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July 9 - July 15, 2015

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Volume 14 Issue 46

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Editorial

Seven steps forward from the Charleston shooting

By Barbara Arnwine

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he Charleston Nine. They were college graduates, a state senator, a librarian and all deeply committed to their church, faith and nation.

A hate-filled White supremacist stilled their mighty hearts and shocked a barely comprehending nation.

Our nation must embrace the challenge of this moment and take concrete actions to address our racial realities and prevent another racially motivated massacre.

President Obama initially called for gun control, but it’s not enough.

Many wanted to hear a denunciation of the racial hate behind this heinous act. Not acknowledging the role of racism here is a fundamental error, no matter the inevitable criticism from those who will resort to denial and complain about race baiting.

Similarly, Nikki Haley wrongfully called for the imposition of the death penalty, ignoring complicity of the symbol of racial hate flying at her state capitol. Again, national and local protest forced her to call for the removal of the confederate flag from the capitol grounds.

Hate, denigrating stereotypes, fear, violence, terrorism and slaughter are the handmaidens of White supremacy. And the confederate flag is their rallying symbol.

When Dylann Roof spoke of Black men raping White women, he pulled from the racist motif of the confederacy and post-Re-

construction era. His killing of six Black women bespoke of his true genocidal purpose. When he spoke of taking back our country, he was echoing the rebel yell with flag in hand to re-subjugate Blacks, or worse.

We must stop using the language of loner, sick, mentally disabled and accept the fact that Roof is just the latest actor in a string of ugly slayings and attempted killings by White supremacist domestic terrorists against Blacks and other minorities, seeking to spark their much desired race war.

It is imperative that we eliminate or lessen any possible recurrence by taking strong action as follows: Remove the confederate flag throughout the nation from all governmental and corporate sponsorship including schools and sport teams.

their popular culture and the gratuitous racism that pervades it.

Center equality for women of color in all of our discussions about gender equality and racial justice.

As the narrative of the endangered Black male has dominated the national conversation, the plight of our African-American women and girls has been ignored.

Seminal of all needed actions is the imperative to build a nationwide truth and reconciliation process that would hold hearings and programs in every state to facilitate racial healing. We must engage all races in an honest national dialogue about the history of racial oppression in their states and communities and the continuing impacts on modern society.

Build a real White movement for racial justice to fight for inclusion, equality and opportunity for all Brand the flag as a hate symbol. Americans. Only a truly multiWe have to understand that the racial coalition can win the struggle primary purpose of the flag is to advance racial justice in our society. Whites need to be more proactive and engaged in advocating for concrete new laws and – Pastor Joel Hunter, Northland Church policies that will combat racial injustice. a symbol of racial hatred and Similarly, we all must seek to division.. enact policies and legislation that will reverse the impacts of the Insist that entertainment unjust criminal justice system, and media stop the negative racially motivated policing and portrayals of Blacks, especially the violence, segregated housing, disproportionate images of Blacks unequal education, employment as criminals. It is easy to hate and discrimination, intersectionality of dehumanize that which you fear. race and gender, and environmental injustice.

Teach in every school, church and available forum about the evil We must propel our multiracial naof racism and implicit bias. It is tion forward beyond this tragedy telling that Roof is only 21 years of by taking concrete action to actualage. The mythology that the young ize racial harmony and racial juswill automatically with the passage tice. of time become better on race has been disproven time and time Barbara Arnwine is founder and presiagain as young Whites have been dent of the Transformative Justice Cofeatured nationally for various hate alition (TJC) and broadcasts weekly on crimes or racist expressions. In the Radio One’s WOL 1450 AM. She can absence of affirmative teaching be reached at barnwine@barbaraarnabout race, Whites will learn from wine.com.

Only a multiracial coalition can win the struggle

For Black homeowners, Great Recession has yet to recede

Finance

By Freddie Allen Senior Washington Correspondent

BasicGov/Creative Commons

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Most economists agree that the Great Recession, sparked by the housing market crash, officially ended in 2009, but the fallout from the crisis will continue to hurt Black families, especially Black homeowners, for decades to come, according to a new report commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

“In 2007, median wealth excluding home equity was $14,200 for [B]lacks as compared with over six times that amount, $92,950, for [W]hites. Home equity, therefore, made up 51 percent of total wealth for the typical [W]hite homeowner in 2007. For the typical [B]lack homeowner this same year, on the other hand, home equity constituted a far larger 71 percent of total wealth,” the report found.

The report continued: “The fact that [B]lacks hold the bulk of their wealth in home equity likely explains, at least in part, why [B] lack wealth, on a percentage basis, declined more than [W]hite wealth during the housing bust and subsequent Great Recession.

The report conducted by the Social Science Research Council found that even though Black families and White families lost wealth during the Great Recession, White families lost less and recovered faster than Black families.

White wealth levels, excluding home equity, showed signs of recovery between 2009 and 2011, measuring zero losses, while 40 percent of non-home-equity wealth held by the average Black family evaporated during the same period.

And while the typical Black family shed another 13 percent of their non-home-equity wealth, from 2009-2011, White families, on average, saw their home-equity wealth losses “slow to zero.”

“Not only were Black homeowners devastated by the housing market collapse, they are now being left behind,” said Rachel Goodman, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program. “It is very much a tale of two recoveries.”

Subprime loan recipients like Black homeowners are struggling well after recession.

The report said that between 2007 and 2009, the average White family lost 9 percent of the equity in their homes, compared to average Black homeowner who experienced a 12 percent fall in home equity.

“This disparity may stem from the fact that [B]lacks were more exposed to predatory loans and other types of toxic mortgages and ballooning interest rates as compared to whites, leading to disparate rates of delinquency and foreclosure,” the report said.

“By 2031, White wealth is forecast to be 31 percent below what it would have been without the Great Recession, while Black wealth is down almost 40 percent,” stated the report. “Without the Great Recession, by 2050, home equity values for Blacks and Whites whose parents or grandparents owned a home at some point between 1999 and 2011 may have approached parity. As a result of discriminatory lending practices and the Great Recession, our analysis suggests that the next generations of Black families will still have home equity values only 70 percent of their white counterparts.”

When Bank of America bought Countrywide Financial in 2008, the bank’s track record of troubling mortgage-lending practices and a discrimination case came with the deal. In 2011, Bank of America settled the case with the Justice Department for $355 million. The Department alleged that Countrywide had engaged in “discriminatory mortgage lending practices against more than 200,000 qualified African-American and Hispanic bor-

rowers from 2004 through 2008.”

In 2012, the Justice Department settled a fair lending case with Wells Fargo Bank, over allegations that the financial institution, “engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in its mortgage lending from 2004 through 2009,” a statement for the Justice Department said.

Investigators also found that minorities were steered into subprime mortgage loans at higher rates than similarly qualified White borrowers.

The settlement included $184.3 million for minority borrowers and another $50 million in resources for direct down payments to help residents living in communities hit the hardest during the housing crash.

In the press release about the report, Sarah Burd-Sharps, the codirector of the Social Science Research Council’s Measure of America project, said that, “Steps can be taken right now to help close the growing racial wealth divide, and to ensure that the next generation has the benefits of assets and savings that bring a more secure future.”

The report recommended that policymakers closely monitor current lending practices at banks to protect low-income and minority borrowers from discrimination. The report also suggested that lawmakers clarify legislation governing access to credit and that they give regulators more power to guard consumers against racially disparate practices in servicing mortgage loans.

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District Chronicles | Jul. 9 - Jul. 15, 2015 | 3

Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington

Twitter/Tray Chaney

‘The Wire’ Actor Tray Chaney (right) with Chancellor Kaya Henderson at the DCPS New Heights Summit.

District of Columbia DCPS Chancellor Henderson joins Actor Tray Cheney, NBA mom Wanda Pratt to help expectant, parenting students

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4 | Jul. 9 - Jul. 15, 2015 | District Chronicles

elevision actor Tray Chaney of “The Wire” and Wanda Pratt, mother of NBA star Kevin Durant, joined D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson at the fourth-annual New Heights Summit. They have come together to promote the collaborative efforts city agencies have implemented to support expectant and parenting students in the completion of their high school education.

“Raising a child is challenging enough. For expectant and parenting teens, the stress and responsibilities associated with being expectant and/or parenting while completing school work can be overwhelming,” said Henderson.

“Programs such as New Heights provide the supports students need to stay in school, graduate and work toward a better life for themselves and their families.”

At the summit, Pratt spoke to New Heights participants about her experience as a parent at age 18, how she sacrificed her aspirations in support of her children and, ultimately, why she has dedicated her adult life to inspiring single mothers to pursue their dreams and goals. Chaney, who is also a singer/songwriter, shared his experience in creating music and videos with positive messages about family and fatherhood.

The New Heights program is a school-based initiative that engages expectant and parenting students in 13 DCPS high schools.

The program seeks to improve the attendance and graduation rates of these students and prepare them for higher education and the workforce.

By collaborating with community-based organizations, each New Heights site is able to host life-skills workshops for the participants about topics such as financial literacy, employment, healthy eating and parenting skills.

For more than 15 years, the Department of Human Services (DHS), through federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds has supported New Heights programs at Anacostia

High School and Cardozo Education Campus. DCPS currently receives $400,000 annually for these two programs.

In spring 2010, DCPS led a community engagement process to determine whether and how to expand New Heights’ services.

Stakeholders expressed an interest in expanding the model and provided feedback on essential program components, which were incorporated into a DCPS plan to expand New Heights.

Using the New Heights expansion plan as a model, and in partnership with other city agencies and partners, DHS applied for and was awarded a three-year grant by the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health (HHS-OAH), at $1.5 million for each year. When the grant expired in 2013, DCPS continued funding the program.

New Heights has served 1,007 students since its expansion in 2011.

The majority of those students have either graduated (370) or remained with the program (253).

Of those who dropped out of high school before graduation, the majority reenrolled in alternative education programs such as the DCPS STAY programs.

Divine Intervention

Families of slain Emanuel A.M.E. victims forgive killer

By Jazelle Hunt Washington Correspondent

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(NNPA) – Though suffering and deep in pain from the loss of their loved ones, members of Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina displayed the finest reflection of Christian values.

Nadine Collier, daughter of Ethel Lance, 70, one of the nine killed by Dylann Roof, struggled to find the right words.

“I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you and have mercy on your soul,” said Collier, her voice trembling with emotion. “It hurts me, it hurts a lot of people, but God forgive you and I forgive you.”

Speaking for her family, a sister of Rev. DePayne MiddletonDoctor, 49, had a similar message.

“We have no room for hate,” she said softly. “We have to forgive. I pray God on your soul.

And I also thank God that I won’t be around when your judgment day comes with him.”

One by one, they took turns, sharing their grief without rancor.

How could they be so forgiving?

“To understand the Black Christian tradition and faith that has nurtured Black people for centuries is to know that they live by a deep, resilient faith that God is on the side of justice, God is on the side of love,” explained Rev. Forrest Harris, president of American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee and a scholar on the Black Christian church.

Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco and NAACP national board member, said Blacks should not bear the brunt of suffering – or forgiveness – in the U.S. “I do not feel in my spirit that Blacks should have to be the sacrificial lambs all the time,” said Brown. “The pain is so great and it’s insulting that America has still not confessed to its wrong and its evil. And that evil is racism.”

Relatives of the nine slain in Charleston refused to be overcome by the evil of racism.

According to a 2009 Pew Research Center report, nearly 80 percent of Black people say religion is very important in their

Pastor Newton of Metropolitan AME Church in D.C. says Black Christians have used forgiveness often to lend moral weight in the fight against racial injustice.

lives, with 53 percent attending church every week (compared to 39 percent of the overall population). Church is especially important to Black women who are unrivaled in their dedication to their faith (84 percent) and attend church each week (nearly 60 percent ).

Pastor Jonathan Newton, executive minister at Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in Washington, D.C., points out that the lesson of forgiveness is not only God’s way, but also served Black Christians well during the Civil Rights Movement by lending moral weight to the cause.

Like Mother Emanuel, Metropolitan A.M.E. was founded in the early 1800s and has a storied legacy within the course of Black history. Hundreds gathered to pray for its sister church in Charleston – later, the church received a bomb threat, as a few other South Carolina A.M.E. churches did the previous day. “[After the shooting] one of our A.M.E. bishops sent around to the churches a litany to explain that the church doors will remain open; we will continue to do what God calls us to do. But while we forgive, we still step up security,” said Newton.

The A.M.E. church is indeed grounded in resistance. Free Blacks in Philadelphia founded the denomination in the late 1700s when White Methodist Episcopalians refused to pray along side them and used force to interrupt their worship. The Black parishioners began their own church and successfully sued for the right to be an independent congregation.

This is not the first time a White supremacist has targeted a Black church.

A study found that there were more than 300 racially motivated church bombings or burnings in the 1960s, and an additional 200 between 1989 and 1996. In 2008, two White men were convicted of burning down a COGIC church in Springfield, Massachusetts in reaction to President Barack Obama’s election.

“This sounds trite, but the first thing is prayer. We believe that prayer changes things, but also prayer brings calm, reasonable, rational thinking,” said Newton. “[Then] we deal with it, and not try to suppress…we talk about the anger, the hurt. Our faith is what makes us strong through using political actions and our educations … in our strides to social justice.”

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District Chronicles | Jul. 9 - Jul. 15, 2015 | 5

Cover

Who is burning America’s Black churches and why?

By Earl Ofari Hutchinson New America Media, Commentary

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approved. The ATF, FBI and federal prosecutors supplied a partial answer with the arrests and prosecutions of a motley assortment of suspects. They were almost always young, male, and White, and they had spouted racist sentiments, had loose ties with shadowy hate groups.

Or the perpetrators fit the textbook category of poorly educated teens or malcontents who tanked up on booze or drugs took out their warped anger or derangement on a handy and vulnerable target, namely the nearest local Black church.

That same racially charged climate and the tensions it ignited repeats itself again today.

The Charleston massacre was the most heinous and horrific atrocity, but it was also the latest in a train of race tearing events in the past year. The mass agitation over the police killings of and assaults on unarmed young Black males, and increasingly females. There’s been the relentless assault by ultra conservatives on voting rights protections, college affirmative action programs, and the open and subtle vicious racial harangue and hectoring of President Obama by some

Charlotte Fire Department

he count of Black churches in the South that have been torched is not the six that have been burned since the massacre of nine Blacks at Charleston’s Emmanuel AME Church, but 37.

The church burnings occurred in a period of not two weeks but over 18 months.

That was only the tip of the church burning iceberg. In a six year period between 1991 and 1996, the ATF investigated more than 150 churches that had been torched in both the South and the North.

Some of those burned were White churches. But it was the sheer number and ferocity of the arson attacks on Black churches that caught the nation’s attention and stirred alarm that Black churches were being systematically targeted.

The tormenting question, though, was by who and why then, and again, today? Black churches have been an inviting target for racially motivated attacks by the Klan, assorted White vigilantes and cranks during a hot button period from the early to mid-1960s.

The reason then was simple: they were the gathering place, centerpiece, and rallying point for the mass meetings, marches and demonstrations by civil rights leaders.

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the SCLC, CORE and the NAACP, knew that when all other public and private facilities were barred to them for use in most Southern cities and towns, there was always a local Black church that would open its pulpit and sanctuary to them.

The price paid was steep. In less than one month in 1962, five Black churches were torched in rural Georgia. The next year the nation recoiled in shock at the dynamite bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham and the murder of four Black girls.

But the resurgence of attacks on Black churches in the 1990s mystified many. The civil rights era of mass protests and demonstrations with Black churches at the center had long since passed. So who was doing the dirty work now and why? Then President Clinton was among those who wanted to know why and asked Congress for an extra $1.2 million to beef up the investigations. The money was

Charlotte Fire fighters battle a blaze at Briar Creek Baptist Church. The predominantly Black church is one of several that have recently caught fire and adds to racial tensions.

Tea Party extremists, and unreconstructed bigots. Much of that hate is well evident in the nonstop race baiting digs, slurs, and putdowns of Blacks on websites, chat rooms, and in social media.

Investigators have been quick to say that they have found no evidence of a conspiracy, let alone a racial motive, in the church burnings. And that it’s way too soon to even intimate that any of the church burnings were a hate crime.

Almost certainly, there will be some arrests in the burnings. That again will provide at least a partial answer whether the burnings were done by crackpots and malcontents

or organized racial hate mongers.

No matter what investigators ultimately find about who is burning the churches and their motives for doing so, the horrifying fact is that Black churches a half century after the peak of the 1960s civil rights battles still remain the one Black institution that is America’s inviting target for attacks – whatever the reason.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is author of “From King to Obama: Witness to a Turbulent History” (Middle Passage Press). Follow him on Twitter at @earlhutchinson.

UniverSoul Circus ringmaster commands attention of audience

By Kelly-Ann Brown Howard University News Service

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ressed sharply in a dazzling gold blazer and armed with a microphone and an infectious smile, Ringmaster Lucky Malatsi’s job is to keep audiences of the UniverSoul Circus excited, engaged and enthusiastic between the numerous acts – and it is no small feat.

Malatsi is quick on his feet, incorporating humor, dancing and theatrics to keep the audiences at the National Harbor in southern Maryland entertained. The circus is playing there until July 19.

Though he makes it look effortless, Malatsi’s performance encompasses years of experience. He joined UniverSoul at only 11 years old, an age when American children are still in elementary school.

But he didn’t start there. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Malatsi began performing for audiences at age 4 as an accomplished performer and acrobat trained by his uncle.

At 6, he traveled to Germany for the first time, performing in as an acrobat in festivals.

“For as long as I can remember, it has always been my passion,” said Malatsi. “It’s always been second nature to me.”

In 1999, he was recruited by UniverSoul Circus founder and CEO Cedric Walker, and one year later he was performing in a duo contortionist act. He has spent most of his young life growing up surrounded by circus performers from around the world.

He has been an acrobatic, hiphop dancer, a gymnast and a trapeze artist. He said the true skill in mastering these talents requires more than physical conditioning.

“It’s more so mental than physical,” he said. “You can strengthen your body, but if [I] wasn’t strong mentally I wouldn’t have been able to achieve any of those skills.”

He said being ringmaster has been his most challenging job at the circus. Being able to read your audience and keep them on a constant

6 | Jul. 9 - Jul. 15, 2015 | District Chronicles

rollercoaster of emotions is essential, he said.

Though he has been with UniverSoul for 14 years, and has witnessed ringmasters before him, Malatsi said his greatest piece of advice came from Walker.

“He told me if I could make 2000 people feel like I’m talking to each of them individually, then I can become one of the greats,” said Malatsi.

This skill becomes even more useful when dealing with an unresponsive crowd, an experience to which Malatsi is no stranger. He said the best way to remedy the situation is to continue to have fun with them.

“They are the best type of crowd, because they make you work harder,” he said. “Always keep your energy level up and never let them see you sweat.”

At one moment he is asking the audience to participate in the latest dance trend a or “new school” versus “old school” dance battle, and the next he will have children stand

Lucky Malatsi serves as ringmaster at the UniverSoul Circus at National Harbor.

on his or feet and recite a pledge to reinforce their greatness and the idea that their lives matter, and ode to the Black Lives Matter movement.

“We have to keep up with the present, especially with what’s going on in the world,” he said. “Every year we adapt no matter what’s going on.”

A husband and father, Malatsi hopes that his children follow in his

footsteps. But whatever they do, he said, he will support them, just as his family supported his him.

And for young performers hoping to pursue a career in entertainment, Malatsi has some words of wisdom.

“Chase your dreams to the fullest, have patience but always have a backup plan,” he said. “Never lose who you are regardless of how successful you become.”

Politics Checkmating the right wing political agenda

By George E. Curry NNPA Columnist

Sgt. Jorge Intriago/defenseimager.mil

(NNPA) – There’s a lesson to be learned from the Confederate flag quickly and unexpectedly falling into disfavor. The lesson is that the economic clout of African Americans and their progressive allies can be used to pressure businesses to do the right thing, keeping the far right wing in check.

With every Southern governor’s mansion, Senate seat and 12 of the 13 Southern Statehouses controlled by Republicans, a corrosive sense of helplessness had begun to set in among some Blacks. After all, the majority of Blacks live in the South and once powerful Black Democratic state legislators have been politically neutered now that they are in the minority.

The tragedy in Charleston may have provided us with a blueprint for improving our predicament.

First, it’s necessary to understand the role businesses played before and after Nikki Haley, the Republican governor of South Carolina, reversed her long-held position and advocated for the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the state Capitol in Columbia.

There were business reasons that motivated this change.

“They were tired of explaining why a symbol of the American Confederacy lingered at the capitol of a state that wanted to lure

workers from all over the world,” explained the Times. “To many of them, it was a source of embarrassment that the NCAA would not pick South Carolina to host championship events because of the flag, and in the college-sportscrazy state, coaches said it was an obstacle to recruiting.”

To be clear, African Americans were at the forefront of this movement long before the business community belatedly flexed its muscles.

On July 15, 1999, the NAACP announced a boycott of South Carolina because it refused to remove the racially offensive flag from the Capitol. Five days later, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s old organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), voted to move its 2000 national convention from Charleston.

The group Black Lives Matter, which grew out of the movement to protest the deaths of African Americans killed by police, organized an online petition at Moveon.org, collecting signatures at a rate of 5,000 signatures per hour.

The floodgates were opened when Gov. Haley pronounced on June 22: “Today, we are here in a moment of unity in our state without ill will, to say it’s time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds.

A hundred and fifty years after the end of the Civil War, the time has come.”

Republican S.C. governor Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the capitol. Large corporations followed with pressure and toppled what was once a mainstay in conservative political agenda.

Within hours, a stampede of businesses, led by Walmart and Sears, announced they would no longer sell Confederate memorabilia. Other retailers fell in line, including Amazon, eBay, Target and Etsy.com.

This was old-fashioned capitalism at work. Why risk alienating a large base of consumers for the sake of a small segment of lunatics who not only wanted to turn back the clock, but also the calendar?

Leaders throughout the South got the message.

Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe decided Virginia will no longer sell license plates that honor the Old Confederacy. Alabama

Republican Gov. Robert Bentley ordered four different Confederate flags at the state Capitol be promptly removed. In Mississippi, House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Republican, called for changing the state flag, which incorporates the Confederate insignia.

In turn, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence asked state legislators to “clarify” the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that he had already signed into law. In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson threatened to veto similar legislation unless it, too, was “clarified” to say that it could not be used to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

In both the Confederate flag

and religious freedom controversies, we have seen the clout of business leaders. According to the University of Georgia Terry College of Business’ Selig Center for Economic Growth, Black spending power reached $1.1 trillion in 2014.

It’s time to exercise that clout by putting pressure on businesses, compelling them to apply pressure on Republican lawmakers who work against our interests.

George E. Curry is editor-in-chief of NNPA and BlackPressUSA.com. He can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com and via Twitter at @currygeorge.

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District Chronicles | Jul. 9 - Jul. 15, 2015 | 7

Technology

8 | Jul. 9 - Jul. 15, 2015 | District Chronicles

Being called a ‘tech geek’ is now a compliment (BPT) – Are you the family member or friend who is always called when someone’s computer breaks or starts acting up? Do you have a person on speed dial whenever you need a website created or program updated? The old stereotype of a computer geek who’s always wearing a pocket protector and glasses with taped-together frames is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

These days, men and women who are able to speak “tech” and fix those pesky computer programs are in high demand, both professionally and among friends and family. One reason is that more than 80 percent of American households have a computer, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. When those computers don’t work, who are you going to call?

When someone calls a person a tech geek these days, it’s meant to be a compliment, according to a new survey conducted by GMI Research and commissioned by Crucial. com.

Are you single and trying to promote yourself on dating sites? You might want to advertise that you’re a tech geek, according to the Tech-Know Meter Survey.

One in three women say they prefer their significant other be tech savvy.

“Americans recognize how prevalent tech has become in everyday life,” said Ed Walker, Crucial.com marketing manager. “These findings demonstrate that society has warmed to people who are the most capable at fixing and improving the devices we rely on, both in our personal and professional lives.”

It’s not just that people want to be friends with tech geeks – they want to become one themselves, the survey found.

A majority of men and women are interested in improving their personal tech savviness, even if

it’s so they don’t have to constantly bug a friend for help. And while the percentage of people who claim to be tech savvy is heavily male, a significant number of women are showing interest, too, making the term tech geek more gender neutral.

There’s a good chance you have a tech-geek friend, both in your personal life and at the office.

In fact, you might have several at the office.

Most

industries these days rely on technology to survive, and survey respondents say job candidates with tech skills have a stronger resume than those who don’t.

Having a strong list of tech geeks handy is important if you are not one yourself. So the next time someone is introduced to you as being a tech geek, be sure to get his or her number. And if you can call yourself a tech geek, wear the title like a badge of honor – and depending on how popular you want to be, protect your cellphone number!

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In the Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington Leggett signs paid sick leave bill into law ROCKVILLE, MD – Working Matters joined Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett, County Council members and state lawmakers, as well as US Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez, at a ceremony last week to sign the Earned Sick and Safe Leave bill into law.

The measure, which will go into effect on October 1, 2016, provides workers in the county with up to seven paid sick days per year and will benefit more than 100,000 workers. It is one of the country’s most progressive earned sick leave laws because it applies to all workers and contains no exceptions based on the size of the employer or the type of work or industry.

“With this legislation, we are joining a host of states and local jurisdictions who, like us, are adopting their own paid leave requirements.

From San Francisco to Connecticut, the sick leave bills have been a benefit, not a hindrance,” said Leggett.

“As with our minimum wage law, the sick and safe leave bill will contribute to a more robust, healthier economy.”

Expressing support from President Barack Obama, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said, “Today’s moment will be a continuation of a movement. Creating paid leave on the federal level is a ‘when,’ not an ‘if.’”

The effort was also supported by the Working Matters coalition, comprised of 140 labor, community, faith, and immigrant rights groups.

District of Columbia Norton releases statement following SCOTUS Obamacare decision Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) last week released the following statement as opponents of the Affordable Care Act met defeat in their second challenge

The coalition, along with affected workers, helped defeat numerous amendments aimed at weakening the law by meeting with councilmembers, as well as by directing thousands of letters, phone calls and petition signatures to elected officials.

“Thanks to the Council, we can take a day off if we need to see a doctor or if we have a family emergency,” said Hilaria Bonilla, a fast food worker in Gaithersburg and member of CASA. “I am energized and committed to help make paid sick leave a reality for other workers in Maryland, so they too can take better care of themselves and their families.”

Some highlights of the new law: Workers at Montgomery County businesses with five or more employees will earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours (seven days) annually.

Workers in businesses with less than five employees will also earn seven days of sick time (four paid days plus three unpaid days).

The bill applies to part-time workers who regularly work at least eight hours per week.

Workers can use their paid sick time to care for themselves or a member of their family.

The safe time provision ensures that victims of domestic violence or sexual assault can use paid leave to obtain medical attention and victims services. to the law in the 6-3 Supreme Court decision in King v. Burwell.

“The reasoning of the Court’s decision today upholding the Affordable Care Act should be particularly instructive to Members of Congress who have opposed the law. The Court said that the view of the opponents was inconsistent with the statute when viewed as a whole, and that their interpretation ‘could well push a State’s individual insurance marketplace into a death

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Montgomery County

Finding Senior Housing can be complex, but it doesn’t have to be.

Leggett, the council and a coalition worked to get this law passed.

Employees who are laid off will have their previously accumulated time reinstated if they are rehired within nine months.

“Today’s victory in Montgomery County represents a huge step forward for the Maryland Campaign for Paid Sick Days,” said Melissa Broome, deputy director of the Job Opportunities Task Force, convener of the Working Matters coalition.

“Statewide, 40 percent of workers – more than 700,000 – lack access to this most basic, commonsense workplace protection. Working Matters looks forward to continuing this conversation in Annapolis in 2016.”

For a typical family, missing just 3.5 days of pay due to illness is equivalent to losing an entire month’s grocery budget. When families lose the income needed to purchase the essentials, our state economy and local businesses suffer.

Studies also show that earned sick days have a vast impact on workplace productivity. According to the “Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,” workers who underperform because of illness cost employers an estimated $160 billion each year. Job retention policies like paid sick days also reduce turnover and drive down unemployment. spiral.’ Chief Justice Roberts wrote in his opinion for the Court that ‘Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them.’

Perhaps our Republican opponents, who have tried to repeal the Act 60 times, will take note that the Court avoided the interpretation that would have destroyed health care markets, the same outcome that would have resulted from their attempted repeals.”

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District Chronicles | Jul. 9 - Jul. 15, 2015 | 11

In the Neighborhood

Metro Briefs: Notable news in and around Washington Montgomery County

Leggett, Montgomery County approve privatization of County economic development

District of Columbia Norton to press for needle exchange Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that this week’s report on HIV/AIDS in the District of Columbia, showing significant progress in the city’s efforts to combat HIV/AIDS will help her in the upcoming appropriations process.

Norton said the official report,

Montgomery County to be even more of an economic powerhouse at a time, and in a region, where economic competition is growing more fierce every day,” he concluded.

ROCKVILLE, Md. – Uber and Lyft officially became legal last week in Virginia, even as a Virginia Beach family sues one of the companies for sexual assault against a minor.

The Transportation Network Company law, signed in February by Gov. Terry McAuliffe outlines regulations on vehicle registration and identification, yet fails to incorporate a comprehensive background check involving fingerprinting for its drivers.

The ‘Who’s Driving You?’ campaign has repeatedly warned that Uber’s lax background checks are creating opportunistic conditions for dangerous and unprofessional drivers. Uber’s negligent background check failed to flag the Virginia Beach Uber driver’s infraction records,

which included driving under the influence, speeding, reckless driving and failure to yield when entering a highway.

The campaign calls for government officials to require Uber, Lyft and other Transportation Company Networks to take security seriously by fingerprinting their drivers – an added cost that Uber and Lyft have steadfastly refused. In the last year, the number of sexual assault, rape and kidnapping cases by Uber and Lyft riders have steadily been on the rise.

“This isn’t the first incident of an Uber driver harming a passenger

and, unfortunately, it certainly won’t be the last,” said Rebecca Walls, spokesperson for the Who’s Driving You? campaign. “We see more and more of these cases all across the country, and the common denominator is that these cases happen in jurisdictions that aren’t requiring Uber to fingerprint their drivers.”

Just this month, a study from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that fingerprint-based criminal background checks are 43 times more effective than the name-based checks currently used by Uber and Lyft. For more information, visit www.WhosDrivingYou.

issued by the District, will reinvigorate her efforts to keep the deadly rider that banned D.C. from using its local funds for needle exchange from being re-imposed and will help her get an extra $5 million in annual federal funding to combat HIV/AIDS in the District.

Norton said the 87 percent decrease in the number of newly diagnosed HIV cases attributable to injection drug use since 2008 virtually mandates that the needle exchange program continues. In 2008, Norton was successful in removing

the needle exchange rider from the annual D.C. Appropriations bill, and it has not been re-imposed since.

The report highlighted the decrease in newly-diagnosed HIV cases for five straight years. Norton said among the report’s most significant findings was that there were no babies born with HIV in 2013, which shows D.C. is making every effort to treat women infected with HIV/AIDS with anti-retroviral drugs during the early stages of pregnancy.

“The District has put in place the strategies, programs, resources, and community outreach that I believe will ultimately remove the city from the list where HIV/AIDS has been classified an epidemic,” said Norton. “We continue to see in this year’s report the District needle exchange program is getting the city close to zero HIV/AIDS cases attributable to injection drug use.

“Thousands of lives have been saved in the seven years since we got the devastating needleexchange rider removed. D.C.’s

HIV/AIDS programs should be applauded and imitated. Congress can do its job by standing down on interfering with any of the tools that have brought the city this success, including our needleexchange program.”

Norton secured the extra $5 million in the House Appropriations Committee-passed fiscal 2016 D.C. Appropriations bill to combat HIV/AIDS in the District, the same amount as the fiscal year 2015 enacted level and as the President’s fiscal year 2016 budget request.

12 | Jul. 9 - Jul. 15, 2015 | District Chronicles

Uber gets green light in Virginia, battling $2 million “inappropriate behavior” lawsuit

Edward Kimmel/Creative Commons

The Montgomery County Council approved County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett’s initiative to privatize county economic development efforts in order to boost business attraction and retention and further strengthen the growth of good jobs in the county.

“From the time I was sworn in last December, I promised that Montgomery County government would change its relationship with the business community,” said Leggett. “This was a key element in my ‘Six-Point Economic Plan’ I announced as I began my third term as County Executive.I also pledged that we would also change our economic competitiveness – how we attract and maintain businesses in Montgomery County.”

Leggett continued, “Montgomery County is competitive – but we need to be more competitive in order

to meet the dynamic challenges that face the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region. To continue moving forward, I believe it is necessary to eliminate even more barriers to remain competitive regionally, nationally and globally.

“While our Department of Economic Development is doing a good job given the worst economic conditions in decades, we can do better. We must do better. We must be more attuned to business trends and needs. We must be more flexible in our approach.”

He added that bringing the private sector in to lead the county’s economic development will allow for adaptation to market changes and business community needs.

“Creating this new organization does not take away the County government’s need to be actively engaged in economic development or provide overall leadership and vision. The County will continue to play a role in economic development through other functions that a local government usually performs, including land use, community development and transportation.

“With these changes, I expect

The pro Uber and Lyft law governor McAullife signed in February took effect last week.