Houston Defender: January 10, 2013

HEALTH

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO GET VACCINATED FOR THE FLU, P10

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Volume 82 | Number 11

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NEWSTALK

Texas Legislature

Top Issues H Page 8

VICTOR TREVINO being discriminated against?

P2 NATIONAL PRESIDENT OBAMA prepares for inauguration

P3 ENTERTAINMENT OPINION

EAMONN WALKER enjoys ‘Chicago Fire’ role

P7

Trey Songz branches out

Trey Songz is one of the music industry’s hottest R&B artists. He decided to branch out into other areas of entertainment, and his decision paid off. Hear what he has to say about making the transition.

Read his thoughts on being part of an iconic franchise. Learn about his busy life and guilty pleasure.

H Page 6

Clarence McKinney assists Aggies

The Texas A&M Aggies demolished Oklahoma in the 2013 Cotton Bowl, and running backs coach Clarence McKinney plays a key role with the team’s highpowered offense. See why McKinney thinks the sky is the limit. Discover his connection to Yates High School. Find out what his boss Kevin Sumlin has to say.

H Page 14

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BUSINESS

CHERYL PEARSON-MCNEIL looks at social networks

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DEFENDER | JANUARY 10 | 2013

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Is Victor Trevino

being discriminated against? ho to get the constable indicted.”

Lewis asserts the hisIndicted last November, Pretory of the Trevino invescinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino tigation and charges filed is accused of failing to report cash clearly show that Trevino campaign contributions, diverting is a victim of politics as money from his youth charity for well as payback from dispersonal use and using deputies gruntled ex-employees. to serve eviction notices and then “When the city was keeping the delivery fees. in lean times, [Trevino] The four felony indictments had to cut costs by letting against Trevino allege abuse of go his least experienced official capacity, misapplication employees to maintain of fiduciary property and tamperthe rate of pay earned by ing with a government document. senior officers. That is While some Trevino supporters where this investigation contend that the indictment is began, with disgruntled about politics and sour grapes, employees,” stated others wonder if discrimination is Lewis. playing a role.

Lewis said Trevino If convicted, Trevino faces up will not step down while to 10 years in prison and up to a the case is ongoing, as Precinct 6 Constable Victor Trevino is charged with four $10,000 fine on the misapplication felony indictments.

Judge Ed Emmett has case, along with six months to two suggested, as he fights years in the state jail and up to a charges Lewis described $10,000 fine on the other charges. as an admixture of technical violations.

Trevino’s lawyer, Chip Lewis, contends that his cli“The charges filed are very troubling in that anyone ent is not only innocent, but that the 14-month investiwith a cause or agenda to indict a similarly situated gation by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office public servant could easily do so. These charges are very Public Integrity Division is politically motivated. technical in nature and it would not be difficult to pour “This was a politically expedient prosecution for Pat through campaign expenditures of many similarly situLykos,” said Lewis. “Trevino was a longtime friend to ated campaign officials and find similar issues; and that’s Lykos and her causes, but after she lost her primary, she my real problem,” added Lewis. no longer felt that relationship was of any political value.

Over one year ago, County Attorney Vince Ryan’s After having resisted taking this case before a grand office began a review of all eight county constables’ jury for over a year, suddenly [Lykos] was very gung offices including an investigation of Constable May

By ASWAD WALKER Defender

Walker. The grand jury declined to indict Walker. Still some have viewed the investigations of Walker and Trevino as racially motivated, and thus discriminatory.

Immediately after Trevino was indicted in November, Latino community activists had harsh words for the DA’s office.

“The indictment of Constable Victor Trevino by a Harris County grand jury has brought anger, sadness and rage to the Hispanic leadership and community,” said Johnny Mata of LULAC. “The eyes of Texas and the county are on the Harris County Justice System that has a history and has demonstrated an insidious discriminatory practice for justification to discredit Hispanic elected officials.”

Ben Mendez of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce stated: “We have a constable that is truly loved by our community and we feel there are injustices being done. We feel that this is a lynching, if you will. Our Hispanic community will not stand for it.”

“The justice system is supposed to be blind, not stupid,” said Rosemary Covalt. “We want equitable justice for every official. We don’t want them to pick and choose.”

Lewis disagrees that race was a factor in Trevino’s indictment.

“This indictment is not necessarily because Constable Trevino is Hispanic, but because of disgruntled employees and because of political expediency,” said Lewis.

Trevino supporters were offended by the suggestion that Trevino step down during the trial. “[Trevino] has done way too much for his community, and for so long that it makes no sense that after 25 years of service he would choose to then line his own pockets. Through our deeds we are known, and his deeds have been exemplary,” Lewis said.

localbriefs EARLY VOTING IS UNDERWAY for the Jan. 26 special election to fill the District 6 seat vacated as a result of the death of State Sen. Mario Gallegos last October. There are seven early voting locations for the special election. Voters will have through Tuesday, Jan. 22, to cast ballots in person. Eligible registered voters can also vote early by mail in Texas. The last day to apply for a ballot by mail is Jan. 19. Eight candidates are vying for the seat: Democrats Carol Alvarado, Susan Delgado, Sylvia Garcia, Joaquin Martinez and Rodolfo Reyes; Republicans R.W. Bray and Dorothy Olmos, and Green Party candidate Maria Selva. For more information visit www.

HarrisVotes.com or call 713.755.6965……..

THE DEADLINE FOR JOBLESS TEXANS to qualify for emergency unemployment insurance benefits has been extended to Jan. 1, 2014. Federal legislation recently signed by President Barack Obama will extend benefits to approximately 120,000 Texans who would have otherwise exhausted their unemployment benefits on Dec. 31, 2012. Claimants should continue to request unemployment benefit payments on their scheduled day. The legislation did not add benefits for individuals who have already exhausted their regular state unemployment benefits, federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation or

extended benefits. Claimants can find updated information by logging on to ui.texasworkforce. org or by calling 800-558-8321…….. THE HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Board of Trustees elected Bruce A. Austin, trustee for District II, as HCC board chairman for 2013.

Austin is the longest serving trustee on the HCC board, representing District II since 1989. He was chairman from 1990 to 1992 and again from 2000 to 2002. The HCC board also elected Trustee Sandie Mullins, District VI, as vice chair and Trustee Eva Loredo, District VIII, as secretary.

HCC will install its newly appointed officers at the board meeting on Thursday, Jan. 17.

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JANUARY 10 | 2013 | DEFENDER

national

U.S.briefs CONGRESSWOMAN MARCIA FUDGE of Ohio was recently sworn in as the 23rd chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

During the ceremony she reaffirmed the CBC’s commitment to advocating for people of color.

Fudge is serving her third consecutive term as a representative. She is a lawyer, former mayor and past national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Five new members of CBC were also sworn in: Marc Veasey of Fort Worth, Hakeem Jefferies of New York, Steven Horsford of Nevada, Joyce Beatty of Ohio and Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey……..……..A CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD is campaigning to become the home of the Obama Presidential Library.

Bronzeville, an African-American enclave on Chicago’s South Side, is rich in the histories of Black writers and entertainers such as Richard Wright, Louis Armstrong, Lorraine Hansberry and Muddy Waters. Now, the community wants to be known as the home of President Obama’s documents, videos, photos and other memorabilia from his White House tenure.

Other contenders for the library include the University of Chicago, where Obama taught law for 12 years, and the University of Hawaii, the alma mater of his parents…….. AS THE U.S. SUPREME COURT prepares to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a Black conservative group has filed a legal brief with the court arguing that the Department of Justice is using an obsolete portion of the act to obstruct voting laws in affected states. According to the Project 21 organization, the act’s “selective preclearance restrictions are “outdated, onerous and being abused by the Obama administration.” In the case – Shelby County, Alabama v. Eric H. Holder, Jr. – Shelby County officials want the court to invalidate “preclearance” standards imposed on specific states and localities

by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Black conservatives support Shelby County’s challenge.

VOLUME 82 • NUMBER 11 JANUARY 10, 2013

Publisher Sonceria Messiah-Jiles Advertising/Client Relations Selma Dodson Tyler Print Editor Marilyn Marshall Online Editor ReShonda Billingsley

Art Director Tony Fernandez-Davila People Editor Yvette Chargois Sports Editors Max Edison Darrell K. Ardison Contributing Writer Aswad Walker

The Defender newspaper is published by the Houston Defender Inc. Company (713-663-6996.. The Defender is audited by Certified Audited Circulation. (CAC). For subscription, send $60-1 year to: Defender, P.O. Box 8005, Houston TX 77288. Payment must accompany subscription request. All material covered by 2012 copyright. (No material herein may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher).

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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are all smiles during the 2009 inaugural parade.

D.C. ready for inauguration Defender News Services The eyes of much of the world will be on Washington, D.C., during inauguration activities for President Barack Obama’s second term in office. The theme for the 2013 inauguration is “Faith in America’s Future.” Here is the schedule of events: • Saturday, Jan. 19 – During the National Day of Service, Obama will ask Americans across the country to organize and participate in service projects in their communities to honor shared values and celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. • Sunday, Jan. 20 – President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will participate in a small private swearing-in ceremony on the official inauguration date.

• Monday, Jan. 21 – Obama and Biden will take part in a nationally-televised ceremonial swearing-in (time to be announced) at the United States Capitol. Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar

Evers, will deliver the invocation. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will administer the oath of office to Obama and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor will administer the oath of office to Biden.

Following the oath, Obama will give his inaugural address. The inaugural parade begins at 1:30 p.m. CST and will include a procession of ceremonial military regiments, citizens’ groups, marching bands and floats.

Due to the nation’s economy, Obama announced that he is cutting back on the number of evening inaugural balls. There will be just two official parties plus a concert honoring military families. (Numerous unofficial balls hosted by various organizations are held on and prior to Inauguration Day).

• Tuesday, Jan. 22 – An Inaugural National Prayer Service is at 9:30 a.m. at Washington National Cathedral. Obama and Biden, along with dignitaries and Americans of diverse faiths, will attend the invitation-only service. It will be webcast live at www.nationalcathedral.org.

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DEFENDER | JANUARY 10 | 2013 | defendernetwork.com

Next showdown could mean more cuts

By GEORGE E. CURRY NNPA Editor-in-Chief

After blinking in a New Year’s Day showdown with President Obama that could have triggered across-the-board spending cuts and significant tax increases, Republicans are poised to seek deep cuts in spending that would violate the “balanced” approach to the deficit that the president has advocated.

In an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said Republicans will not consider additional tax increases to help pay down the nation’s debt.

“The tax issue is finished, over, completed,” he said. “That’s behind us. Now the question is what are we going to do about the biggest problem confronting our country and our future? And that’s our spending addiction. It’s time to confront it. The president surely knows that.”

President Obama has rejected the GOP demand for specific cuts in exchange for raising the nation’s debt limit to pay its outstanding bills.

“One thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they’ve already racked up,” Obama said in his weekly address on Saturday.

That position is being opposed

by Republicans.

“I want to raise the debt ceiling, but I will not do it without a plan to get out of debt,” Senator Lindsey Graham [R-S.C.] said on CNN’s “State of the Union. “If you raise the debt ceiling by a dollar, you should cut spending by a dollar. That is the way to go forward.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), appearing on CBS, said “I don’t think these two things should be related. Right now, we have to pay the bills that have been incurred,” she said. “And if you want to say cut spending for what we do next, fine, but don’t tie it to the debt ceiling.”

As the Los Angeles Times noted, the fiscal cliff debate underscored the geographic divide within the Republican Party, as the position taken by McConnell and Graham illustrates.

The newspaper reported, “Almost 90% of Southern Republi-

cans voted against the ‘fiscal-cliff’ compromise. At the same time, a majority of Republican representatives from outside the South supported the deal, which was approved in large part because of overwhelming Democratic support.”

Some experts say cuts in spending have already outpaced any expected rise in revenue.

“President Obama has said that future deficit reduction should come through a balanced mix of revenue increases and spending cuts; as a first step, he required that ATRA’s [the American Taxpayers Relief Act] two-month delay in scheduled across-the-board budget cuts (‘sequestration’) be offset with an even split of revenues and spending reductions,” wrote Robert Greenstein, founder and president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

“By contrast, some Republicans leaders have indicated that they will push to achieve the additional deficit reduction entirely through spending cuts, with no further revenue increases at all,” He explained, “The President’s approach is the sound and equitable one. If this Republican view holds, then when all of the deficit reduction efforts are tallied together, spending cuts will outpace revenue increases by nearly 5 to 1 — hardly a balanced approach.”

After Congress hastily approved a plan to avert the fiscal cliff that raised taxes on individuals earning more than $400,000 a year and families earning in excess of $450,000 annually, many angry House Republicans – who did not want to see any tax increases – are threatening to vote against raising the debt limit in two months if Obama doesn’t go along with their cuts-only proposal.

As Greenstein noted, cuts have already been imposed on domestic spending and any additional reductions would mean that the budget is being balanced primarily through spending cuts rather than a balanced approach.

“Several pieces of legislation, culminating in the 2011 Budget Control Act, reduced spending on Continued on Page 5

Faces of Black Houston

What will these ‘Faces’

reveal to you?

E

ach of us has a story. Some of them reveal moments of struggle, of heartache, of triumph, of resiliency, of joy.

The man on the bus sitting next to you could volunteer at the children’s hospital every weekend. The bank teller could double as a burlesque dancer by night. The woman speaking loudly on her cell phone could be speaking to one of her three hearing impaired children. Whatever the story, everyone has their own to tell.

With the Faces of Black Houston project, we invite you to step inside the lives of those you’re with every day but never truly see.

We have compiled a series of profiles that give everyday Houstonians the ability to be seen and heard.

Debuting in February 2013 On Defendernetwork.com

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Continued from page 4 discretionary programs — for both non-defense and defense programs — by $1.5 trillion over the 2013-2022 period,” he stated.

“All of these savings are on the spending side.”

Consequently, even if future measures require an even split between slashing spending and raising additional revenue, the burden would fall disproportionately on cuts.

Greenstein noted, “If future deficit reduction comes through an even split of revenues and spending cuts, total spending cuts will still outpace revenue increases by nearly 2 to 1. (These ratio estimates do not include the effects of interest savings; if those savings are included, the share of savings that come from spending cuts rises further.)”

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates show that ATRA makes all but $624 billion of those $3.4 trillion in tax cuts permanent. It thus makes permanent 82 percent of the Bush tax cuts, while letting 18 percent expire.

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) and Congressional Budget Office estimate that making permanent all of the Bush tax cuts would have cost $3.4 trillion over 2013-2022 According to a White House fact sheet, “By raising income tax rates on the wealthiest and keeping taxes low for the middle class, the agreement will ensure we have the most progressive income tax code in decades.”

However, FactCheck.org found: “All the president’s talk about preserving middle-class tax cuts in the just-passed bill to avert the so-called fiscal cliff may give one the impression that, except for the wealthy, people will be paying the same amount in taxes this year as last. But that’s not correct.

Left out of Obama’s analysis is that a temporary two-year reduction in Social Security payroll taxes was allowed to expire. As a result, most people will actually pay more in taxes this year.”

According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, households with income between $40,000 and $50,000 will pay an additional $574 in payroll taxes this year as a result of the payroll tax returning to 6.2 percent from 4.2 percent. Households with earnings between $75,000 and $100,000 will pay an additional $1,194. Overall, 77 percent of Americans will be paying more in taxes in 2013 than they did in 2012.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (DIllinois) said Democrats and Republicans should join hands to reform the tax code.

“There are still deductions, credits, special treatments under the Tax Code that should be looked at very carefully,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Durbin explained: “We forego about $1.2 trillion a year in the Tax Code, money which otherwise would go to the government. Trust me, there are plenty of things within that tax code, these loopholes where people can park their money offshore and not pay taxes, are things that need to be closed.”

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DEFENDER | JANUARY 10 | 2013

entertainment

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Trey Songz

makes move from CD to 3D

By KAM WILLIAMS Special to the Defender

Born in Petersburg, Va., in 1984, Tremaine Aldon Neverson – AKA Trey Songz – has become one of music’s hottest R&B artists thanks to an impressive streak of hit singles like “2 Reasons,” “Can’t Help But Wait,” “I Invented Sex,” “Say Aah” and “Heart Attack,” which was recently nominated for a Grammy in the Best R&B Song category.

His latest album, “Chapter V,” debuted in 2012 at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. For this project, Trey tapped his younger brother, Alex, to produce “Don’t Be Scared,” and he included such high-profile guests as T.I., Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Diddy in the project.

Songz has used his gift of music as a launching pad for various philanthropic and entrepreneurial endeavors, like the “Angels with Heart Foundation” and the Trey’s Angels clothing line, sold at Citi Trends.

Here, the versatile entertainer talks about his latest film, “Texas Chainsaw 3D,” where he co-stars as Ryan opposite Alexandra Daddario.

KW: What interested you in “Texas Chainsaw 3D?” TS: Oh, man, so many different things, like the opportunity to be a part of an iconic franchise. The original was one of the first horror films that actually petrified people.

Also, for me, as a musician moving over into acting, it was important to have other denominators in the picture that could carry the weight.

I think “Texas Chainsaw” is such a big brand that it’s an anchor unto itself. In fact, I wasn’t number one on the call sheet. That was Alexandra Daddario, who is an amazing actress. So, I didn’t have the burden of carrying the film, which afforded me a chance to learn a lot about acting while playing her boyfriend.

Singer Trey Songz appears in “Texas Chainsaw 3D.”

KW: How would you describe your character, Ryan?

TS: As a likable character you get to know and love.

He’s easy-going, laid back, and really likes his girl. He wants to be there to support her, when she learns that her parents weren’t her biological parents, and that she’s just

inherited a house from a grandmother she never knew. I’m just there for the ride. And even though I want to be a good boyfriend, like any good boyfriend, I slip up a couple times in the movie.

KW: How do you like making the move to acting from music?

TS: I’ve been in front of the camera a million times as a musician, and even directed a few music videos. So, I know a lot about spacing, focus, blocking, etcetera. So, acting isn’t totally new for me. Still, I find it fascinating, because you actually get to be another person. Even though Ryan wasn’t that complex an individual, I really enjoyed portraying someone else.

KW: How do you divide your time between acting and music, given that you have a new album out, “Chapter V?” TS: I’m very busy. Besides promoting the movie, I did several concerts before taking a break for Christmas, and I have another month on tour ahead of me.

KW: I just got this question from Jamie Foxx: If you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do?

TS: I’d most likely spend it letting people know I loved them, and trying to make things right with whomever things were wrong with. One thing about life, man, once you’re gone, the only true impact you have is on the lives you affected positively, no matter how many hit songs or movies you had.

KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?

TS: The ID channel [Investigation Discovery]. I like watching real-life murder mysteries all day long.

KW: The Sanaa Lathan question: What excites you?

TS: The idea of Sanaa Lathan excites me.

KW: How do you want to be remembered?

TS: As a good man.

what’sup RESHONDA TATE BILLINGSLEY, best-selling author and Defender online editor, has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Literary Work-Fiction for her novel, “The Secret She Kept.” Billingsley won the 2012 award for her book, “Say Amen Again.” The movies “Django Unchained” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” led Image Award film nominations with three each, including Best Motion Picture. Nominees for Best Actor in a Motion Picture are DENZEL WASHINGTON (“Flight”), JAMIE FOXX (“Django Unchained”), MORGAN FREEMAN (“The Magic of Belle Isle”), SURAJ SHARMA (“Life of Pi”) and TYLER PERRY (“Alex Cross”). Best Actress nominees are EMAYATZY CORINEALDI (“Middle of Nowhere”), HALLE BERRY (“Cloud Atlas”), LORETTA DEVINE (“In the Hive”), QUVENZHANÉ WALLIS (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”) and VIOLA DAVIS (“Won’t Back Down”).

The Image Awards will air Feb. 1 on NBC...........Speaking of “Django,” a coalition of Black community leaders in Los Angeles recently called for a boycott of collectible action figures from the movie. The action figures are co-produced by the Weinstein Company, the film studio behind the movie.

“Selling slaves as action figures is a slap in the face of our ancestors,” said Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope……..Did KANYE WEST and KIM KARDASHIAN turn down a $3 million offer for photos of their unborn baby? That’s the word from TMZ, which says an overseas tabloid made the offer for the first photos. Kardashian is reportedly three months pregnant……..TV Land has ordered a second season of “The Soul Man” starring CEDRIC “THE ENTERTAINER” and NIECY NASH, and picked up a third season of “The Exes.” “The Soul Man” was the channel’s second highest rated original series premiere. “The Exes” stars DONALD

FAISON. Both shows return to the air in June……..ZOE KRAVITZ, the 24-year-old daughter of rocker LENNY KRAVITZ and former Cosby kid LISA BONET, is receiving rave reviews for her performance in “Yelling to the Sky.” The film has a limited release theatrically and on video-on-demand. Kravitz portrays a bi-racial teen living in a poverty-stricken neighborhood. Her co-stars include Oscar-nominated actress GABOUREY SIDIBE……..The OPRAH WINFREY Network has four new original series coming later this year: “Blackboard Wars,” “Golden Sisters,” “Raising Whitley” and “Dogfellas.” The network’s first scripted series from Tyler Perry, the drama “The Haves and the Have Nots” and comedy series “Love Thy Neighbor,” are set to premiere in May. The network also saw its ratings rise in 2012. Its primetime and daytime viewership both increased.

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JANUARY 10 | 2013 | DEFENDER

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‘Chicago Fire’ excites Eamonn Walker

By Janice Malone Special to NNPA from the Tennessee Tribune

NBC’s new high-octane drama series “Chicago Fire” is drawing rave reviews from some of the media’s toughest critics. If the storylines and physical look seem authentic, that’s because they are.

Actual firefighters are used in several background scenes and used as consultants to the show.

Eamonn Walker stars as Battalion Chief Wallace Boden, a fireman who is confronted by important personal decisions each day. Born in London, Eamonn is perhaps best-known in the United States for his portrayal of Kareem Said, the Muslim leader on the critically acclaimed series “Oz.” Walker has fallen in love with his role of Chief Walker and the city of Chicago as well.

“I’m so lucky to be playing this role. Eamonn Walker Cast members now call me ‘chief’ every to dream about riding in a vehicle 90 miles per day and that’s a lot of fun. The people hour with the siren ringing is excited to be living behind the scenes and the ones in front of the that dream,” he added. “We shoot a lot of the camera make it a pleasure to come to work each show in Chicago and I’ve really fallen in love day,” Walker said. with the city. And I’ve also fallen in love with “The 10-year-old boy inside of me who used

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ Black Heritage Committee

what it means to be a fire fighter…”

Walker recalls that he was inspired to become an actor after watching the great Sidney Poitier in one of his most memorable roles. He said Poitier’s portrayal of Virgil Tibbs in the classic film “In the Heat of Night” changed his life forever.

Years later, Walker was thrilled to meet Poitier during a Broadway production of “Julius Caesar” starring Denzel Washington.

“I was fortunate enough to be in the cast in the role of Marc Antony,” he said.

“Denzel and Sidney are friends. So one day as I’m walking backstage… I look up and there was the great Sidney Poitier standing in front of me. I mean I had just finished performing on stage with Denzel. [To have] the realization that I had just performed in front of my idol Sidney Poitier nearly sent me into shock…”

Walker said he was speechless. “But Mr. Poitier was so kind. He graciously said to me, ‘Thank you for performing.’

If everything ended for me today, I will take that one memory and experience with me to my grave. I’ve repeatedly said, Thank you God for allowing me to have that moment in my life when I stood face to face with my idol.’ ”

Saturday, January 19, 2013 7:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. at

Reliant Arena Honoring the Founders and Lifetime Supporters of the Black Heritage Committee: George DeMontrond Robert Fleming Dan Gattis Jim Janke Don Jordan

20th ANNUAL WESTERN GALA

Donald Middleton Howard Middleton John J. Montalbano Yance S. Montalbano Leroy Shafer

Featuring Brian Jack and the Zydeco Gamblers & DJ Jammin’ J For more information, email: blackheritagecommittee@gmail.com

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DEFENDER | JANUARY 10 | 2013

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cover

Texas Legislature

Top Issues

By ASWAD WALKER Defender

The new legislative session for the state of Texas recently convened in Austin. The session runs through May 27, and legislation passed will have a profound impact on the state’s residents.

Several Houston-area lawmakers shared with the Defender the big issues that will be addressed during the 83rd regular session – State Sen. Rodney Ellis, State Rep. Borris Miles, State Rep. Ron Reynolds and State Rep. Sylvester Turner.

Defender: What are major issues in the new session impacting minorities in Texas?

Ellis: Last session, those in power decided to slash $18.3 billion from the budget overall, including $4 billion directly from Texas schools and another $1.4 billion with backdoor cuts, slashed funding universities by $1.5 billion, underfunded health and human services by $23 billion and cut $4.8 billion from Medicaid.

Those are the issues and programs which most effect our communities and so much damage was done last session that just repairing that mess has to be priority one. We have a large budget surplus this time around, yet those in charge want more cuts.

I am going to fight to restore all those cuts and start investing to actually improve health care, our schools and our communities.

Miles: The big issue is now that the economy is moving forward and the state budget is in better shape, it is crucial that we restore funding to our public education and public health systems. When the Republicans cut the state budget, it was our communities that took the biggest hit. The Republican majority’s misplaced priorities have led to fewer teachers in charge of bigger classrooms and our must vulnerable citizens lacking adequate health care. If another round of redistricting occurs, we must protect our communities from being “packed” and “cracked” by the Republicans. We cannot let our historic communities be divided for partisan purposes.

Defender: What are the issues impacting Houstonians in general?

Reynolds: Transportation and building a good infrastructure to improve mobility. Working to provide local economic development opportunities for small business owners. Restoring funding for public education, lowering the importance placed on standardized testing, and reducing class sizes. Improving access to affordable health care for the poor and elderly.

Turner: Expansion of the Panama Canal which could bring more jobs and trade to the Houston area, whether we restore appropriate levels of funding for public school enrollment growth, whether we will restore funding for health and human services including Medicaid and funding for nursing homes among others, electricity deregulation and the impact of increased wholesale cap prices on residential electricity rates, and the impact of possible privatization of state services.

Ellis: We are chronically underfunding vital transportation projects, and Houston and much of Texas is grinding to a halt. We have to start investing for the long-term to ensure this city and state continues to grow in a way that creates prosperity and a good life for everyone, not just the fortunate few.

Defender: What other issues would you like to highlight?

Reynolds: I will be filing a bill to create single member districts to elect Fort Bend ISD board members; fighting to preserve our public education system by advocating to restore the $5 billion cut

from public education last session and fully fund new enrollment growth; fighting to reduce class sizes so that students will have a better opportunity to learn… I will be filing legislation to improve economic development opportunities for small business owners; particularly for African American/minority- and womenowned businesses, and creating a fair and transparent process for minorities to get contracts with state and local governments.

Ellis: The truth is there is a fundamental difference of philosophy between our side and their side. Many legislators of color believe that we can and should invest much more in our families and the programs which help them, and the other side is standing by the belief that we can cut our way to a brighter future. Until we start doing a better job of convincing Texans that our message is the right one for the state, we are going to continue to be fighting from behind.

Defender: How do Black lawmakers expect to pass legislation with the Republican numerical domination?

Turner: With the experience and knowledge of the process by Black members of the Legislature, there will always be the opportunity to pass legislation and even more importantly to block harmful legislation.

Miles: We’ll continue to do more with less.

The African-American community is no stranger to having to make do with less; it’s in our blood.

We may be outnumbered, but let me assure you we won’t be outgunned. We’ll keep playing chess while many Republicans are still playing checkers.

defendernetwork.com • Serving th

9

rpage

Local lawmaker profiles State Rep. Senfronia Thompson District 141

Thompson, first elected in 1972, is known as the dean of women legislators, serving longer in the Legislature than any other woman or AfricanAmerican in Texas history.

She chairs the Local and Consent Calendars Committee and the Women’s Health Caucus. A former teacher, she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas Southern University, a master’s from the University of Houston and a law degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Contact: Austin, 512-463-0720; Houston, 713-633-3390; senfronia.thompson@ house.state.tx.us.

State Rep. Harold Dutton District 142

Dutton, first elected in 1984, serves as chairman of the Committee on Urban Affairs, and is a member of the Public Education Committee and the Sunset Advisory Commission. He is former chairman of the Harris County Delegation.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from TSU and law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, where he is an adjunct professor. He is a former executive director of Julia C. Hester House.

Contact: Austin, 512-463-0510; Houston, 713692-9192; harold.dutton@ house.state.tx.us.

Rep. Sylvester Turner District 139

Turner, first elected in 1988, is one of the state’s most honored lawmakers, and was twice named one of the Ten Best Legislators

by Texas Monthly. He serves on the Legislative Budget Board, which oversees the state’s $150

he Houston area for over 80 years

billion dollar budget. He is chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, vice-chair of the Appropriations Committee and former speaker pro tempore. He is a graduate of the University of Houston and Harvard Law School. Contact: Austin, 512- 463-0554; Houston, 713-683-6363; sylvester.turner@ house.state.tx.us.

State Sen. Rodney Ellis District 13

Ellis, first elected in 1990, has passed over 500 bills. He is chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Organization and founded the Texas Legislative Internship Program. Ellis served on Houston’s City Council and was chief of staff to the late U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland. He earned a bachelor’s degree from TSU, master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and law degree from the University of Texas.

Contact: Austin, 512-463-0113; Houston, 713236-0306; rodney.ellis@senate.state.tx.us.

State Rep. Garnet Coleman District 147

Coleman, first elected in 1991, has earned numerous state and national honors for meritorious service. He was one of the original authors of Texas’s Children’s Health Insurance Program. He was selected to serve as a member of President Obama’s State Legislators for Health Reform. Coleman earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas and was awarded an honorary doctorate from TSU. Contact: Austin, 512-463-0524; Houston, 713-520-5355; garnet.coleman@house.state.tx.us.

State Rep. Alma Allen District 131

Allen, first elected in 2004, is vice chair of

the Corrections Committee. She served for 10 years on the State Board of Education.

Beginning her career as an elementary teacher, Allen became a principal of several campuses before retiring from HISD. Allen, an adjunct professor at TSU and Prairie View, holds a B.S. and master’s degree from TSU, and a doctorate from the University of Houston. Contact: Austin, 512-463-0744; Houston, 713-776-0505; alma. allen@house.state.tx.us.

State Rep. Borris Miles District 146

Miles, first elected in 2006, serves on the Agriculture & Livestock and Economic & Small Business Development Committees.

A former law enforcement officer, he received a bachelor’s degree in criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University.

He is a founding member of 100 Black Men of Houston. Contact: (512) 463-0518 (713) 6558322; borris.miles@house.state.tx.us.

State Rep. Ron Reynolds District 27

Reynolds, first elected in 2010, is the first Black state representative from Fort Bend County since Reconstruction. He serves on the Environmental Regulation and the Economic Development & Small Business Committees, and was voted “Freshman Legislator of the Year.”

He received a B.S. from TSU and law degree from Texas Tech. He served as an associate municipal judge and president of the NAACP Missouri City & Ft. Bend Vicinity Branch. Contact: Austin, 512-463-0494; Houston, (281) 208-3574; ron. reynolds @house.state.tx.us.

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DEFENDER | JANUARY 10 | 2013

health

defendernetwork.com

A Defender & Texas Children’s Hospital Alliance

It’s not too late to get

vaccinated The influenza (flu) season is officially here. This is the earliest the flu has hit Texas since 2003-2004 when the nation witnessed a severe epidemic, more than 150 deaths in children and a flu vaccine shortage. An early beginning to the flu seasons and the presence of the influenza H3N2 virus typically signal a bad flu season ahead.

However, it’s not too late to get yourself and your family vaccinated. Since it takes about two weeks after receiving the flu vaccine to develop the antibodies that protect you and your children against this serious infection, the time to get vaccinated is now.

Many still do not understand just how important getting influenza vaccine is, especially for pregnant women and young children.

The flu can put a woman at increased health risk during pregnancy, due to poor lung capacity and perhaps altered immunity. More importantly, a pregnant woman who gets vaccinated not only protects herself, but also her baby. So women

who are expecting should be vaccinated.

Younger children are more susceptible to influenza than older children. Infants less than six months old have an immature immune system and cannot receive the vaccine. The only way to protect these babies is to make sure everyone around them has received the vaccine. That’s another reason for parents of young children to make sure they and other family members are vaccinated as well.

“Children under age 2 years are more likely to develop influenza complications that put them in the hospital than are older children, adolescents and adults,” said

Dr. Carol Baker, executive director of the Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research at Texas Children’s Hospital. “Each year, 10 to 40 percent of children catch the flu. Children under 2 years are hospitalized for complications of influenza at the same frequency as the elderly. And those between ages 2 years and 5 years have more visits to the doctor and medications during influenza season.”

It’s not too late to get these children vaccinated either. Let’s spread good tidings and cheer this holiday season, not the flu. Don’t let anyone in your family suffer from this serious and preventable infection – get vaccinated this week.

healthnotes What to do when children need surgery From repairing hernias, taking out an appendix or conducting circumcisions, most pediatric surgeries are relatively standard but differ vastly from adult surgeries. While parents realize that these types of surgeries are necessary to ensure their child’s health and development, the idea of surgery can still be frightening for both parents and children.

“It’s important for all pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists to remember that children are vastly different from adults,” said Dr. Ruben Rodriguez, pediatric surgeon at Texas Children’s Hospital.

“Everything from their anatomy to their psyche is still developing and differs from child to child. For this reason, pediatric surgeons and anesthesiologists are much more accustomed to being able to adapt to the individual patient and treat them in a manner conducive with their precise size, medical history, age and tolerance.”

Communication also is an important element. Building trust with patients and families is important when explaining procedures to them while anticipating and mitigating fears. It’s important to be able to read, comprehend and respond to non-verbal cues from various age groups as well since children of all ages may need surgery including infants, toddlers and young children in addition to adolescents and teenagers.

Appendectomies are by far the most common emergency pediatric abdominal operations performed. Texas Children’s Hospital performs more than 1,000 appendectomies a year. Other common emergency pediatric surgeries are procedures to drain abscesses and pyloromyotomies, an operation to relieve the overgrowth of the stomach muscle commonly found in infants 3-to 6-weeks old. Common elective surgeries include circumcisions and hernia repairs.

Pediatric radiology: Why children’s hospitals are different than adult facilities From MRIs and X-rays to CT Scans, pediatric radiologists have a number of tools to aid them in quickly and accurately diagnosing and assessing a child’s illness or injury. While many families may be familiar with an X-ray exam, some may not know about more advanced technologies like CT scans or MRIs. Also, with the recent national media spotlight on radiation exposure many parents may be concerned about what levels of exposure are appropriate for children.

It’s important to limit radiation exposure for everyone. However, while all

types of radiation carry risks, low-levels of exposure are safe.

“What many may not realize is that we are all exposed to radiation on a daily basis by simply walking around,” said Dr. J. Herman Kan, pediatric radiologist at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.

“The amount of radiation exposure a child receives from diagnostic tests, including CT scans or X-rays, is relatively small.

However, you should speak to your pediatric radiologist about potential alternative diagnostic tests which would provide the

necessary information.”

For instance, if a child is referred to Texas Children’s Hospital for a CT scan, families can rest assured that a very low amount of radiation will be used because the hospital’s studies are tailored specifically for children. The experts at Texas Children’s have analyzed radiation dosages performed on children at the hospital versus CT studies performed on children at adult facilities. On average, Texas Children’s radiation doses for individual CT studies are 40 percent lower.

defendernetwork.com • Serving the Houston area for over 80 years

Dr. J. Herman Kan

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JANUARY 10 | 2013 | DEFENDER

11

Big coverage for the little ones.

Texas Children’s Health Plan covers children from newborns to teenagers. We even cover adults and pregnant moms through STAR Medicaid. Families with children who qualify for CHIP pay $50 or less a year. Those who qualify for Medicaid pay nothing.

CHIP and STAR Medicaid offer a wide range of benefits including checkups and shots, dental services, medications, and more.

With Texas Children’s Health Plan you also get: ■

Over 2,100 doctors.

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A 24-hour nurse hotline.

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Free transportation to doctor visits.

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Pregnancy support program and classes.

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Help losing weight through the Keep Fit Program.

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Learn how to play soccer from the Houston Dynamo coaches.

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Fun, free member events!

For more information, to receive an application, or to find an event in your area, visit us online or call today.

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12

DEFENDER | JANUARY 10 | 2013

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business

Staying connected:

How social are you? of smartphone owners; and tablets are owned by 20 percent of American households.

Channel surfing over the weekIt makes sense that our inend, I stopped creased connecon a favorite tivity through old romantic the penetration comedy that was of mobile decentered on a vices has fueled relationship that the explosion blossomed over of social media. emails. The Overall, more and movie isn’t even more people are all that old, yet connecting to the its premise now Internet and are seems almost connecting for ancient. Because longer periods of as we all know, time. During the in today’s world same time period, there is a plethotime spent on PCs ra of ways other and smartphones than email to was up 21 perconnect socially. cent.

Social Of our time media has exon the Internet, ploded over the the report shows last 20 years. that we spend There is simply more time on no way to avoid social networks it; no matter This is how social networks rank than on any other how bah-humsites, with comin the analysis of PC visitors in bug you may puters still our the U.S. over the last year: be over all this device of choice. “new-fangled” However, it Facebook 1.5 billion-plus connecting. also reports that Blogger 58,518,000 According app usage has Twitter 37,033,000 to Nielsen’s latseen the biggest WordPress 30,945,000 est Social Megrowth in accessdia Report, the LinkedIn 28,113,000 ing social contotal time spent Pinterest 27,223,000 tent. Accessing on social media mobile apps now Google+ 26,201,000 in the U.S. accounts for more Tumblr 25,634,000 on both perthan one-third of Myspace 19,680,000 sonal computsocial networkWikia 12,594,000 ers (PCs) and ing time across mobile devices PCs and mobile (smart phones devices. That is and tablets) a 76 percent increase in social app jumped 37 percent between July time over last year.

2011 and July 2012; from 88 billion And, where do we like to visit? minutes to 121 billion minutes.

Facebook is the reigning champ of As you know from reading this time spent on social media whether column regularly we love our mopeople are getting there via their bile devices. Smartphones saturate PCs, mobile web browsers or a more than 50 percent of the total mobile app. mobile phone market. AfricanContinued on Page 13 Americans account for 62 percent

By CHERYL PEARSON-MCNEIL Nielsen

Top social networks

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Staying..Continued from page 12

Many consumers use cell phones to connect to social media.

Pinterest has to be crowned the breakout star among the social networks. And, who is doing all of this picture and image pinning/bookmarking on the virtual pinboard site?

Women – 70 percent, 84 percent and 72 percent via PC, mobile app and mobile Internet, respectively. They are mostly white – 86 percent via PC, 79 percent via mobile app and 74 percent through mobile Internet.

The Social Media Report shows that minority women, including African-Americans, have yet to warm up to Pinterest, with audience composition in the single digits; with the exception of mobile Internet access, which we penetrate at 10 percent.

The report’s data reiterates what I have shared in previous columns: Americans are multi-taskers. Having a mobile device on-hand while watching TV is almost a requisite activity.

Forty-one percent of tablet owners and 38 percent of smartphone owners use TXU2013_BW_Free_TA_H2 their device daily while watching the Updated TV. 12-­‐13-­‐12 While shopping and looking up program or product information, people are also chatting with their connections via their social networks – often about the show they are watching on

TV. This is especially true on Twitter, which has emerged as a key driver of social TV interaction. During June 2012, more than a third of active Twitter users tweeted about TV-related content, which is an increase of 27 percent from the beginning of the year.

Chances are, you’re one of them, as all of the research shows that Black consumers are 30 percent more likely to visit Twitter than the average demographic and that we watch 40 percent more TV than other groups.

This behavior is so prevalent that Nielsen and Twitter announced a new measurement service available at the start of the fall 2013 TV season called “Nielsen Twitter TV Rating.” The service will be a syndicated-standard metric around the reach of the TV conversation on Twitter.

How many of you have tweeted during your favorite show’s season finale or during an extraordinary moment on a reality show? You know what all of this means, don’t you?

We consumers are better informed and more connected every day. Because of the exponential growth of social word-of-mouth and social engagement, this means we hold even more power than before.

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DEFENDER | JANUARY 10 | 2013 defendernetwork.com

sports

A&M’s Clarence McKinney

Assistant coach on the rise

T

Clarence McKinney is running backs coach for the Aggies.

By MAX EDISON Defender

he Texas A&M Aggies recently completed one of their most successful seasons (11-2) in recent memory with a 41-13 demolition of Oklahoma in the 2013 Cotton Bowl.

Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel continued his record-setting season guiding the Aggie offense. Johnny Football set an Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) record with his 229 yards rushing on 17 carries, and completed 22 of 34 passes for 287 yards.

Manziel and the Aggie offense never missed despite a new person assuming the play-calling duties, running back Coach Clarence McKinney.

McKinney was tabbed by head coach Kevin Sumlin when former offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury departed to become head coach at Texas Tech. The move essentially was like throwing the keys to a finely tuned, high-powered exotic sports car to McKinney and telling him not to wreck it.

Based on the way the Aggie offense performed in the Cotton Bowl – a blistering 633 yards of total offense against the nation’s No. 11 ranked team – McKinney passed his driving test with flying colors.

Sumlin was quick to acknowledge his confidence in McKinney and his success in the Cotton Bowl with the Aggie offense.

“Continuity is important for what we do. Clarence has been in this offense for five years,” Sum-

The Aggies had reason to celebrate at the Cotton Bowl, where McKinney called the offensive plays.

lin said. “I think Clarence and our whole offensive staff did a great job.”

Sumlin recalled McKinney’s career and how it prepared him for his current duties.

“Go back to his days of being the offensive coordinator at Booker T, when I first met him, at North Shore, then being the head coach at Yates,” he said. “He understands what we’re doing. I thought he did an excellent job this evening.”

For McKinney, the thought of being on the field at Cowboy Stadium, with confetti raining down, celebrating a Cotton Bowl victory for the Aggies is a surreal experience that he never anticipated.

“Never in a thousand years did I imagine I’d be coaching at Texas A&M,” McKinney said during the post-Cotton Bowl celebration. “I used to come to all the high school coaching clinics Coach Slocum [former Aggie head coach] used to have.”

It has been a wild ride for McKinney, from being head coach at his alma mater, HISD powerhouse Jack Yates, to the wars of college football’s most dominant conference, the SEC. “I started out as a middle school seventh grade C team coach,” McKinney said. “I worked my way up the ladder. Coach Sumlin had enough faith in me to give me an opportunity [at the University of Houston] and now the sky’s the limit. Coach Sumlin and I have been together five years and we have a great relationship. I appreciate him giving me the opportunity.”

McKinney says his years of experience and preparation, plus a talented group of playmakers, helped make his job easy.

“Great players make great coaches and we have some really great players and those guys came through for us,” McKinney said. “I’ve been with Kingsbury the last five years and the first couple of years I was with Dana [Holgorsen, former Cougar offensive coordinator and West Virginia head coach] and that helped me out tremendously.”

Give Sumlin credit for selecting a coach from Houston’s inner city to join his staff at the University of Houston and taking him with him to Texas A&M. Thank you Clarence McKinney for making us proud by handling your business when given the opportunity. I predict that big things are in store for you in your coaching career. The best is yet to come.

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JANUARY 10 | 2013 | DEFENDER

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h.s.zone

sportsbriefs Yates prepares for title run

Travis navigates stretch run

Jack Yates head boys basketball coach Greg Wise has a vision. If things go as planned, the youthful Lions would win the school’s third state title in five years by the end of the 2012-2013 season. By the end of next season, Yates would be national prep champions for the second time in five years.

With only one senior on the current roster, Yates has endured a gauntlet of a schedule that has included Texas (Fort Bend Travis, Dallas Kimball, Dallas Prime Prep) and national powerhouses (Iolani Classic). The state’s top-ranked Class 3A school, Yates improved to 16-4 on the season with a 80-67 victory over Redemption Home School recently before resuming play in District 23-3A with games against Furr and Booker T. Washington. The Lions can next be caught in action Jan. 15 at Delmar Stadium against Kashmere (7:30 p.m.) and Jan. 18 at Barnett Fieldhouse against Jones (7:30 p.m.).

By DARRELL K. ARDISON Defender

It was a little tougher than most people expected.

Fort Bend Travis, the defending Region III-5A boys’ basketball champion, resumed its District 23-5A schedule following the Christmas holidays with a nail-biting 55-50 victory over rival Kempner at Wheeler Fieldhouse.

Senior guard John Burnett, one of three returning starters along with Aaron and Andrew Harrison from last season’s state-finalist squad, drilled a deep three-pointer with less than one minute remaining in regulation to seal the victory.

“Every team in this district is good and well-coached,” said head coach Craig Brownson, after watching his team improve to 16-3 on the season and 2-0 in league play. “If we don’t play our best, we know that there’s going to be plenty of opportunities for us to get beat.”

Andrew Harrison, the top-ranked college point-guard prospect in the nation, sat out the game with a hamstring injury. Brownson lists his status as day-to-day.

Andrew and his brother Aaron, the top-rated shooting guard in the U.S., announced in mid-November that they would be attending the University of Kentucky next fall.

“We’re trying to get healthy and trying to improve every day,” Brownson said. “We want to see how good we’re capable of becoming. Hopefully, we’ve got a lot of room yet to grow over the next six weeks.”

Even with the return of his top three scorers from last season, Brownson and his staff have had to deal with the loss of frontcourt players Christian Crockett and Kyle Coulter to graduation. Travis lost to Flower Mound Marcus (56-52) in the 2012 Class 5A championship game.

“We’re pretty guard-dominant this year,” Brownson said. “We lost some ‘bigs’ from last year so we’ve had to change up some of the things we do both offensively and defensively. We’ve probably spent more individual time this year with our bigger kids, trying to develop them, because we need someone to step up besides our guards.”

Players like David Tillman, Derrick Nwaneti and Daniel Chika will be given ample opportunity to contribute as the season unfolds. Tillman stands 6-foot-8 and starts in the post for the Tigers.

Yet the Harrison twins and the 5-foot-9 Burnett will remain the first three options in the Tigers’ offensive arsenal.

“John is always somebody that I can count on because he’s not afraid to take big shots,” Brownson said. “He made five threes in the state semifinals last year and a couple more in the state final.

“He made a heady play in today’s game,” Brownson said. “I asked him to commit a foul at the end of the game and he did it without hesitation. It worked out for us and I can always trust John to do what I need as a coach.”

Burnett had four treys in Travis’ 76-63 victory over Jack Yates in the second game of this season. “The twins are good teammates and when they draw double-teams, they trust me to knock down shots,” he said. “Last season was a good experience and we want to build on that success.

John Burnett

Schools among state’s best

classified HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NOTICE TO PROPOSERS The Houston Independent School District located in the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center at 4400 West 18th Street Houston, Texas 77092 will accept proposals, until the stated date and time deadlines, in the Board Services Office, Level C1

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Project 12-12-10 RFP / Food Service – Frozen Food & Staple Groceries - Annual – with a final submittal date of 10 A.M. January 30, 2013. The pre-proposal conference for this project will be in Room 3C12 at the above stated address on January 14, 2013 at 10 A.M.

Proposals are available www.houstonisd.org.

on

the

HISD

web-site

at

The District reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, or, to accept the proposal that is most advantageous to the District.

The District sells obsolete assets on-line at www.PublicSurplus.com.

MENTAL HEALTH MENTAL RETARDATION AUTHORITY OF HARRIS COUNTY will be accepting proposals for the following: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SOFTWARE Specifications may be secured from MHMRA of Harris County, Purchasing Department located at 7011 Southwest Freeway, Suite 100 in Houston, Texas 77074 and/or via MHMRA website www.mhmraharris.org beginning Wednesday, January 16, 2013. A Pre-Proposal Conference is scheduled for Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 11:00 a.m., 7011 Southwest Freeway. Responses to Request for Proposal must be submitted to the Purchasing Department, Suite 100, 7011 Southwest Freeway, Houston, Texas 77074 by 11:00 a.m., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 in a sealed envelope marked "PROPOSAL - DO NOT OPEN UNTIL – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013, “LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SOFTWARE”. Any questions pertaining to this solicitation should be addressed in writing to Marguarette Washington, Senior Buyer via fax (713) 970-7682 or email to marguarette.washington@mhmraharris.org cc: nina.cook@mhmraharris.org. MHMRA reserves the rights to reject any and/or all proposals it deems to be in its best interests , to waive

formalities and reasonable irregularities in submitted documents and is not obligated to accept the lowest proposal.

Sixteen Houston area schools were ranked in the final Texas Association of Basketball Coaches boys state high school poll of 2012. In the Class 5A division, Fort Bend Travis (7), Fort Bend Bush (9), Spring Westfield (13), Aldine Nimitz (19), North Shore (20), Katy Seven Lakes (22), Houston Westside (23) and Manvel (25) were ranked. Among Class 4A schools, Fort Bend Marshall (3), Houston Wheatley (9), Pearland Dawson (13), Brazosport (19) and Friendswood (20) made the Top 25. Yates (1), Houston Sterling (16) and Navasota (20) were the ranked Class 3A schools. The first TABC poll of 2013 is forthcoming.

Cougar named All-American University of Houston freshman Trevon Stewart was recently named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.

The true freshman free safety led all freshmen nationally and was 13th regardless of class with 126 tackles. Stewart, a native of Patterson, La., took over as UH’s starting free safety in the third game of the season and ended the year with 10 consecutive starts. He finished second on the squad and fourth in Conference USA with his 126 stops, which was also the second-best tackle total of all defensive backs nationally. Stewart had six games with at least 10 tackles including a career-best 21 stops at East Carolina.

Harden honored Rocket guard James Harden was recently named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, Dec. 31 through Sunday, Jan. 6. It is his second such honor this season after winning West Player of the Week earlier this season for games played Oct. 30-Nov. 4. Harden averaged 29.3 points (second in the conference), 3.25 steals (second in the conference) and 5.5 assists as Houston collected home victories over the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Hornets, as well as road victories over the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers. Harden also extended his streak of scoring 25 or more points to 12 consecutive games, which ties for the season longest such streak in Rockets history.

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DEFENDER | JANUARY 10 | 2013 | defendernetwork.com

How to stay active in winter

AT

Family Features

The colder, shorter days of winter can make it challenging to stay motivated and active. In fact, surveys find that exercise levels and healthy eating habits among Americans significantly decline during fall and winter months.

“When the temperatures drop and the sun sets earlier, many people struggle to find the time, energy or motivation to stay focused on their fitness goals,” said cycling and triathlon coach Gale Bernhardt.

“The best way to stay on top of your personal health and maximize cold weather workouts is to create an offseason game plan.”

These easy-to-follow tips will help you stay active this season, no matter how cold it is outside.

• Some is better than none. If you don’t have time to go to the gym or fit an hour workout into your busy day, still try to fit in what you can. Try a steady walk for 20 to 30 minutes, climb a flight of stairs a couple of times, or simply walk around the block.

• Embrace the cold. Don’t let the chilly temperatures scare you. Use the cold as an opportunity to find unique ways to get in some good cardio or strength work by raking leaves, shoveling the driveway, building a snowman or going on a winter weather hike.

• Find options to the gym. Winter workouts don’t need to be relegated to the gym. Find an at-home fitness DVD (Pilates, yoga, cardio, etc.) or an on-demand television workout, and do your own in-house boot camp once a week to mix things up.

• Mix up your fitness. Use the winter season to learn a new skill. Try something new like indoor rock climbing, a dance class or fitness boxing. Check out your local fitness center for ideas.

• Find a winter workout buddy. For added motivation, invite friends to work out with you. Buddies give you incentive, provide mutual commitment and ultimately help keep workouts fun.

• Join a team. Winter is a great time for team sports like volleyball or basketball.

Recreation leagues like these can provide a great aerobic workout and speed skills, too.

Remember, don’t let the colder weather slow you down. Develop simple strategies that help you stay fit and active.

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The Workshop at Macy’s is designed to help retail entrepreneurs and designers that are poised to succeed on a larger scale, but need additional tools on retail business practices to build and sustain growth in the industry.

The Workshop at Macy’s is now accepting applications for our spring 2o13 Program. for more information, including interviews with past participants, application requirements and deadlines, visit macysinc.com/workshop.

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Diversity. It’s not what you think. At Macy’s, it is part of everything we do.

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