INDEX Local & State ...........................2 Commentary............................4 Business...................................5 Religion ...................................6 Health ......................................7 THEWEEKLYPRESS.COM Celebrating 34 Years Of Service To The Baton Rouge Community 225.775.2002 STATE & LOCAL NEWS RELIGION NEWS HEALTH NEWS CLASSIFIED Buying or selling a service, looking for for a good job or a good used car? Check out the classifeds . FEMA NEW ADMINISTRATOR FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate swore in Tony Russell as the new regional administrator of FEMA Re- gion VI at the regional headquarters in Denton, Texas . ...See Page 2 NEW DIET BOOK FOR BLACKS As the Christmas holiday nears, what I want for Christmas is for people all over to start taking better care of their temples — better care of their bodies. That’s a Christmas gift that I’m so looking forward to receiv- ing.....See Page 6 RESPIRATORY CARE RECOGNITION The American Association for Re- spiratory Care (AARC) awarded the 2009 Quality Respiratory Care recognition to Woman’s Hospital for providing quality respiratory care services to their patients and their community... See Page 7 The 2009 National Rice Month Scholarship grand prize was awarded to Daniel T. McFarland of Keithville, LA, the USA Rice Federation announced today. The award was presented during the USA Rice Outlook annual Rice Awards luncheon at the New Orleans Marriott. ....Page 3 NATIONAL/STATE & COMMUNITY WATCH THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2009 A PEOPLE’S PUBLICATION Vol. 34 • No. 36 BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA BUSINESS NEWS Classics Sports Radio Network will broadcast the Russell Athletic HBCU Bowl on Saturday, December 19 live from the Cramton Bowl in Montgom- ery AL. ....See Page 5 Season’s Greetings BY KRISSAH THOMPSON President Obama is pushing back this week against criticism that he has not been concerned enough about the disproportionate impact of the eco- nomic recession on African Americans. In interviews this week with media outlets targeted at the black com- munity, he defended both his record and his connection to the community against accusations that he is taking black voters for granted. Recently members of the Congres- sional Black Caucus have said his ad- ministration and Congressional leaders are not doing enough to target aid to the black community, which has higher levels of unemployment than others. Nationally, unemployment stands at 10 percent, but 15.6 percent of blacks are jobless. Obama said he is doing what he can, and on Monday told April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks that “this notion, somehow, that be- cause there wasn’t a transformation overnight that we’ve been neglectful is just simply, factually not accurate.” In a Tuesday phone interview with syndicated radio host Tom Joyner, Obama added: “One of the things about being part of the Afri- can American community is that no matter how well you do, you know there’s somebody in your family that’s still hurting because we’re not that far away from the neighborhood. And people need to know that I carry their stories with me whenever I come into the Oval Office.” Black Caucus members have been the source of much of the criticism targeted at Obama. Earlier this month, ten members held a dramatic boycott of a House Finance Committee to bring attention to the disproportionately high levels of unemployment among Obama Reaches Out to African Americans President Obama pushed back this week against criticism that he has not been concerned enough about the disproportionate impact of the economic recession on African Americans. In interviews this week with media outlets targeted at the black community. See OBAMA, on page 3 Rep. Maxine Waters BATON ROUGE - Southern Univer- sity graduates were urged to be part of the solution to the growing high school dropout rate of African-American boys. “It’s time for us to take some action” to stem the tide of black males dropping out of high school, Thomas W. Dortch, Jr., said in his address Friday to 517 new graduates during commencement exercises on the Baton Rouge campus. Terry L. McCullum, Jr., of Baton Rouge, was honored as the Chief Student Marshal, the student with the highest cu- mulative grade point average among the undergraduates. McCullum, a mechani- cal engineering major, graduated with a Speaker to Southern University Grads: Help Stem Dropout Rate Among Black Males Thomas W. Dortch, Jr. BATONROUGE — Sales tax rev- enues in East Baton Rouge Parish for October fell 22.4 percent compared to October 2008. In the month of October, sales tax revenues totaled $12,477,865, down from $16,079,741 the previous year. Mayor Kip Holden attrib- uted the drop to the effects of Hurricane Gustav last year, when thousands of property owners were making repairs caused by the storm. “The sharp decrease from last October wasn’t unexpected and was actu- ally built into our 2009 budget,” Holden said. “As a result of conserva- tive bud- geting, we are able to absorb the drop in sales tax revenues without any neg- ative impact on city- parish services.” Sales tax revenues for the first 10 months of 2009 are down 4.64 percent com- pared to the same period last year. The mayor said no service cuts or layoffs are anticipated in the 2010 budget, which is also based on conservative sales tax projections. Sales Tax Revenues Drop 22% in October 2009 BATON ROUGE — Lou- isiana gambling regulators have approved a reduction in Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.’s investment in the company’s second casino project in Lake Charles. Without objection, the board agreed Tuesday to cut Pinnacle’s minimum in- vestment in Sugarcane Bay from $350 million to $300 million. The project includes a second gambling riverboat and 400-room hotel directly next to Pinnacle’s L’Auberge Du Lac casino-hotel. Pinnacle officials say the project’s cost was cut by rede- signing the new hotel so it can share certain functions with the existing hotel, such as a check-in area. The reconfig- ured hotel also will have less restaurant and retail space than previously planned. Pinnacle agreed to have Sugarcane Bay finished by the end of June 2011. Casino Regulator Approve Project Cost Scaled Back See BLACK MALES, on page 2
Transcript
INDEXLocal & State ...........................2
Commentary ............................4
Business ...................................5
Religion ...................................6
Health ......................................7
THEWEEKLYPRESS.COM Celebrating 34 Years Of Service To The Baton Rouge Community 225.775.2002
STATE & LOCAL NEWS RELigiON NEWS HEALTH NEWS
CLASSifiEd Buying or selling a service, looking for for a good job or a good used car? Check out the classifeds .
fEMA NEW AdMiNiSTRATORFEMA Administrator Craig Fugate swore in Tony Russell as the new regional administrator of FEMA Re-gion VI at the regional headquarters in Denton, Texas. ...See Page 2
NEW diET BOOk fOR BLACkSAs the Christmas holiday nears, what I want for Christmas is for people all over to start taking better care of their temples — better care of their bodies. That’s a Christmas gift that I’m so looking forward to receiv-ing.....See Page 6
RESpiRATORy CARE RECOgNiTiONThe American Association for Re-spiratory Care (AARC) awarded the 2009 Quality Respiratory Care recognition to Woman’s Hospital for providing quality respiratory care services to their patients and their community... See Page 7
The 2009 National Rice Month Scholarship grand prize was awarded to Daniel T. McFarland of Keithville, LA, the USA Rice Federation announced today. The award was presented during the USA Rice Outlook annual Rice Awards luncheon at the New Orleans Marriott. ....Page 3
NATiONAL/STATE & COMMuNiTy WATCH
THURSDAY, DecembeR 24, 2009 a people’s publication Vol. 34 • No. 36
b a t o n r o u g e , l o u i s i a n a
BuSiNESS NEWSClassics Sports Radio Network will broadcast the Russell Athletic HBCU Bowl on Saturday, December 19 live from the Cramton Bowl in Montgom-ery AL. ....See Page 5
Season’s Greetings
By Krissah Thompson
President Obama is pushing back this week against criticism that he has not been concerned enough about the disproportionate impact of the eco-nomic recession on African Americans. In interviews this week with media outlets targeted at the black com-munity, he defended both his record and his connection to the community against accusations that he is taking black voters for granted.
Recently members of the Congres-sional Black Caucus have said his ad-ministration and Congressional leaders are not doing enough to target aid to the black community, which has higher levels of unemployment than others. Nationally, unemployment stands at 10 percent, but 15.6 percent of blacks are jobless.
Obama said he is doing what he can, and on Monday told April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks
that “this notion, somehow, that be-cause there wasn’t a transformation overnight that we’ve been neglectful is just simply, factually not accurate.”
In a Tuesday phone interview with syndicated radio host Tom Joyner, Obama added: “One of the things about being part of the Afri-can American community is that no matter how well you do, you know
there’s somebody in your family that’s still hurting because we’re not that far away from the neighborhood. And people need to know that I carry their stories with me whenever I come into the Oval Office.”
Black Caucus members have been the source of much of the criticism targeted at Obama. Earlier this month, ten members held a dramatic boycott of a House Finance Committee to bring attention to the disproportionately high levels of unemployment among
Obama Reaches Out to African Americans
President Obama pushed back this week against criticism that he has not
been concerned enough about the disproportionate impact of the economic
recession on African Americans. In interviews this week with media outlets
targeted at the black community.
See Obama, on page 3Rep. Maxine Waters
BATON ROUGE - Southern Univer-sity graduates were urged to be part of the solution to the growing high school dropout rate of African-American boys.
“It’s time for us to take some action” to stem the tide of black males dropping out of high school, Thomas W. Dortch, Jr., said in his address Friday to 517 new graduates during commencement exercises on the Baton Rouge campus.
Terry L. McCullum, Jr., of Baton Rouge, was honored as the Chief Student Marshal, the student with the highest cu-mulative grade point average among the undergraduates. McCullum, a mechani-cal engineering major, graduated with a
Speaker to Southern university grads: Help Stem dropout Rate Among Black Males
Thomas W. Dortch, Jr.
BATON ROUGE — Sales tax rev-enues in East Baton Rouge P a r i s h f o r October fell 22.4 percent compared to October 2008.
In the month of October, sales tax revenues totaled $12,477,865, down from $16,079,741 the previous year.
Mayor Kip Holden attrib-uted the drop to the effects of Hurricane Gustav last year, when thousands of property owners were making repairs caused by the storm.
“The sharp decrease from last October wasn’t unexpected and was actu-
ally built into our 2009 budget,”
Holden said. “As a result of conserva-tive bud-geting, we are able to
absorb the drop in sales
tax revenues without any neg-
ative impact on city-parish services.”
Sales tax revenues for the first 10 months of 2009 are down 4.64 percent com-pared to the same period last year.
The mayor said no service cuts or layoffs are anticipated in the 2010 budget, which is also based on conservative sales tax projections.
Sales Tax Revenues drop 22% in October 2009
BATON ROUGE — Lou-isiana gambling regulators have approved a reduction in Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.’s investment in the company’s second casino project in Lake Charles.
Without objection, the board agreed Tuesday to cut Pinnacle’s minimum in-vestment in Sugarcane Bay from $350 million to $300 million.
The project includes a second gambling riverboat
and 400-room hotel directly next to Pinnacle’s L’Auberge Du Lac casino-hotel.
Pinnacle officials say the project’s cost was cut by rede-signing the new hotel so it can share certain functions with the existing hotel, such as a check-in area. The reconfig-ured hotel also will have less restaurant and retail space than previously planned.
Pinnacle agreed to have Sugarcane Bay finished by the end of June 2011.
Casino Regulator Approve project Cost Scaled Back
See black males, on page 2
Page 2 • The Weekly Press • Thursday, December 24, 2009
Since the inception of the SU Ag Center ’s Com-munities of Color Network in 2003, Louisiana has seen a significant decrease in the prevalence of tobacco use among African Americans. According to Tonia Moore, grants and contract coordi-nator with Louisiana Public Health Institute, Louisiana has witnessed a large volume of African-American callers to the Louisiana Quit Line in the last four years (approximately 31-37% of the callers are Af-rican Americans).
“This speaks volumes to the number of Louisianians who are ready to kick the habit and improve their overall health,” said Moore.
Although the numbers continue to decrease, African Americans in Louisiana are
twice as likely as other races to die from tobacco-related illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Ac-cording to data from the 2007-2008 Adult Tobacco Survey, African-American nonsmok-ers are more likely to be ex-posed to secondhand smoke at work than white nonsmokers. African-American smokers are less likely to have smoke-free homes than white smokers. According to the 2009 Loui-siana Youth Tobacco Survey, 49% of African-American middle school smokers usu-ally smoke menthol cigarettes and 64% of African-American high school smokers usually smoke menthol cigarettes. African-American youth are much more likely to smoke Black & Mild cigars than white youth.
READER INFORMATION
How to Reach UsGeneral Information . . .225-775-2002
Fax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225-775-4216
Email Address
. . . . . . theweeklypress@yahoo .com
. . . . . . . . . . thewpres@bellsouth .net
The office is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday and located at 1283 Rosenwald Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Correction PolicyThe Baton Rouge Weekly Press strives to be fair and accurate. The newspaper corrects any significant errors of fact brought to the attention of the editor. If you think an error has been made, call 225-775-2002
The Weekly Press
Newspaper is a published weekly in Baton Rouge and distributed every Thursday with a circulation of 7,500. Subscription rates are $38.00 per year for Louisiana residents; $42.00 for one year for out-of-state residents; half price for six months subscription: and $1.00 per single copy.
All money orders or checks should be made payable to The Weekly Press, P.O. Box 74485, Baton Rouge, La. 70874
T H O U G H T FOR THE WEEK: Watchman, what of the night?
A R E Y O U R E A D Y & P R E -P A R E D F O R WATCH NIGHT SERVICES?
W E L C O M E BACK TO THE CAN-CER SURVIVORS WHO ATTENDED “Living Beyond Can-cer” in Philadelphia, Pennsyl-vania. Some local attendees included Gloria Graham, Gloria Dorsey, Amelia Hill-iard and Julia B. Moore. The conference was held in mid November.
BATON ROUGE HOS-PICE FOUNDATION spon-sored “A Night of Music” to celebrate its 25th anniversary of Hospice. This special ben-efit concert was held at First United Methodist Church and the post-performance reception was enjoyed by all. Kathryn Grigsby is the local Hospice director.
MS. CAROLINE HICKS AND COUSIN MARY ASH-TON HONORE’ were hon-ored at a brunch given by their host of cousins. These two fine young women are debutantes of the Karnival Krewe deLoui-siana. Attending the brunch were hostesses Karen Cullins, Geretta Guillaume, Michelle Honore, grandmothers Betty Honore’, Mildred Patin and Edna Hicks. Congrats to Mary & Caroline.
THANKS to local Girl Scouts for the “Cookies for All” exchange program. The girls involved included Camerean Cash, Courtney Lawrence, and Wesley Ann Foreman.
DR. & MRS. ALBERT SAM hosted a reception to welcome cardiovascular and thoracic specialists Nervin Fanous and Antoine Keller. Attending this event were Drs. Joe Griffin, Victor Tran, Andy Olinde, in addition to other guests.
NAMEBAKERY
May this specialtime be filled with
food, love andlaughter for youand your family.
A CHRISTMAS TEA was held at the home of Catherine White Johnson. She welcomed guests, along with niece Sarah White and mother Martha White. Guests enjoyed an assortment of homemade party foods and fine fellow-ship.
“STABBED IN THE ART” was held
recently by local artists who showed off their talents. Their eclectic shows are held on the first Friday night of every month from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 pm. In addition to T.J. Black, Yvette Creel and Alex Harvie other local artists are welcome.
A NEW KREWE is in the Area! Sleet and snow did not stop the formation of a new krewe called Poseidon in Baton Rouge area. The first king and queen of the krewe are Donald McLaurean and Kristen Oaks. Officers intro-duced included Lisa Shepherd of Prarieville. Little Miss Lexy Smith was a page.
MS. LAURA EDWARDS was among the fine young women presented by the Krewe of Ga-briel fall debutante presentation. Congratulations, Laura!
LSU CAMPUS CLUB was also spreading holiday cheer with their enthusiastic members who wanted to help somebody during this holiday season. Members who attended enjoyed the hostess Jacqueline O’Quinn.
DID YOU SEE IT? It is the Princess and the Frog, Disney’s new film of 2009. This is Disney’s first time to have a minority as a main focal point in the film.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lillian Barr, Lonnie Dixon, Sr., Shamika Dixon, and Buffy Ham-ilton.
HAVE A BLESSED NEW YEAR - 2010! Would you believe it’s another year?
Watch night services begin on Friday at sunset!!
See you there!!
Love, Marge
marge's Chit Chat
MARGE LAWRENCE
NEW ORLEANS – Today, FEMA Ad-ministrator Craig Fugate swore in Tony Russell as the new regional administrator of FEMA Region VI at the regional headquarters in Denton, Texas.
“Regional Ad-ministrators are one of the most important positions in our agency, connecting our headquar-ters to the states and citizens we serve,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “Tony is an experi-enced emergency manager and a dedicated public servant who has already shown his deep un-derstanding of the team approach that is required for success in this field. I know he will continue to work closely with governors and leaders as he builds on the progress he has already made in Louisiana.”
Mr. Russell, whose official first day as Region VI Adminis-trator will be Monday, December 21st, has coordinated the federal
disaster response and recovery support
to state and local emergency man-agement officials as a Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) from FEMA Re-
gion VIII for more than six years. He has
managed a diverse col-lection of complex disasters
and emergencies in Washington, Texas, Alabama, South Dakota, North Dakota, Illinois, New Mexico, and Montana, among others.
Most recently, Mr. Russell served as Acting Director of the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office (LATRO) where he led a staff of over 1,300 FEMAperson-nel working at various strategic locations and offices throughout the state. Through this position, Mr. Russell played a central role in streamlining the assistance process, working with the governor, Louisiana Recovery Authority and congressional members.
In his new role as Regional Administrator, Mr. Russell will continue to work closely with officials in Louisiana, as well as leaders in Arkansas, New Mex-ico, Oklahoma, and Texas – the additional four states in Region VI – leveraging regional as well as national resources as we ex-pand our nation’s emergency response team and as recovery efforts in the region continue. While this transition takes place, Mark Landry, who currently serves as the deputy director, will be the interim director at the LATRO until a permanent director is identified.
Mr. Russell holds a Bach-elor of Arts (BA) degree in Politi-cal Science from the University of New Mexico. He went on to obtain a Masters of Arts (MA) in Management and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from National University and a Masters in Homeland Security Studies from the Naval Post Graduate School. In addition, Mr. Russell has earned the Certi-fied Emergency Manager (CEM) designation.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate Swears in Tony Russell as New Region VI Administrator
3.9 gpa. Citing huge dropout sta-
tistics among African-American boys in a number of major U.S. cities, Dortch said, had those numbers reflected the dropout rate among white young men, “Corporate America, the Presi-dent of the United States” and others “would declare a national emergency.”
The chairman emeritus of 100 Black Men, Inc. said he has partnered with a number of national celebrities to start an ef-fort to recruit 1 million people to mentor 1 million black teenag-
ers. He encouraged Southern’s fall 2009 graduating class to join the effort.
Dortch, a noted commu-nity activist and author, told the students to become financial contributors to their alma mater. “You have to make investments in your college,” he said, add-ing that the economic viability of the school depends on their giving.
He told the students to be proud of themselves and to maintain high moral and profes-sional standards. “If you place a low value on yourself, rest
assured that the world won’t change your price,” he said.
Dortch has developed fund-raising projects designed to empower single parents and communities to meet the needs of their children. He is the au-thor of “The Miracles of Men-toring, the Joy of Investing in Our Future,” a how-to guide for adults seeking to mentor youth.
He co-founded the Black College Alumni Hall of Fame and the Georgia Association of Minority Entrepreneurs. He also serves on the boards of the Sickle Cell Foundation and the National Assault on Illiteracy. Ebony Magazine has listed him as one of the 100 most influen-tial Black leaders.
Black Males from page 1
Decreasing Among African Americans
BOYD’S BAKERY1659 N. Acadian Thruway WestBaton Rouge, Louisiana 70802
Phone: (225) 343-5073
Thursday, December 24, 2009 • The Weekly Press • Page 3
NEW ORLEANS — The 2009 National Rice Month Scholarship grand prize was awarded to Daniel T. McFar-land of Keithville, LA, the USA Rice Federation announced today. The award was pre-sented during the USA Rice Outlook annual Rice Awards luncheon at the New Orleans Marriott.
To vie for a scholarship, eligible high school juniors and seniors in rice-growing states (Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Mis-souri and Texas) must conduct a promotion during Septem-ber National Rice Month with U.S.-grown rice as the central theme. McFarland took top honors and earned a $4,000 scholarship for his promotion entitled “Rice... Anytime, Any-
one, Anywhere.” Additional scholarship
prizes were awarded to Zach-
ary Joseph Romaine of Abbev-ille, LA (second place, $3,000), Rachel Brown of Jennings, LA
(third place, $1,500) and Jasmine Rethmeyer of Kansas City, MO (honorable mention, $500).
1.00 OFF
Lindsey’sD I N E R
ANy MEAl $5.99 oR MoRE.ExcluDINg chIttERlINgs AND ox tAIl DINNERs
ExpIREs DECEMBER 30th, 2009
2502 N. Acadian Thruway East •Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70805Phone: (225) 355-5050 •Fax: (225) 355-1571
Hours of Operation: 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday
SHIRLEY WHITAKER 225-279-9144
CREDIT PROBLEMS???• Need to buy that house? • Tired of paying rent?
• Need a fresh start? • Need a new car?LET ME HELP REBUILD
Success 4 LIFE SOLUTIONS, L.L.C.
On sale: Phone Cards and Postage Stamps
New Look N e i g h b o r h o o d G r o c e r y
HOME OF THE PARK TOWN BURGER
Hot Breakfast $3.09 Daily Home Made Lunch $4.99Mobile Kitchen available for your Catering needs serving for 1 to 1000
Store Hours: Monday through Thursday 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. • Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
1376 North 39th Street Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802
(225) 388-0055
Red Beans & Rice with Two Chicken Wings for $4.49 Includes a Soda.
• Commercial Investment• 100% Purchase on Rural Property• Refinance, Construction Loan• Fast Approval & Funding• VA, FHA, My Community Programs• Rates as Low as 5.25• Take Advantage of $8,000.00 Tax Credit
We Can have You In YouR home
DaRlene h. Reese Professional Mortgage Lender
Proven Service & Dependability25 Years Serving Baton Rouge & Surrounding Communities
Full Service Agency • Licensed Agents Professional Courteous Staff
Auto • Life • Homeowners & Renters • Flood IRa/Retirement, Investment Counseling
USA Rice Federation Names National Rice Month Scholarship Winners
Daniel T. McFarland accepts the grand prize.
black workers, which in some of their districts has soared beyond 20 percent.
“We’re out of the box, we’re full speed ahead and we are not going to sit back and watch our communities suffer in silence,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who led the boycott, said in an interview this week with the National Newspaper Publish-ers Association, a federation of black community newspapers. “We have cooperated with the leadership. We have cooperated with the administration. We have supported the bailout and now we’re saying, ‘What do we get for all of this cooperation? What are we delivering to our communities?’ And the answer is little or nothing.”
Obama mounted a defense against that notion, citing aid from the economic stimulus bill that saved the jobs of teachers, firefighters and police officers. “The only thing I cannot do is, by law, I cannot pass laws that say ‘I’m just helping black folks.’ I’m the president of the entire United States,” Obama
told Ryan in the Oval Office interview. “What I can do is make sure that I am passing laws that help all people, par-ticularly those who are most vulnerable and most in need. That in turn is going to help lift up the African American community.”
Obama told Joyner that the health care bill the Senate is expected to pass this week will help the one in five black people who don’t have health insurance. And he closed his interview with the radio host by saying: “I think the main message that I’ve got for the African American community as we go into this next year is that this has been a hard one. It’s been a tough one. But Mi-chelle and I are so blessed by the support that we receive, and everywhere we go, people come up to us and say, ‘We’re praying for you, thinking about you and rooting for you.’ I just want everybody to know that goes both ways, and I’m pray-ing for all your listeners and thinking about all your listen-
ers, and we’re rooting for you. And that’s not just Michelle and me -- that’s Malia and Sasha, the first grandmother.”
An edited version of the Obama’s conversation with Joyner follows. The full tran-script can be read on Black-AmericaWeb.
Joyner: What do you have to say to the struggling people this Christmas?
Obama: Well, I think the main message I have is a) I know you’re hurting. I get letters from people across the country every-day that I read, and you know, the stories are heartbreaking. Folks are worried about losing their homes. They’ve lost their jobs. They’re trying to figure out how they can still pay for their kids’ college education. They’ve been sending out resumes, and nothing’s happening. They’ve lost their health care. The main message I have for them is help is on the way. I know it’s not coming as quick for some as we would like, but our first job this year was to make sure that the economy just didn’t collapse
because then it would have been even worse. We could have had an unemployment rate that is double what it is right now. We’ve stabilized the economy and it’s starting to grow again.
By the way, people need to understand that one out of every five African-Americans do not have health care. No-body stands to gain more from this health care bill passing - 30 million people who are going to get health care from this in-surance deal. It’s going to be disproportionately people who are of low-income. They work every day, but they’re not get-ting health care, so that’s going to be in place. But then next year, we’ve also got to focus on things like the education re-forms that we’ve been initiating. Additional child care dollars. Setting up green jobs so that we can train some of those young men on the street to weatherize homes and put up insulation, put in new windows. That saves
Obama from page 1
Gus Young Meat Market4896 Gus Young AvenueBaton Rouge, Louisiana 70806Telephone: (225) 928-0989
Fresh Meat Cut Daily.Best Meat Special & Deals Mr. Steve
See Obama, on page 7
By AAron GlAntz
Loans handed out to strug-gling small businesses as part of President Barack Obama’s stimu-lus package have largely shut out minority businesses -- especially those owned by Blacks and Lati-nos -- according to data provided by the federal government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) to New America Media (NAM).
On June 15, the SBA, using money from the $787 billion Amer-ican Recovery and Reinvestment Act, launched the ARC program, America’s Recovery Capital, giv-ing banks and credit unions 100 percent guarantees so they’re tak-ing no risk when they make loans of up to $35,000 to previously suc-cessful, currently struggling small businesses to help them ride out the recession.
Under the program, the bor-rower pays no interest and makes no payments for 12 months, then has five years to repay the loan. SBA charges no fees and pays interest to the lender at prime – the rate of interest at which banks lend to favored customers – plus 2 percent.
The Obama Administration does not report the racial break-down of who’s benefiting from these loans at Recovery.gov, but data obtained by NAM from the SBA found that of the 4,497 ARC loans where the race of the bor-rower was reported, 4,104 (over 91 percent) went to white-owned firms, 140, (3%) went to Hispanic-owned businesses, and 151 (3%) went to Asian- or Pacific Islander-owned businesses. Only 65, (1.5%) went to black-owned firms.
Overall, white-owned busi-nesses received over $130 million in loans through the program, while Hispanic-owned businesses got $4 million and black-owned
businesses less than $2 million. In five states – Alabama, Ar-
kansas, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Wyoming -- every single firm that received an ARC loan was white-owned. In eight other states, including Louisiana and
Nevada, all but one loan went to a white-owned firm.
Civil rights groups and repre-sentatives of the minority business communities reacted with anger when told of NAM’s findings.
“It’s just horrendous,” said Anthony Robinson, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Minority Business Legal Defense and Edu-cation Fund (MBELDEF). “During this economic recession, there is no recognition or sensitivity to the need to support and benefit people of color.”
“The data raises troubling questions” and should trigger an investigation,” says Oren Sell-strom of San Francisco’s Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. “This should be a red flag for the SBA and the banks. It gives us the in-dication that something may be amiss and further explanation is warranted.”
Census figures put black business ownership at 5% and Hispanic business ownership at about 7% -- more than double the numbers getting these SBA-backed loans.
At the SBA in Washington, spokesman Jonathan Swain ar-gued racial disparities in the ARC loan program don’t paint the full picture of the agency’s lending practices. Many of the SBA’s other loan products, he says, have large minority business participation. For example, he says, minority-owned businesses receive 29% of loans given through the SBA’s
From: Congressman Bill Cassidy, M.D.
House of RepresentativeWashington, DC
CC: Mr. Greg Mitchell, Representative, Concerned Citizens of University Place Subdivision
Recently, residents in the University Place Subdivision met with the Congressman Bill Cassidy, M.D., and his staff to discuss the dilemma with the North Baton Rouge Treatment Plant.
According to the resi-dents, they have experienced great difficulties with the plant for several years. For example, the expansion, decrease in their standard of living, depreciation of property value, and health issues. In addition, the citizens of the subdivision believe their civil rights are violated.
The residents want a buy-out of their property.
If anyone wants to contact Representative Bill Cassidy’s office they can contact Shawn Hanscom in the Baton Rouge office at (225) 929-7711.
CommentaryThursday, December 24, 2009 • The Weekly Press • Page 4
By ron WAltersNNPA Columnist
(NNPA) - A few weeks from now, lots of people will be trying to assess the one year anniversary of the performance of President Barack Obama and I wonder in that picture where will be his victory in getting a health care bill passed. I say “his victory” because whether or not others – even in his own party -- consider it a victory, it will give his administration a concrete accomplishment to stand on that Republicans have been trying to prevent. I also think that even those in the Democratic Party who are not crazy about this attempt at health care reform will tout it because it will give those who are running for re-election some currency to run on and try to keep their number up in the 2010 elections.
Nevertheless, it will be tantalizing to know whether the narrative will favor Barack Obama’s leadership strategy as having been successful. Remember, he decided not to commit Bill Clinton’s mistake
and present to the Congress – and the American people – a 2,000 page detailed health care bill of his own; rather he de-cided to lay out the general principles he wanted and let the Congress take the lead in fashioning the details. His role, then, was to move the debate along by occasionally in-tervening to remind the country of the principles he was fighting for acting and essentially act as a cheer-leader at points in the legislative process.
That strategy carried a sub-stantial risk because at times he was criticized for not lead-ing, and thus not being seen wrestling with the details of the issues that came forth in the de-bates. The result was that since the House was far more disci-plined Speaker Nancy Pelosi passed a bill over Republican objections and the drama then, shifted to the Senate where folks like Democratic Senator Ben Nelson and Independent Joe Lieberman held up the
works, demanding to include or exclude things from the legis-lation in exchange for their votes.
M e a n w h i l e , Harry Reid, Demo-cratic Leader in the Senate, has emerged as something of a hero in resolving the issues raised by Lieberman, Nelson and others
in his negotiations that have given Democrats sixty votes to pass the bill. At least, at this point, there are sixty votes for cloture, whether there will be sixty votes to finally pass the bill remains to be seen. Some other Senators may hold up passage of the bill – and there-fore, the process – in exchange for inserting their issues to get their votes on final passage. Nevertheless, because of the negotiations to satisfy conserva-tive Democrats the Senate bill has become the “gold standard” and will be favored the House/Senate conference that emerges with the House.
The House bill bears the stamp of Speaker Nancy Pelosi
and the Senate bill is the Reid Bill. The question is whether bill that emerges from the House/Senate Conference will be the Obama Bill. If his strategy is to have a result that factors him into the picture as a leader and as one largely responsible for the resulting legislation, he will have to play a stronger role in the Confer-ence. Otherwise, the credit for the bill’s passage will probably go to Harry Reid. Obama may be satisfied with that for now because Reid is in a close Sen-ate race in Nevada, but he will obviously point with pride to it as a major and historic accom-plishment of his administration as he moves toward his own re-election in 2012.
The President’s poll num-bers have been moving down as the year closes and his one year anniversary comes into view. But his personal favor-able numbers remains adequate at 50 percent on a recent Wash-ington Post/ABCNew Poll and 47 percent in a Wall Street Jour-nal/NYTimes Poll. I am some-
By GeorGe e. CurryNNPA Columnist
The Tiger Woods’ women count is up to 20. That’s the number of women who haven’t gone to bed with the world’s busiest golfer. Until now, I have managed to stay away from this subject. But in many ways, the reaction to Tiger’s fall from grace says more about us as a society than Woods’ personal problems.
First, Tiger Woods should be viewed for what he is: A great athlete. And the unend-ing skank-of-the day disclo-sures cannot alter that reality. In fact, the Associated Press just crowned him Athlete of the Decade.
If we’ve learned anything over the years, it should have been that athletes and enter-tainers in particular make poor role models. If you’re looking for good role models, turn to the men who take the time to mentor young boys, the women who head Girl Scout troops and the men and women who try to live by what they teach in Sun-day School. If you were looking for Tiger Woods to be your role model, you were looking in the wrong place.
The disclosure that Woods had cheated on his wife a time or two, or three, or four, or what-ever number, led some people to feel personally betrayed. Mind you, these people have never met Tiger Woods, they have never
spoken with him on the telephone and they didn’t receive any of the numerous text messages he had been evidently send-ing out.
Is Tiger a hypo-crite? Unquestion-ably. But that’s some-thing he’ll have to ex-plain to his God, not to people he doesn’t know exist.
Talking heads on cable TV and talk radio are treating Woods’ transgressions – his word, not mine – as though professional athletes in the past haven’t violated their marriage vows. Do the names Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant ring a bell?
But let’s not just pick on professional athletes. Let me refresh your recollection about some other high-profiled viola-tions:
· Eliot Spitzer was forced to resign as governor of New York last year after it was disclosed that he patronized a prostitution service while serv-ing as the state’s attorney gen-eral and as governor. His most publicized tryst occurred at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. on February 13, 2008 with a 22-year-old from New York. According to federal authorities, he paid the prostitute $4,300 in cash, which included a $1,100 deposit for future service.
· The wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Standford moved out of the governor’s mansion and filed for divorce this month after learning that her husband had a rendez-vous with Maria Belen Chapur, whom he de-scribed as his Argen-tinean lover and soul mate.
• President Bill Clinton barely escaped being kicked out of office after it was disclosed that he had a sexual relation-ship with Monica Lewinsky, a 22-year-old White House intern. After months of denying the li-aison, Clinton finally acknowl-edged the relationship to a grand jury on Aug. 17, 1998.
• Pressured by DNA test results, former Democratic presi-dential candidate John Edwards was forced to admit this year that he fathered a child with Rielle Hunter, his mistress and a former campaign worker. His wife was bravely fighting cancer at the time.
• Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., a married father of five, had a daughter outside of his marriage a decade ago with Karin L. Stan-ford, director of the Washington bureau of Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
• Larry Craig, a Republican senator from Idaho, was arrested for lewd conduct in a men’s re-stroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. He
pleaded guilty in 2007 to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.
The names of at least 50 oth-ers could be added to the list if space permitted. But I am sure that by now you get the point.
Woods’ critics, directly and indirectly, point to the race of his mistresses.
Under the headline, “Tiger Saga Widens his distance from Blacks,” Jesse Washington, a re-porter for the Associated Press, quotes Denene Millner, author of several books on Black rela-tionships: “We’ve discussed this for years among black women. Why is it when they get to this level…they tend to go directly for the nearest blonde?”
Woods, the son of an Afri-can-American father and Thai mother, has never prided him-self on being Black. He coined the term “Cablinasian,” to re-flect what he calls his Caucasian, Black, Indian and Asian heritage. No one should be surprised that most of his mistresses look like Elin Nordegren, his Swedish wife. And nor should anyone consider it an honor if he had cheated on his wife with Black women. Or, with any other women for that matter.
Tiger Woods’ wounds were self-inflicted and it didn’t help any that his initial statement had more holes in it than a golf course. But there is simply too much interest in what did or did not happen in his home. People should get a life instead of being obsessed with Tiger’s.
Why is Everyone Teeing Off on Tiger?
The Politics of Credit for Health Care Reform
The views expressed in the editiorial columns are not necessarily the veiws of The Weekly Press or its staff. Address all opinions and comments to: Letters to the Editior, P.O. Box 74485 Baton Rouge, La. 70874 or E-mail them to: [email protected]
By WilliAm Jones
Well, it is that time of year again. This is the time of year we hear “Jingle Bells Ring-ing.” This is the time of year just about every one is in the spirit of giving gifts. This is the time of year we put up beautiful Christmas lighting. As signs of praise of the Blessed one, Jesus, the son of God who was sent to us by his Father and thus our God, and born under uncom-mon condition in a manger by a common woman (Mary) who had Diehard faith in our God.
Therefore as Christmas approaches all of our thoughts should surround the crib in Bethlehem where our Saviour was born. Christmas is a time to celebrate the most boundless
gift of Our Father send-ing His only son only to give him up later in early life to die for our sins. May we not just usher the words joy to the world the Lord has come, may we not just sing the song “Silent Night, Holy Night,” may we not just say the words - old little town of Bethlehem. May we
not just listen to our kids sing, Twas the Night Before Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Let us remind ourselves that this is a precious time to think of the real meaning of what the celebra-tion is all about.
Let us teach our kids what Christmas is all about. Teach them the first part Christmas - Christ. Put Christ in your Christ-mas.
That Is The Way I See It.
GeorgeE. Curry
RonWalters
See RefoRm, on page 7
Christ The Saviour is Born
WilliamJones
The Way I See IT
LeTTer To The edITor
The Negative Impact on the North Baton Rouge Sewage Treatment Plant
Minority Businesses Locked Out of Stimulus Loans New America Media, News Report
See RePoRT, on page 7
Thursday, December 24, 2009 • The Weekly Press • Page 5
p.m. ET. The teams are made up
of some of the nation’s best se-nior football players amongst the Historically Black Colleges
and Universities, in an East vs. West style format. The East team is made up of players from the MEAC and CIAA and coached by Florida A&M head coach Joe
Taylor, while the West team is made up of players from the SWAC and the SIAC and coached by Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow. The players will participate in a “combine” atmo-sphere during the week as NFL personnel administer tests.
The broadcast will begin with the pregame show at 2:30 p.m. ET and can be heard on radio stations and online at www.classicsportsradio.com. Eight stations are currently slated to pick up the game with more scheduled to be added. Donal ware will handle play-by-play duties and the color analyst and sideline reporter will be named later.
DWCommunications, LLC
business
PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANTS
NEEDED!!Fast growing PCA
company, needs experienced personal
Care attendants. Must be a
high school graduate. Background
check required.
CNA is a plus, but not
Required, with experience.
(225) 775-9023
Are you buying or selling a service? Are you looking for employment? The classifieds is a good way to find what you need or to advertise your
goods and services. Call The Weekly Press 225-775-2002 for details
PhysicianFirst Care Physicians
The Baton Rouge Gen-eral, a multi-campus, acute-care, has an opening for a Board-Certified or Board-Eligible Infectious Disease Physician to join First Care Physicians at our Mid City campus in Baton Rouge, LA. Must hold a current LA Medi-cal License or have the ability to obtain one.
Interested candidates should apply online at HY-PERLINK “http://www.brgeneral.org” www.brgen-eral.org or in person at our Mid City campus located at 3600 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA
(Help Wanted) DRIVERSDrivers: Home Everyday! Local Routes! Excellent Wages & Ben-efits! CDL Class A, 1yr exp with HazMat & TWIC required. Apply: Airgas, 35114 Hwy 30, Geismar ,
LA. EOE.
EMPLOyMENT/DRIVERS
DRIVERS-TANkER: GREAT PAy & BENEFITS,
INCLuDING FREE HEALTH INS!1yR CDL-A, WX & TANkER
END. REq.225-355-1324
“We Also Sell Men & Women Shoes”
S H O E S H O P
932 Progress Street • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802
(225) 343-6896
Leroy Turner
“And the shepherdsreturned, glorifying andpraising God for all the
things that they hadheard and seen.”
Luke 2:20
Take time during this busyholiday season to thank the Lord
for what He has done for us.
NAME SPONSOR
All of us hope yourChristmas is filled
with family, friendsand good times.
May the joys of theseason be yours.
NAME GIFT STORE SPONSOR
BATON ROUGE - Southern University’s College of Educa-tion is inviting recruiters, along with current and prospective teachers, to its Spring 2010 Teacher Job Fair on March 16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Fel-ton G. Clark Activity Center.
Job interviews will be con-ducted by recruiters represent-ing school districts from several states, including Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Missis-sippi. Recruiters will be inter-viewing candidates in all areas of certification.
Persons seeking to be in-terviewed should bring at least
10 resumes. Interested recruiters should
submit a completed registration form and payment by Monday, March 1, 2010 to: Southern Uni-versity, College of Education, Teacher Job Fair, P. O. Box 9983, Baton Rouge, LA 70813.
For an In-State or Out-of-State registration form, visit www.subr.edu <http://www.subr.edu/> and click on Spring 2010 Teacher Job Fair.
For more information about Southern University’s Spring Teacher Job Fair, contact Sheila D. Lewis at 225.771.3944 or 225.771.2290.
SU’s College of Education Hosting ‘Spring Teacher Job Fair’
FUQUAY-VARNNA, NC - Classics Sports Radio Network will broadcast the Russell Ath-letic HBCU Bowl on Saturday, December 19 live from the Cram-ton Bowl in Montgomery AL. The broadcast of the game is part of a two-year broadcast agree-ment between DWCommunica-tions, LLC, parent company of Classics Sports Radio Network and Synergy Sports Associates, rights holder of the game.
Classics Sports Radio Net-work was established in 2008 and broadcasts some of Ameri-ca’s biggest Black College Foot-ball games and sporting events. Games broadcast in 2009 include MEAC/SWAC Challenge (South Carolina State vs. Grambling), Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis (Jackson State vs. Ten-nessee State), Atlanta Football Classic (Florida A&M vs. Ten-nessee State), State Fair Classic in Dallas (Prairie View A&M vs. Grambling), CIAA Cham-pionship Game (Bowie State vs. Fayetteville State), first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs (South Carolina State vs. Appalachian State), and SWAC Champion-ship Game (Alabama A&M vs. Prairie View A&M). CSRN also broadcasts Shaw University and Winston-Salem State University basketball.
The game will be played in Montgomery, AL at the Cramton Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 3:00
Classics Sports Radio Network to Broadcast HBCU Bowl
Stations that will broadcast HBCU Bowl on Classics Sports Radio Network
See HBCU BOWL, on page 7BATON ROUGE, LA – Wright Feigley Communica-tions, a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations firm in Baton Rouge, La., today announced that Cortana Mall has hired the agency to lead its advertising and marketing ef-forts. Wright Feigley assumes control of the shopping center’s advertising strategy, placement and direction beginning Jan. 1.
“So many of us in the agency have grown up with Cortana, so we jumped at the chance to help them focus their approach,” explained Jeff Wright, principal. “Because of our personal histories with the center and our understanding of the retail climate in the Baton Rouge area, we’re confident we can bring them new successes in their marketing efforts.”
According to Monique
Hester, Cortana marketing director, Wright Feigley was selected based upon their innovative mall program ideas, knowledge of the local media market, and their full-service capabilities.
“For years our mar-keting team has consisted of out-of-state folks who increasingly didn’t under-stand the subtleties of the Baton Rouge market,” added Hester. “Wright Feigley gets it and understands the in-creasingly competitive retail landscape. We know this will be a winning partner-ship.”
• New Earn Income Tax Credit Changes• New Elementary & Secondary School Deduction• Now First Time Buyers Credit • New Child Care Expense Credit • IrS representation/ Late Filing/ IrS Indebtness
Open Year Round Not Just Tax Season
ACCUrATE TAX SErVICES
4904 Winbourne Ave. Baton Rouge, LA 70806 Telephone: 225-356-2111
Nolan Turner
Page 6 • The Weekly Press • Thursday, December 24, 2009
Sunday School - 9:30 AMPrayer Service - Wed. @ 6:00 PM
Bible Study - Wed- @ 7:00 PM
Mission Statement: New Hope Baptist Church is a family of baptized believers who worship the Lord our God in spirit and in truth, teach the saved to reach the lost and minister to the needs of others, while encouraging one another through acts of love and living in obedience to Gods Word
Sunday School - 9:30 AMPrayer Service - Wed. @ 6:00 PM
Bible Study - Wed- @ 7:00 PM
CHurCH SCHeduLe
Mission Statement: New Hope Baptist Church is a family of baptized believers who worship the Lord our God in spirit and in truth, teach the saved to reach the lost and minister to the needs of others, while encouraging one another through acts of love and living in obedience to Gods Word
Good Shepherd Full Gospel B.C.The People’s Church
2865 Mission Drive • Baton Rouge, 70805 • Telephone (225)356-5873Bishop H. Hayes, Pastor
Hour of Power 12 NooN eacH wedNesdaySunday School 8:00 AMChurch Service 9:00 AMLord’s Supper 2nd Sunday 6:00 PMBible Study Wednesday 7:00 PMSister/ Brotherhood 6:00 PM
you will Be Blessed uNder THe aNoiNTed MaN of God
St. Mary Baptist Church“The Church that Love Built”
1252 N. Acadian Thruway East • Baton Rouge, LA. 70802
Telephone (225) 387-2926Rev. Conway L Knighton, Pastor
Sunday School 9:30 a.m.Worship Service - 11:00 a.m.
Communion 1st Sunday ........................ 1:00 p.m.Sunday School ................. 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.Bible Class Tuesday ...............................7:30 p.m.Mission Night Thursday .........................7:30 p.m.Deliverance Night Friday .......................7:30 p.m.
BiSHOP JiMMiE & ROSE LEE WADE
Shekinah Shalom Covenant Tabernacle Full Gospel Ministry
8141 Greenwell Springs Roads Building C-1Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70814
Ph: (225) 927-2269
Sunday Service 10:00 a.M.Wednesday Midweek 7:00 P.M.
intercessory Saturday 10:00 a.M.
audrey Briggs Pastor/Evangelist Dr. Davy Kendrick overseer
Church Directory
If you would like your church to be included on the Church Directory. Please Call The Baton Rouge Weekly Press for details at 225-775-2002 or, e-mail us with your billing address to [email protected]
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. - Hebrews 10:25
nears, what I want for Christmas is for people all over to start taking better care of their temples — bet-ter care of their bodies. That’s a Christmas gift that I’m so looking forward to receiving.
I’m big on using scriptures to support my preaching of how God wants us to live long, healthy, satisfied lives — lives of longevity and filled with vigor and joy.
And I believe most people want that for themselves as well. But where the problem lies is in our failure, generally speaking, to consistently eat right and get plenty of exercise.
And when we fail to do that, we as the human race, find ourselves having difficulty in our bodies because the types of foods that we take into our system do more harm than good, and our general lack of exercise — and information — contribute to many of us being obese, suffering from various ailments such as diabe-tes, cancer, high blood pressure, shortened lives, and the list of negatives go on and on.
But be ye of good cheer. To-day’s column is purposed by God to set the captives free. Who are the captives, you ask? People of all ages, genders, races and socio-economic backgrounds who are either suffering from poor health, obesity or who are on the verge of either. People who lack knowl-edge concerning what constitutes a healthy lifestyle.
Baton Rouge doctor Ray-nando L. Banks Sr., author of the recently released book “Country
Diet: A Diet Book for African-Americans”, offers a phenome-nal word of encouragement for healthy living — supported by years of experience in the health-care profession — both in his book and in the many interviews he does with the media on health topics.
“What I’ve seen over the last 20 years in medicine is that the African-American population was leading in all of the bad health parameters — high blood pres-sure, strokes, diabetes, end-stage renal disease (kidney failure) and its related illnesses,” Banks says. “Most of these illnesses trace back to obesity, and I just believe that ei-ther you’re part of the problem or the solution. I’ve tried to develop treatment both pharmacologically and non-pharmacologically (both with medicine and without medi-cine) to attack obesity.
“I’ve even opened up my own gym to see what really is the problem,” he says. “So I gathered all of the information over all of these years and I now know what is effective and what is not effec-tive for the majority of African Americans regarding obesity.”
In “Country Diet”, Banks says the so-called modern Western diet has rendered African Ameri-cans, a mostly healthy people, to a populace which is too sick to prop-erly compete or live healthy in today’s society. He says what has been accepted as the modern diet is laden with sugars, processed flour and starches is foreign to the digestive systems of African Americans.
With the body not being able to properly metabolize the
food ingested, it does what any machine would do with unused energy: It stores it. And in the case of African Americans, the unused energy is stored as fat.
In the portion of his book that talks about the importance
of loving one’s self, Banks says, “I have met many people who are defensive about their obesity and state that they are happy, and being thinner would not make them happier, and they are right, but being healthier would be one
less worry and would be a hell of a lot more comfortable.”
Banks says another thing that African Americans should beware of is how Hollywood per-petuates the notion that obesity is OK.
“Hollywood is threatened by well-figured black women,” Banks says. “(Comedienne-ac-tress) Monique gets more parts (in films) than Beyoncé,” Banks says. “Hollywood has always perpetuated that it is OK to be big if you’re black. But it’s not healthy,” he adds, noting popu-lar black actresses such as Nell Carter of the ‘80s sitcom “Gimme a Break!” and Mabel King of ‘70s sitcom “What’s Happening!!” and the movie “The Wiz,” who both died with the disease.
King, who lost both of her legs, an arm and suffered two strokes as a result of diabetes, died from the disease at age 66 in 1999. Carter, who had long suffered from diabetes, died at age 54 in 2003.
Banks’ book also delves into how infants become obese and how they later become obese adults.
Banks attributes much of that to many African Americans’ lack of knowledge concerning what constitutes good foods and foods that should be avoided.
“We don’t have a long his-tory of consuming white rice, for example,” Banks says. “And our bodies don’t recognize it. Our bodies don’t know what to do with it — they don’t know how to materialize it.”
Another example of the kinds of food that African Ameri-
cans should generally avoid, he says, is white potatoes.
“It’s European food and the African diet should use more of the yams and sweet potatoes — foods that are indigenous to the African continent,” says Banks, who adds that white potatoes — like white rice — is a fat problem.
Bottom-dwelling fish such as catfish, buffalo, carps, and gar are scavengers and should be avoided, Banks notes.
Foods that are good for the body and that contribute greatly to good health, Banks says, include brown rice, sweet potatoes and whole-wheat bread.
“With brown rice not being so processed like the white rice is, it gives the pancreas enough time to handle the load of car-bohydrates,” Banks says. Carbo-hydrates, or carbs, are sources of energy for the body.
As for sweet potatoes, “Af-rican Americans (the majority of them) can trace their genetics back to West Africa, where the yams are consumed,” Banks says. “So our bodies recognize and digest it.”
The thing that makes whole-wheat bread great to eat is that it is “not already processed .... it gives the body enough time to digest the enzymes,” Banks says, noting that enzymes in the body break down food — carbs and proteins.
Banks has dedicated his life to helping others become healthier, thus enabling them to live longer. For information on how to obtain his book, please visit Banks’ Web site http://www.
Author’s Diet Book for African Americans a Great Start to Learning How to Eat, Live Healthier
Baton Rouge doctor Raynando L. Banks Sr., author of the recently released book “Country Diet: a Diet Book for african-americans.”
See Book, on page 7
Thursday, December 24, 2009 • The Weekly Press • Page 7
HealtH
Thursday, March 6, 2008 • The Weekly Press • Page 7
health
Land Line (225) 356-0703Cell Phone (225) 235-6955E-mail: [email protected] Hours: Mon-Thurs 8am – 8 pm
cally pointed out that changes which occur in a human being is redirected to pull from the core of his own humanity to reaffirm self worth and purpose. he will then by nature acquire the will to do for himself and others.
Space is not available to cover concerns of so many people
concerned with the conditions at Jetson. it is happening there. What i do know is that most of these youth can be changed, from contrition in a prepatory school for Angola to rehabilitation for a positive life that may lead to a life of meritorious glory. That is the Way I See It!
SyStem from page 4
all funny or remotely appropri-ate about the use of a lynching reference about Michelle obama,’’ he said. ‘’it’s - i’m speechless.’’
As President Bush pointed out so eloquently during the Black history Month event, the noose represents ‘’more than a tool of murder but a tool of intimidation’’ to generations of African-Ameri-cans. Nooses not only robbed some of their lives but many of their peace of mind.
‘’As a civil society, we must understand that noose displays and lynching jokes are deeply offensive. they are wrong. And they have no place in America today,’’ he said.
Neither o’reilly nor ingraham has been reprimanded by their re-spective employers even though the Fox News personality did offer a half-hearted apology.
At least ingraham didn’t drop the l-word but her suggestion that Sharpton, a former presidential candidate and respected member of the African-American community and beyond, is a petty thief reeks of race-baiting and negative ste-reotyping of African-Americans and black men in particular.
But it’s hardly the first time ei-ther has ventured into questionable and offensive territory. how can
we forget o’reilly’s less-than-informed comments regarding a dinner he shared last year with Sharpton at Sylvia’s in harlem? o’reilly expressed surprise over how similarSylvia’s was to other restaurants in New York restau-rants.
‘’there wasn’t one person in Sylvia’s who was screaming, ‘M-Fer, i want more iced tea,’’’ he said.
As the Washington Post’s rob-inson sadly observed on MSNBC in February, ‘’All you can go by is his words and his actions. And he keeps saying these things that sound pretty darn racist to me.’’
has talk radio learned anything from imus’ decline and fall? of course not, because it didn’t take imus too terribly long to get a new gig.
our nation’s media outlets should not provide a platform for racialhostility and hateful speech now or in the future. What kind of messageare we sending to our chil-dren, our nation and our world?
in such an historic election year, we cannot stand aside and allow individuals to use the airwaves as an outlet for insensitive and misguidedcommentary. if you hear something that offends you, speak up.
talk Radio from page 4
ering all children.the CDF Action Council, build-
ing on the best practices in states and lessons learned about children falling through the bureaucratic cracks of Medicaid and SChiP, strongly urged Congress to enact the All healthy Children Act, S. 1564/h.r. 1688, introduced by representative Bobby Scott (D-VA) in the house and Senator Bernie Sanders (i-Vt) in the Sen-ate. the measure would provide comprehensive benefits including dental and mental health, simpli-fied bureaucracy, and a national eligibility plan for families up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. We thank the 62 house co-sponsors for their support. how-ever, we regret that neither a single house republican nor any other Senator joined them to push for coverage for all children.
the CDF Action Council strongly supports long overdue health cov-erage for everyone in America as soon as possible—because children cannot wait. As SChiP comes up again for reauthorization in early 2009, we hope every Member of Congress will insist on covering every child and pregnant mother now by enacting and adequately funding the provisions of the All healthy Children Act.
Specious claims that we could not find the money—$70 billion over five years—to cover all children is belied by that amount spent in eleven months for tax cuts for the top one percent of richest Americans and in seven months for the iraq War. We do not have a money problem in America: We have a priorities and political will deficit. it is time for all adults to protect the health of our children.
the citizens of the nation must demand that our leaders free our children from the false ideological and political tugs of war among those who put excess profits ahead of children’s lives.
how well did Congress protect children in 2007? Not well enough: 276 Members of Congress had good CDF Action Council Con-gressional Scorecard scores of 80 percent or higher, and 198 of those had stellar scores of 100 percent. But 231 members scored 60 percent or lower—a failing grade from our school days.
Whether Members of Congress are liberal, conservative or mod-erate; Democrat, republican or independent, children need all of them to vote, lobby, speak for and protect them. Adults need to listen carefully to what candidates say they will do for children and fami-lies and, once they are in office, we need to hold them accountable. Please thank your Members of Con-gress with scores of 80 percent or above and let those with scores of 60 percent or below know you are dissatisfied with their performance. And please convey that same mes-sage to each presidential candidate. We must demand that our leaders commit to children as a condition of our vote.
Marian Wright Edelman is Presi-dent of the Children’s Defense Fund and its Action Council whose Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.
ChildRen from page 4
(NAPSM)-A survey commissioned by two leading health organizations found that although two out of three African Americans (61 percent) ex-pressed concern about developing heart disease and two out of five (40 percent) expressed concern about developing Alzheimer’s, only about one in 20 are aware that heart health is linked to brain health.
the Alzheimer’s Association is joining forces with the American heart Association to educate African Americans that by managing their cardiovascular risk, they may also strengthen their cognitive health.
“What’s good for your heart is good for your brain,” says Jennifer Manly, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Associa-tion spokesperson. “every healthy heartbeat pumps about one-fifth of your blood to your brain to carry on the daily processes of thinking, prob-lem solving and remembering.”
“By the year 2030, the number of African Americans age 65 or older is expected to more than double to 6.9 million,” said emil Matarese, M.D., American heart Association spokes-person. “Although Alzheimer’s is not part of normal aging, age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. So it is important that Af-rican Americans take steps now to decrease their risk of heart disease, which research has shown could also decrease the risk of cognitive decline.”
Did You Know?• Compared to the general public,
African Americans have a higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and vascular dementia.
• More than 40 percent of African Americans have high blood pres-sure (hBP) and are at risk for stroke, which can lead to greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s or other vascular cognitive dementias.
• every year, more than 100,000 African Americans have a stroke.
• having high cholesterol increases the risk for stroke and may increase the risk for Alzheimer’s.
Manage Your Risks• Watch the numbers. remember
that desirable blood pressure is less than 120/80 mmhg. Keep your body weight in the recommended range and make sure that the total choles-terol is less than 200mg/dL.
• healthy lifestyle choices include staying mentally and physically ac-tive, staying socially involved, reduc-ing your intake of fat and cholesterol and not smoking.
Visit www.alz.org/heartbrain or call the American Stroke Associa-tion, a division of the American heart Association, at (888) 478-7653 or the Alzheimer’s Association at (800) 272-3900 and you’ll receive a bro-chure with heart and brain health information and a free pedometer, while supplies last.
What’s Good For Your Heart Is Good For Your Brain
Research shows a link between heart and brain health, which means impaired heart function could lead to impaired brain function.
apart. You must continue to hold on to your faith and stay before the Lord. But, it may be that the time has come when you may need to take some quality time for yourself and spend some of that time with God.
Get on your knees before God and tell him of how you are feel-ing inside. And maybe the words wont come out exactly as you wish but you can have a good weeping, wailing crying falling, out tantrum and give all those problems to him.
While you are praying, you might forget some of the things that vexed you but God knows what you are going through. he can read the pain, which flows through your tears. even though he knows what’s troubling you, he still wants to tell him about it and bring your problems and burdens to him.
therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hands of God, that he may exalt you in due time, “casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you,”(1st Peter 5:6-7).
After you finished having your tantrum. You may have a stopped up nose and swollen eyes and mucus running down your lip and dried tears on your face, but you’ll feel better after emptying yourself of those things which had been heavy on your heart.
Sometimes we go for weeks or months trying to take matters into our hands and try to solve our own problems. We are not super humans; we can’t handle every-thing alone. We need God’s help. We have to let go of those situ-ations and let God handle them. there are some things we can’t humanly do anything about.
tantRum from page 6
(NAPSi)-here’s an alert worth paying attention to: According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), learning your risk for type 2 diabetes could save your life.
Diabetes is a serious disease that strikes nearly 21 million children and adults in the U.S. it is named the “silent killer” because one-third of those with the disease--more than 6 million--do not know they have it.
For many, diagnosis may come seven to 10 years after the onset of type 2 diabetes. early diagnosis is critical for successful treatment and can delay or prevent some of the complications such as heart diseases, blindness, kidney disease, stroke and amputation.
that’s one reason the ADA holds the American Diabetes Alert® Day, a one-day wake-up call to inform the American public about the serious-
ness of diabetes, particularly when it is left undiagnosed and untreated. the day is held on the fourth tuesday of every March.
on that day, people are encour-aged to take the Diabetes risk test, either with paper and pencil or online. the risk test requires users to answer seven simple questions about age, weight, lifestyle and family history--all potential risk factors for diabetes. People scoring 10 points or more are at a high risk for type 2 diabetes and are encouraged to talk with a health care professional.
An estimated 54 million Ameri-cans have pre-diabetes. those with pre-diabetes have blood glucose lev-els higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
early intervention via lifestyle changes such as weight loss and
increased physical activity can help delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
Among the primary risk factors for type 2 diabetes are being over-weight, sedentary, over the age of 45 and having a family history of diabetes. African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians and Pacific islanders are at an increased risk, as are women who have babies weighing more than 9 pounds at birth.
the Diabetes risk test is avail-
able in english and Spanish by call-ing the ADA at 1-800-DiABeteS (1-800-342-2383) or online at www.diabetes.org/alert.
though the Alert is a one-day call to action, awareness about type 2 diabetes is important anytime of the year, so free Diabetes risk tests are available online and by calling ADA all year long.
A free Diabetes risk test is avail-able all year long to determine the risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Could You Be At Risk?
Free Cancer ScreeningsNo appointment required for most screenings.
If you do not have a doctor and have not been screened in the last 12 months, these cancer screenings are available to you for free.
Presented as part of the comprehensive Cancer Program
of Our Lady of the Lake and Mary Bird Perkins. Screenings
made possible by donor gifts.
(225) 215-1234 (888) 616-4687
Breast Cancer ScreeningTuesday, March 1110am – 12pm & 1pm – 4pm
LSUHSC Mid City Clinic1401 N. Foster DriveBaton Rouge
Colorectal Cancer ScreeningThursday, March 1310am –2pm
Wal-Mart2171 O’Neal LaneBaton Rouge
Breast Cancer ScreeningTuesday, March 185pm – 7pm (Appt required)
Woman’s Hospital9050 Airline HighwayBaton Rouge
Prostate and ColorectalCancer ScreeningsWednesday, March 2610am –2pm
Ed Price Building Materials7835 Airline HighwayBaton Rouge
In Partnership With:
Our Lady of the LakeWoman’s HospitalYWCA Encore Plus
LSU Hospitals Health Care Services Division
Breast Cancer ScreeningFriday, March 1410am – 12pm & 1pm – 4pm
Leo S. Butler Community Center950 E. Washington StreetBaton Rouge
Colorectal Cancer ScreeningMonday, March 1710am –2pm
Brusly Town Hall601 S. Vaughan StreetBrusly
Have You Been Screened?
RENA HESTERAttorney At LAw • PersonAL Injury & bAnkruPtcy
225-774-2637Located in Scotlandville8152 Scenic Hwy. Baton Rouge, La. 70807
2622 NORTH STREET BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA. 70802-3161
CONSTRUCTION SUPPORT SERVICES INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY CONSULTING
“Civil EnginEErs wantEd”
regular lending program and 37% of Microloans doled out by the agency.
“It’s hard to look at the ARC program by itself,” he told NAM. “It’s just one tool in the tool box, just one tool in the array to help small business in these tough economic times.”
One reason for the ex-tremely low level of minority participation in the ARC loan program, he maintains, is that the Recovery Act specifically prohibits the agency from al-lowing an ARC loan to be used to refinance a regular SBA loan, which minority firms are more likely to have.
That explanation isn’t enough for minority business and civil rights groups, how-ever.
Sellstrom of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights isn’t convinced by that argument. “You would think that minority owned firms could use $35,000 for a lot of uses other than pay-ing down SBA loans.”
Sellstom said SBA’s re-sponse only underscores the need for further investigation. “It’s often the case that the first explanation leads to further questions,” he said.
Javier Palomarez, the president and chief executive
officer of the United States His-panic Chamber of Commerce, says the ARC loan program was poorly designed and “destined to fail.”
When Congress was draft-ing the stimulus package, Pal-omarez said, his agency and other minority business groups argued the severity of America’s recession should have led to the government handing out loans to struggling small businesses directly – rather than simply backing up loans from the very banks that caused the country’s economic recession.
But the SBA and the banks lobbied against direct govern-ment financing of small busi-ness, he said, and so Congress devised a $35,000 loan program that requires a small business to wade through nearly the same paperwork needed to obtain one of SBA’s regular $2 mil-lion loans.
Because of the paperwork and the small sums involved, “most banks don’t want to par-ticipate in the loan program, and many of those that are participat-ing are restricting applications only to long-term clients.”
And those long-term cli-ents often exclude small, minor-ity businesses, which banks see as “risky.”
RepoRt from page 4
what relaxed about the polls showing declining numbers for health care because they are mostly symbolic of the heavy toll that unemployment and continuing economic instabil-ity has taken on the American people and that most people don’t know what is in the health care bill and how it will help them yet. They are listening to the confused media criticism of Obama that doesn’t paint a positive picture of the process.
As an example, the Wall Street Journal poll showed that respondents had a higher opinion (41 percent) of the Tea Party people than Democrats.
Except that Rachel Maddow of MSNBC found out that nearly 75 percent of those folks took most of their news from FOX TV. So, that isn’t exactly a gen-eral picture of the views of the American people.
To move his numbers up, President Obama will have to jump down into the weeds of the Conference, be seen shap-ing the result, and the claim victory.
Dr. Ron Walters is Professor
of Government and Politics Emeri-tus at the University of Maryland College Park. His latest book is: The Price of Racial Reconciliation (University of Michigan Press).
RefoRm from page 4
is a multi-faceted firm, whose services range from public rela-tions, sports information and marketing consulting, radio networking, to multi-media services such as audio, video and web design. DWCom-munications, LLC is the par-ent company of the nationally syndicated sports talk show FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW, the sports talk show which places major em-phasis on HBCU Sports. Other entities owned and/or oper-ated by DWCommunications, LLC include boxtorow.com, Boxtorow.com/BASN Black College Weekly Top 10 Media and Coaches Football Polls, HBCSports Press Association, Football Fantasies calendars, Boxtorow Blitz, DWCommu-nications Radio Networks and movethestickshicks.com, the official Web site of NFL run-
ning back Maurice Hicks.The Mission of the HBCU
Bowl is to become the premier college football showcase for HBCU senior football players. These players will receive in-tensive evaluations from NFL, UFL, Arena Football, and Cana-dian Football league personnel. They will also receive training in the area of finance, represen-tation, and post football skills. The HBCU Senior Bowl is a joint collaboration between Synergy Sports & Associates, Inc. and Parks & Recreation of Montgomery , Alabama . All players participating will be draft eligible seniors who have exhausted their college football eligibility. The play-ers are selected the selection committee which evaluated game film, reviewed statistics, reviewed coaches recommen-dations.
HBCU Bowl from page 5
BATON ROUGE - The American Association for Respi-ratory Care (AARC) awarded the 2009 Quality Respiratory Care recognition to Woman’s Hospital for providing quality respiratory care services to their patients and their community.
The purpose of this pro-gram is to help consumers make choices about their health care by recognizing hospitals that pro-mote patient safety by providing access to respiratory therapists to deliver their care. The AARC maintains and publishes a data-base of hospitals that meet their requirements. This list is posted on its web site for consumers, YourLungHealth.org.
The hospitals receiving the Association’s Quality Respira-tory Care Recognition (QRCR) designation meet the following requirements:
· All respiratory thera-pists employed by the hospital
Woman’s Receive 2009 Quality Respiratory Care Recognition
to deliver bedside respiratory care services are either legally recognized by the state as com-petent to provide respiratory care services or hold the CRT or RRT credential.
• Respiratory therapists are available 24 hours.
• Other personnel qualified to perform specific respiratory procedures and the amount of supervision required for person-nel to carry out specific proce-dures is designated in writing.
• A doctor of medicine or osteopathy is designated as medical director of respiratory care services.
QRCR designation is re-newed on an annual basis, and hospitals and home care com-panies all across the country are now being asked to enroll or recertify their participation. Congratulations to Woman’s respiratory department and its therapists for this achieve-ment.
Pictured left to right: Debra Lewis, RRT; Alton Hodges, RRT; Chris Dickerson, RRT; Stephanie Estelle, RRT; and Mark Schorr, Lead RRT
raynandobanksmd.com or call him at (225) 387-7858. He can also be reached at [email protected]. If you’re in Baton Rouge, you can visit his office at 3905 Con-vention St.
Pastor Donald Lee, former
columnist-copy editor for The Advocate and former co-host of The God Factor with Guy Brody (http://www.thegfactor.org), may be reached at (225) 773-2248 or [email protected].
Book from page 6
people on their energy bills, but also starts refurbishing and revitalizing communities that have been neglected too long. So there’s some long term proj-ects to revitalize communities that are going to be in place next year, and I’m confident that 2010 is going to be better than 2009. And I think 2011 is going to be better than 2010.
We just want to keep making steady progress for a more just and equal society, and that may not be complete consolation for folks who are really struggling right now. Just know that Michelle and I are thinking about them every day. As I said to one interviewer the other day, it’s not as if Michelle and I don’t have relatives who are going though this stuff and are un-employed. One of the things about being part of the African American community is that no matter how well you do, you know there’s somebody in your family that’s still hurt-ing because we’re not that far away from the neighborhood. And people need to know that I carry their stories with me whenever I come into the Oval
Office.Joyner: You told us when
we last talked, and it’s been about a year, that it was going to be tough, and it was going to be a tough job ahead. You warned us about it when we talked to you. So what’s been the toughest part for the first year as the first African-Amer-ican president?
Obama: You know the truth is that I probably had more crises on my desk than any president since FDR, and that’s just subjectively speak-ing. You think about two wars, the economic crisis, the bank-ing crisis, swine flu, we just had a lot of stuff coming at us quickly. I think we have managed it well, but the thing that I think is the toughest is, number-one, that the job growth is not as quick as we’d like. We’ve got the economy growing, but companies are not hiring back yet, and so we’re doing everything we can to try to push companies now that they’re making a profit again to start hiring some of those folks who were laid off so that they can further sup-port the economy.
oBama from page 3
Page 8 • The Weekly Press • Thursday, December 24, 2009
Finally a book which tells why
african americans have
problems with obesity
in america- and how
to conquer it! This
book gives dietary
treatments for
Diabetes, attention
Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder, Childhood
and adult Obesity. if
you are Sick and Tired
of being Sick and Tired,
this book is a MUST
REaD!1999ONLY!
3905 CONVENTION STREET • BATON ROUGE, LA 70806 PHONE (225) 387-7858 FAX (225) 381-6980
BJ & PolkBail Bond
877-4BJ-POLK
To All of our Advertisers and Readers, Thank You for Your Support!
