session of Congress. Now, I’m writing directly to you because what happens next is critical — and I need your help. “Change this big will not happen because I ask for it. It can only come when the nation demands it. Congress knows where I stand. Now they need to hear from you,” he said. The President asked supporters to add their voices to the decision at hand by asking their elected representatives to support his plan for health reform. The President’s email message included a link to a form voters could use to communicate via email or fax to their representatives in Congress. The email we received included pre-addressed electronic mail for our representatives, Sens. Amy

Klobuchar and Al Franken, and 5th Congressional District’s Representative Keith Ellison. The form said: “Add your voice: Ask your representatives to support my plan for real health reform in 2009.” President Obama continued, “The heart of my plan is simple: bring stability and security to Americans who already have health insurance, guarantee affordable coverage for those who don’t, and rein in the cost of health care. “Tonight, I offered a specific plan for how to make it happen. I incorporated the best ideas from Democrats and Republicans to create a plan that’s bold, practical, and represents the broad consensus of the American people’” he said. “We’ve come closer to real health reform in the last few months than we have in the last 60 years. But those who profit from the status quo — and those who put partisan advantage above all else — will fight us every inch of the way,” he said. “We do not seek that fight, but we will not shrink from it. The stakes are too high to let scare tactics cloud the debate, or to allow partisan bickering to block the path. Your voice, right now, is essential,” President Obama said.

African American women and depression

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http://www.whitehouse.gov/photogallery

The President addresses a joint session of Congress on Health Care. “Ours is not the first generation to understand the dire need for health reform. And I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last,” President Obama said. “We applaud President Obama for tackling much needed health care reform. This has been a long time coming,” said Dorii Gbolo, CEO at Open

Cities Health Center. “He has strongly advocated for the public option in the reform package. Critics are attacking him saying that this is ‘socialized medicine’ when the public option simply offers one more slice to the health care plan. My concern is that the President may not keep the public option as part of the reform package. We need a

public plan to help make health insurance more affordable. It’s that simple.” North Minneapolis healthcare executive Stella Whitney-West said she watched President Obama’s speech “cheering the whole time. I was so proud. He delivered the message that needed to be

OBAMA TURN TO

Deneane Richburg Concert on ice awakens students’

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No Minneapolis Primary Election

Rank Choice Voting By Natonia Johnson SD58 Chair Are you ready to cast your vote Nov. 3, 2009? As many of you may know, the City of Minneapolis will not be having a primary this year, or in the future. Why?

Well, in 2006 the voters of Minneapolis approved to end Minneapolis City primaries and instead opted for Rank Choice Voting (RCV). The Minneapolis City Council placed a question on the ballot in 2006 asking us (voters) if Minneapolis should switch to

VOTING TURN TO

Tye Green is up and coming filmmaker

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Calvin Littlejohn (L) and Lester Royal Environmental scan project assesses infant mortality in Tri-Construction Community, construction and development communities of color

Elliot Stewart-Franzen

By Bobby Joe Champion A few months ago, I made a public appearance at a Brother's Keepers basketball tournament. While there, I struck up a conversation with a young woman who lives in the district; I've known her for a while. As

acquaintances do, we spoke of work and family, she asked me about my children, and I asked her about her son. To my surprise, tears welled in her eyes as she said, "I actually have two children." Taken aback, I told her I didn't

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By Stacey Taylor

Tri-Construction has been a community-based venture from its inception in 2001. Proof of this has been the work the company has done in Minneapolis. The small construction company has been involved with construction on the Capri Theater, The Spirell Bar, Zion Baptist Church and the

Garden of Gethsemane Church. "Most people think there are three of us based on our name and our logo," explained Lester Royal chief operating officer and vice president of Tri-Construction. Actually the 'Tri' in our name stands for three things community, construction and development. Community is our foundation and our philosophy is about people striving together and equipping people with jobs and a living."

By Robert McClain Is the St. Paul Urban League (SPUL) still in business? Who is the CEO and who are the staff? What services are being offered? What's really going on? These questions make you wonder: when was the last time you heard ANYTHING about SPUL? As a recent staff member, I would like to share some observations and concerns based on my experience, without

bringing in to question anyone's integrity. It is not my intent to only point the finger, but to stimulate discussion and generate action. People are very upset out here about what they think is going on! Some may feel disgust with my remarks, but the silence on this subject is disrespectful to those before us who saw the need to create this indispensable

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Royal and business partner Calvin Littlejohn, the company's president, met working construction jobs 15 years ago and started the company. Littlejohn is a graduate of Roosevelt High School and Royal taught at Summit Academy training those with little or no skills to get into the business. According to Royal the two came up together in the CONSTRUCTION TURN TO 7

Community questions St. Paul Urban League Green Collar Training Open House leadership, direction Summit Academy OIC Thursday held a Green-Collar Training open house. Community partners, contractors, and state and local officials learned about the premier Weatherization Technician training happening at Summit. The event featured discussions on the growing demand for properly trained Weatherization Technicians and how Summit is helping to meet that demand with programs serving new entrants into the field and for and seasoned workers. The open house included a tour of Summit’s training

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Suluki Fardan

L-R: Gary Courtney, Carpentry Department Manager; Earl Rogers, Employment Specialist/Recruiter; and Alex Tittle, Education Director

Health News for a Healthy Heart

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Correction: Insight acknowledges the misprint of Dr. Curry's name in last week's diabetes article by Brandi Phillips. The name should read Dr. Endea J. Curry.


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