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Newspaper Newspaper VOL.2 NO.29 VOL.2 NO.18

APRIL 4 - 10, 2013

Augusta’s trash haulers will phase in trucks that run on natural gas, but under the new contract, former longtime solid waste workers will be out of a job.

Raymond Lee Mann III

Hauling trash: the contract that got away

City pulls Patch bids; Clears way For First Tee

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UrbanProWeekly • APRIL 4 - 10, 2013

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When it comes to spines, the world comes to us. People from all over the world come to Augusta for the most advanced spine care. For specialized neuroimaging. For minimally invasive procedures and highly sophisticated surgeries. For internationally recognized neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons. For more about what makes Georgia Regents Spine Center a worldwide destination for the care and treatment of the human spine, go to gru.edu/spine. And, like the rest of the world, come to us.

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T.W. Josey High School graduation coach Jack Anderson (L) looks over a paper with student Jada Sampson (R). Jada is a junior at the school.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Coaching success one student at a time

by Vincent Hobbs There are high schools all across America today where fewer than 60 percent of students graduate on time—we call them dropout factories.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, giving remarks at National Newspaper Publishers Association Black Press Week 2013 conference.

Tucked away in a windowless room behind the T.W.

Josey High School main office lobby, Graduation Coach Jack Anderson sits at his desk, reviewing statistics for graduation levels in Richmond County. He is one of the first Graduation Coaches in the United States; having come into the position after former Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue saw the need to add a new person to high school staff to reverse the high dropout levels in the state.

Funneling 20 million dollars out of the state budget in 2006 to hire 330 graduation coaches, Georgia was the first state in the nation to delegate funds and personnel to specifically “coach” students into completing their high school coursework and graduate.

The dropout problem has been quite dire.

Georgia boasts one of the highest dropout rates in the nation, according to studies

7-year-old orator recites MLK “Dream” speech

Raymond Lee Mann III

Raymond Lee Mann III is very, very small, but the Deerchase Elementary school first grader is tall on courage, concentration and he has a pretty good memory.

On Tuesday, the 7-year-old student honored an invitation from Commissioner Alvin Mason and offered up a recitation for the gallery.

And what a recitation.

Raymond introduced himself and then recreated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most famous speech — the “I Have

A Dream” speech that he had memorized.

Mann’s mom, Rashawn Bennett, told UrbanProWeekly that she noticed that at age two, Raymond could recite the alphabet backwards and forwards.

He learned the MLK speech about three months ago and says that he has recited it many times. Mason happened to be at one of those recitations and extended the invitation.

Next up for Raymond is Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.”

released by National Center for Education Statistics.

Over thirty percent of high school students in the state will never enjoy the benefits of achieving a high school diploma. This makes the job that graduation coaches perform, crucial to the educational process.

“Our main focus is to come in and assist in the administrative support side, the academic support side, and the family support side - to bring those three entities together to increase the rate of graduating seniors,” said Anderson.

In Richmond County, approximately 54% of students graduate. The reasons are varied for dropping out including a dislike for school, failing grades, pregnancy, and problems getting along with teachers and other students.

“One thing we recognized was that the decision to drop out of school is actually formulated in the earlier grades, perhaps even as early as 5th- grade, but definitely by middle school; and it’s manifested when they reach the age of 16 when they have

that choice…”

Anderson rummages through a cabinet, and whips out his original Josey High School diploma, still cradled in a gold cover that looks almost new. “I show the students, as a graduate of Josey, that this represents that it does not matter where you live or what you’re going through – anybody that wants it, can get it. And I’m that example here; being a graduate of the class of ’81… this is a conversation piece.”

While showing the diploma to students, Anderson offers them a challenge to answer the question of why he keeps it in his office. Most students are unable to come to any conclusions.

“The reason I have my diploma in my office is because my Mom and my Dad are no longer here with me, and it allowed me…it’s my ticket of independence.

One day you will have to stand on your own - and will you have what you need to stand on? Without a diploma today, your options are very, very limited.”

Continued on next page

UrbanProWeekly • APRIL 4 - 10, 2013

Special Report: State supports graduation coaches

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UrbanProWeekly • APRIL 4 - 10, 2013

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Despite job losses, city pushes trash plan AUGUSTA When the city begins its once-per week trash pick-up on June 1, there will be far fewer minority sanitation workers manning the vehicles.

The problem is that the companies that will be implementing the new changes, Inland Service Corp. and Advanced Disposal, elected not to use 60 percent of the local companies that had been involved in trash collection and cleanup in the county for nearly 20 years.

Those local companies that are on the outside looking in are primarily minority-owned and operated. So while, as many as 60 people will be put out of work, there is very little that the county can do about it at

this stage.

Mayor protem Corey Johnson and Commissioner Marion Williams were among those who sought more clarification on the issue from Solid Waste Director Mark Johnson at Tuesday’s commission meeting.

Suggestions to rebid the contract have fallen on deaf ears. City attorney Andrew MacKenzie said many changes have already been made to the contract and city procurement director Geri Sams has testified before the commission that “no laws have been broken” in the procurement process. Sams, however, did say that it would have been her wish for the contract to have been reworked and then rebid.

City voids other offers in favor of First Tee bid AUGUSTA Three weeks ago, the city was overwhelmingly in favor of an informal proposal by Augusta First Tee co-founder Paul Simon to form a partnership with the city to operate the city golf course — aka The Patch.

Simon’s surprise proposal seemed to be just what the city was looking for — a cost effective way to keep the course under local control. The problem is that there had already been a formal request for proposals circulating with at least two other companies expressing interest in management deals with the city.

The city had to find a way to reconcile their former requests with

the new proposal for which Simon has yet to provide details. At the time, it felt that it was sufficient to “go slow” on the other proposals until Simon had time to make a detailed presentation to the commission in May. At this week’s commission meeting, the decision to “go slow” was shelved in favor of declining the current proposals altogether in favor of the Simon plan — sight unseen.

Had it not done so, the city would have run into a problem attempting to compare whatever Simon proposed to what had already been requested of the other prospects. It would have been the classic “comparing apples to oranges” scenario.

T.W. Josey High School graduation coach Jack Anderson holds the original copy of his high school diploma from 1981 in his office.

Anderson uses the document as a conversation starter when counseling students about their graduation goals. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Graduation Rates Rise from page 3 This is especially true in today’s job market, where even the most basic job requires the minimum of a high school diploma or GED diploma.

When asked to discuss the one major concept that he wishes students could grasp concerning completion of high school, Anderson offered the following observation “That one thing is that your success is not based on your level of emotion – it’s based on you completing the requirements. You can’t cry your way through this – you can’t pout, you can’t tell your mama, you can’t bully your way through the requirements… if the work has not been done, there’s no way around it.”

Josey has seen a dramatic increase since 2007 (under the Leaver rating system) in graduation rates.

Graduation rates in the 2008-2009 school years were around 46% and four years later, it improved to 82.3%. “That’s doing business, that’s graduating students,” Anderson

said. “Sometimes you have to break the model, if the model isn’t working.”

The State of Georgia recently adopted a new graduation rating system, the cohort rating, in which most counties saw a decline in graduations, based upon the new calculations.

Anderson credits a comprehensive approach to encouraging graduation, spearheaded by Josey Principal Dr. Ronald J. Wiggins, with the change.

“He keeps all the facets of the high school model in perspective. He came in and changed the entire climate and atmosphere of learning, making learning the main thing. No learning is complete unless the graduation rate reflects what you’re doing.”

Georgia’s high schools still have many challenges ahead. But with graduation coaches like Anderson in place and focused teamwork and leadership from the school principals, the ability for students to graduate should continue to increase.

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safety training for people seeking those grants to get state driver’s licenses and the lottery’s games. Social conservatives permits. other benefits, while the other gives and religious activists, meanwhile, fear ATLANTA It also would have put him in an foreign executives quicker access to it opens the door to a broader gambling The legislative session started with uncomfortable bind between gun driving permits. expansion down the line.

Gov. Nathan Deal helping lawmakers rights groups seeking looser restricOne of the biggest changes on tap Perhaps looming largest is the avoid dicey votes on hospital bed fees tions and university administrators who involves new rules governing video minefield of lower-profile legislation and the new Falcons stadium. It ended fought back against so-called “campus gambling. The machines were out- approved in the session’s final minwith legislators approving the bulk of carry” rules. lawed in 2001, but they have prolifer- utes with little legislative oversight. The his agenda — and failing to pass a gun It’s a fight that will carry over the ated in the back rooms of gas stations rapid-fire process was so pronounced measure that would have given him fits. summer. and convenience stores over the past in the Senate that some lawmakers Over a 40-day period, Deal and his The governor has plenty more on his 12 years. Under new guidelines, the complained they didn’t know what they aides will evaluate dozens of pieces of plate, including many of his top legisla- machines would still be banned from were voting on. Often, a bill’s spon Homedispensing Life Health Bonds  Commercial legislation often hashed out behind tive priorities. LawmakersAuto unanimouscashbut could reward play-  sor would simply announce that the closed doors in the frenzied final hours ly adopted a sweeping rewrite of the ers with store merchandise and, for the proposal had been amended without of the session that ended Thursday state’s juvenile justice rules as part of a first time, lottery tickets. The state lot- discussing the changes.

(March 28), measures that could raise cost-cutting measure aimed at reserv- tery would eventually take a 10 percent “We were ignored. I’ve never in Life Healthand Bonds political Commercial legalconcerns test his savvy  ing expensive prison bed space for the cut of the revenue.

20 years seen anything like it,” said as he fights for re-election next year. most violent offenders.

It’s not yet known how much money Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson.

Anything he doesn’t sign or veto in that And Deal plans to sign legislation that would involve, but critics say it’s “People don’t know what they’re votwindow automatically becomes law. that would reinstate the 2.0 grade- not worth risking more competition to ing on. It’s abusive.”

He must debate controversial mea- point average for technical college sures that expand the crackdown on students to be eligible for the HOPE illegal immigrants and fundamentally Grant, allowing thousands more stuSen. Hardie Davis will host a tele- Task Force change the state’s approach to video dents to qualify for the program after conference town hall on Friday, April SB 24 Hospital Medicaid Program gambling. He must scrutinize final it was overhauled two years ago.

5, at 10:00 a.m. regarding the 2013 Financing Act changes to the $19.9 billion budget He’s also virtually assured to approve legislative session.

SB 105 Transfers to Charities that didn’t land on lawmakers’ desks new ethics rules that cap gifts from Participants will be given the oppor- Exempt from Uniform Fraudulent until late Thursday. And he must come registered lobbyists at $75, the first time tunity to ask questions about legisla- Transfers Act to terms with an ethics overhaul that Georgia has placed any limits on the 2636-C Tobacco Rd JyNelle Handy, Agent tion recently passed by the Georgia HB 242 Juvenile Justice Reform Bill clearly doesn’t thrill him. practice. But he’s struggled to hide his General Assembly and bills that will HB 142 Ethics Reform Bill GA 30815 Still, the vetting process could have displeasure withHephzibah, the final result, which INFO@INS-PROS.COM be held until 2014 for consideration.

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At state legislature, it’s all over – easing gun restrictions fails; life harder for immigrants

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UrbanProWeekly • APRIL 4 - 10, 2013

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Malaika Favorite and Ronald Bonar featured in Art Show and Reception at the Kroc Center The Kroc Center will host an Art Show and Reception on Sunday, April 21, from 4:00-5:00pm Enjoy light refreshments and the beautiful artwork by renowned artists Malaika Favorite and Ronald Bonar, and hear about the inspiration for their pieces. This show is FREE and

open to members and the community.

Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University have consolidated to become Georgia Regents University. Effective January 9, 2013, my email address has changed to lwan@gru.edu.

AUGUSTA, GA) - Youth in the CSRA will get a chance to be trained by one of the best in the NBA. Renowned NBA Trainer, Micah Lancaster will host a 4-Day Spring Break Elite Skills Camp on April 8- 11, 2013 at Augusta Christian Schools from 9a.m to 3 p.m. The camp is open to boys and girls from 4th – 12th grade. Players are split appropriately into their own age/skill levels.

The camp will be through his I’M POSSIBLE Training program, which is an innovative and effective year-round training system based around National/

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Chinese acrobats amaze Augustans The Golden Dragon Acrobats perform at the Maxwell Theater on the GRU Summerville campus. The Chinese acrobatic troupe has performed world-wide, including appearances on Broadway in New York City. Chinese acrobatics is an art form that is over 2000 years old.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

The Shoppe

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The Shoppe, located at 2101 Kings Way has serviced the Augusta, Georgia area for 20 years. We specialize in school uniforms for private and public schools, including jumpers, pants, sweaters, shoes, backpacks and whatever else would be required. We also offer embroidery, t-shirts printed for reunions, staff or any special event, group orders, and we have on site professional alterations.

The Shoppe carries Ladies accessories, jewelry, handbags, scarves, and more.

We are looking forward to serving the CSRA area for years to come.

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Inaugural Annual Golf Tournament Friday, April 19, 2013 Pointe South Golf Club 4324 Peach Orchard Road, Hephzibah, Ga 30815 706-592-2222

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Fees: 70.00 per golfer; 200.00 per team Entry fee includes: 18 holes, green fees, cart fees, range balls, and lunch.

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UrbanProWeekly • APRIL 4 - 10, 2013

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Jazz @ The Market

Saturdays, Riverwalk Augusta March 23 - November 23 Small ensemble and community group performances throughout the season

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UrbanProWeekly • APRIL 4 - 10, 2013

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Chris Ndeti & Mama Says

Local singer, songwriter rocks acoustic guitar as bandleader

Chris Ndeti has been making waves since her arrival in Augusta five years ago.

Photo By Timothy Cox

Jennifer Norman-Dixon Independent Cruise & Vacation Specialist

By Timothy Cox Special to Urban Pro Media

AUGUSTA Upon taking a first look at Chris Ndeti, it’s obvious that she’s a talented young lady.

In fact, she admits that she’s a rarity — an African-American woman fronting a group of men, while playing an acoustic guitar.

Beyond obvious comparisons to ‘80s Grammy sensation Tracy Chapman and more recently, neo-soul guitarist/vocalist, India.

Arie, Ndeti (pronounced enDetty) is an Augusta woman and a self-admitted “regular girl” who just happens to have lots of talent.

Ndeti can be found these days performing in the Augusta region with her band, Mama Says.

As lead vocalist of the threeyear-old band, Ndeti and her

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trio of sidemen, are on a mission to re-write Augusta’s traditional focus that typically finds leading ladies fronting bands, usually while holding only a microphone.

In Mama Says’ case, Ndeti and her acoustic guitar, offer a unique twist, backed by her powerful soulful vocal chops reminiscent of a blend between Aretha Franklin and Odetta, the legendary folksy-blues queen who found huge crossover success in the 1960s - this Augusta lady is making her mark, with hopes of eventually finding national acclaim.

Ndeti says she enjoys a variety of music genres, thanks to her Kenyan-born father David Ndeti and her mother, Lorraine Ndeti, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native.

“I have lots of influences,” said Chris Ndeti, a Charlotte-born young woman raised in suburban Atlanta, who moved to

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Augusta five years ago to work as a recreational therapist focusing on Alzheimer’s prevention.

Mama Says includes veteran musician James Heath on bass guitar; Chris Powers on electric and lead guitars, with drummer/ vocalist Craig Snow as the funky foundation.

Heath credits Chris Ndeti as being a talent with a bright future.

“There’s no doubt, Chris can someday make it on a national stage. She sings with power and soul; has stage persona and importantly, she’s easy to work with,” said Heath who has shared stages with several national acts.

“And she writes her own songs,” he continues. “That’s pure talent.” said Heath, an Augusta native who has been a band leader in Hawaii, San Francisco and in Colorado Springs, Colo., while working with the likes of Millie Jackson, Percy Sledge and The Commodores.

At 30, Chris Ndeti is happily married to Rentz McCants, a forContinued on next page

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Youth in the CSRA will get a chance to be trained by one of the best in the NBA. Renowned NBA Trainer, Micah Lancaster will host a 4-Day Spring Break Elite Skills Camp on April 8- 11, 2013 at Augusta Christian Schools from 9a.m to 3 p.m. The camp is open to boys and girls from 4th – 12th grade. Players are split appropriately into their own age/skill levels.

The camp will be through his I’M POSSIBLE Training program, which is an innovative and effective yearround training system based around National/International camps and Training Centers sprouting across the United States. Lancaster has used the same methods to train pros like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers, Kyrie Irving, and Nolan Smith.

Lancaster will be joined by Regional Skills Coach, John Harris to provide youth with the philosophies, teaching points, and methodology of I’M

Micah Lancaster POSSIBLE Training and the ability to add 13 Triple Threats to their offensive arsenal. “Micah and I take a hands on approach with all youth,” Harris said. “The innovative teaching techniques via I’M POSSIBLE Training are designed to make every player feel like they are alone with him in the gym.”

Micah Lancaster is a world renowned basketball skill development trainer

John Harris who has worked with players at all levels – grassroots to pros – including Kobe Bryant for an event with the London School of Basketball and most recently working with Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers, Kyrie Irving, and Nolan Smith.

As founder of I’M POSSIBLE Training, the world’s fastest growing Training Movement, Lancaster is known around the world for his skills,

drills, and original training methods. 11 Based in North Carolina, players from around the globe travel directly to Lancaster for private training or just to attend his camps and clinics. In fact, Lancaster has hosted players from Italy, Singapore, England, Hong Kong, Brazil and India in just the last three years.

John Harris is an Augusta, GA native.

He’s been a student of the game since he was in 5th grade. He was a point guard all four years of high school. After high school, he played basketball at Aiken Technical College, where he became a starter and becameknown as “the sheriff” for his lockdown defense. He has spent the last three years coaching high school and AAU teams, while providing skill development training for young athletes wanting to improve their skills on and off the court. He is passionate about teaching and developing basketball players and changing the way young athletes train.

To register for the I’M POSSIBLE Training Elite Skills Camp, contact John Harris at (706) 627-4528 or register online at www.possibletraining. com. For more information about I’M POSSIBLE TRAINING or Micah Lancaster visit www.micahlancaster.com

Chris Ndeti from page 10 mer roadie in her bands.

But, it’s the music that also stokes her passion fires.

As the youngest of five children, Chris Ndeti describes herself as an “old soul,” when it comes to musical influences.

“I love everyone from Bill Withers to Pearl Jam. And I truly love classical music,” added the formally-trained violinist who credits her finger-strength and dexterity as peramount in her ability to easily “grab” and formulate guitar chords.

The group achieved critical acclaim last fall, when they performed at the annual Blind Willie McTel Blues Festival in Thomson.

Heath says his role is to promote and lead the group to future success.

“They’re all special players. The talent is there,” said Heath. Her uncle, Robert Anderson, is bass player with the recording group SOLO - known for the 1990s hits, “Heaven” and “Where You Want Me to Put It.” Chris Ndeti says the group appreciates Heath’s paternal role.

“We call him Uncle James for a reason. We respect where he’s been, his maturity and leadership. He’s been places we’d like to go someday, and soon,” she added with a smile.

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UrbanProWeekly • APRIL 4 - 10, 2013

12

Commentary The standardized test racket

by Eugene Robinson It is time to acknowledge that the fashionable theory of school reform — requiring that pay and job security for teachers, principals and administrators depend on their students’ standardized test scores — is at best a well-intentioned mistake, and at worst nothing but a racket.

I mean that literally. Beverly Hall, the former superintendent of the Atlanta public schools, was indicted on racketeering charges Friday for an alleged cheating scheme that won her more than $500,000 in performance bonuses. Hall, who retired two years ago, is also accused of theft, conspiracy and making false statements. She has denied any wrongdoing.

Also facing criminal charges are 34 teachers and principals who allegedly participated in the cheating, which involved simply erasing students’ wrong answers on test papers and filling in the correct answers.

In 2009, the American Association of School Administrators named Hall “National Superintendent of the Year” for improvement in student achievement that seemed, in retrospect, much too good to be true. On Georgia’s standardized competency test, students in some

of Atlanta’s troubled neighborhoods appeared to vault past their counterparts in the wealthy suburbs.

For educators who worked for Hall, bonuses and promotions were based on test scores. “Principals and teachers were frequently told by Beverly Hall and her subordinates that excuses for not meeting targets would not be tolerated,” according to the indictment.

But there was a sure-fire way to meet those targets: After a day of testing, teachers allegedly were told to gather the students’ test sheets and change the answers. Suddenly a failing school would become a model of education reform.

The principal and teachers would get bonuses. Hall would get accolades, plus a much bigger bonus. And students —

duped into thinking they had mastered material that they hadn’t even begun to grasp — would get the shaft.

State education officials became suspicious. The Atlanta JournalConstitution wrote probing stories.

There seemed to be no way to legitimately explain the dramatic improvement in test scores at some schools in such a short time, or the statistically improbable number of wrong-to-right erasures on answer sheets. But there was no proof.

Sonny Perdue was Georgia’s governor at the time, and in August 2010 he ordered a blue-ribbon investigation. Hall resigned shortly before the release of the investigators’ report, which alleged that 178 teachers and principals cheated over

nearly a decade — and that Hall either knew or should have known. Those findings laid the foundation for Friday’s grand jury indictment.

My Post colleague Valerie Strauss, a veteran education reporter and columnist, wrote Friday that while there have been “dozens” of alleged cheating episodes around the country, only Atlanta’s has been aggressively and thoroughly investigated. “We don’t really know” how extensive the problem is, Strauss wrote, but “what we do know is that these cheating scandals have been a result of test-obsessed school reform.”

In the District of Columbia, for example, there are unanswered questions about an anomalous pattern of wrongto-right erasures on answer sheets during the reign of famed schools reformer Michelle Rhee, who starred in the documentary “Waiting for ‘Superman’ ” and graced the cover of Time magazine.

Our schools desperately need to be fixed. But creating a situation in which teachers are more likely than students to cheat cannot be the right path.

Standardized achievement tests are a vital tool, but treating test scores the way a corporation might treat sales targets is wrong. Students are not widgets. I Continued on next page

Lack of paid sick leave is unhealthy for America

by Katrina vanden Heuvel Ian Rizzio was a 24-year-old mechanical engineering student in Portland, Oregon, managing a sandwich shop to pay his tuition. One day, he woke up sick, but went to work anyway, as he later testified to the Portland City Council. After vomiting in the bathroom, Rizzio spent two hours trying — unsuccessfully — to reach his boss before going home to rest.

When Rizzio came into work the next day, he was fired immediately. With $35,000 in student loans, he feared he’d have to withdraw from school.

Unfortunately, Rizzio is not alone.

More than 40 million Americans — disproportionately low-income, black and Latino workers — cook, clean, fold, and ring us up without any paid time off when they or their children are ill. On any given day, these workers must choose between caring for a sick child and their job. They handle our food and our purchases, coughing and sniffling through Kleenex, to avoid being handed a pink slip.

The absence of paid sick leave is a glaring injustice that puts American workers in the distinguished company of workers in Syria, Somalia and North Korea. It’s an affront to our values and the dignity of a hard day’s work. And it’s a drag on our families, our businesses, and our society.

For all the vibrant national debate on work/life balance and encouraging women to “lean in” at their workplace, sometimes we need to make it easier for women and men—for all working

adults—to stay home.

After all, should catching a cold really mean you could wind up out in the cold?

Many businesses claim that paid sick leave is another burdensome regulation — part of some dastardly “mandate madness” — but the truth is paid sick leave keeps workers and businesses healthy. Employees with sick leave are less likely to go to work sick. They’re less likely to send their sick children to school or day care, where contagious kids can infect others. And they’re less likely to wind up in the emergency room because they weren’t able to visit a doctor during the day—leading to lower health-care costs for employers.

According to one study, offering U.S. workers seven paid sick days a year would save the American economy an estimated $160 billion annually in reduced turnover and increased productivity.

Fortunately, the push for paid sick leave has been picking up steam. Since 2006, when San Francisco became the first city to pass sick leave laws, Washington D.C. and Seattle have enacted their own versions of this humane, common-sense legislation. So has the state of Connecticut.

Just a few weeks ago, the Portland City Council voted unanimously to require paid sick leave, thanks to the testimony and advocacy of Ian Rizzio and workers like him. ThePhiladelphia City Council has passed similar legislation, which Mayor Michael Nutter threatens to veto.

Despite the predictions of some critics, these laws haven’t exactly brought businesses to their knees. After

Connecticut passed its sick-leave law, employment actually rose in the most affected industries. The same happened in San Francisco — where the service and hospitality sectors saw employment grow faster than in neighboring counties — and where, during the Great Recession, more than 80 percent of employers surveyed said the law had no impact on their bottom lines.

But the latest — and sweetest — illustration of this movement’s momentum comes from my hometown of New York City, where Democratic City Council Speaker and mayoral front-runner Christine Quinn had refused to bring a paid sick leave bill to a vote. For three straight years.

Some 39 of the 51 council members — a clear majority — supported the bill, which would have required businesses with more than five employees to offer five days of paid sick leave. Nearly three quarters of New Yorkers — including 60 percent of Republicans — said they would go even further and require employers to provide seven days of paid sick leave.

Yet Quinn, eager to court the city’s pro-business elite — and having accepting $370,000 in campaign contributions from sick-leave opponents — held out, insisting she was protecting vulnerable small businesses in a shaky economic recovery.

So, as has been the story in every successful paid sick-leave campaign, New York organized. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem sent Quinn a strongly-

worded letter, signed by 200 prominent women, from former Manhattan borough president Ruth Messinger to “Sex and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon.

The besieged unions — so accustomed these days to fighting a rear-guard action — came out in full force, along with leaders in the black and Latino communities and prominent philanthropists like Jennifer Buffett. Diverse and determined groups, from the community service society to the working families party, put forward the intellectual arguments and the political strategy necessary for reform. And the Net roots — especially younger feminist writers and bloggers — galvanized the issue with the urgency it deserved.

This powerful grass-roots effort made paid sick leave the central issue in the Democratic mayoral primary, and ultimately made Quinn’s position — as the only Democratic candidate opposed — a major liability. In the face of this pressure, Quinn relented last week and agreed to a compromise measure requiring businesses with at least 15 employees to provide five days of paid sick leave.

It’s not a perfect bill, but it’s proof of the power of a movement of everyday people whose cause is common sense and fair. And now, with Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and others calling for a federal Healthy Families Act that would establish national sick day standards, that movement has a chance to sweep the entire country.

Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor of The Nation.

Artistic Commentary Provided by LadyVee DaPoet

Artist Survival Guide: What to do when everyone disappears As an artist or an artistic event promoter, it’s very helpful to have a strong support system in place.

Being the ‘one-man or one-woman show’ is ideal if you have 8 arms, 5 sets of eyes, and about 7 sets of feet to keep up with all the demands that come along with presenting a quality product or show. In the real world, however, there will be times when you’ll look around and wonder where everyone went.

The people you used to be able to depend on have either professionally informed you of the reason for their absence or you might have those that, for whatever reason, choose to reap the benefits of YOUR help but decide to not give anything in return. They disappear and wait until there’s less work to do or it’s not as stressful to come around again.

As you might be able to tell from the tone of this article, those M.I.A (missing in action) supporters are not my favorite type of individual.

At all. Choosing to be an artist and to present your art to the public is a decision that takes a lot of dedication and hard work on your part. It also takes strategic planning and delegating responsibility to people that believe in your vision and know that it not only benefits you only but the artistic community as a whole.

So, what do you do when it seems as if you’ve been abandoned and there’s no one around to help?

Step #1: Don’t Panic! For example, I host open mic variety shows in Atlanta, Augusta, and other states.

This month, my DJ was out of town, my volunteer photographer had his wedding anniversary the same night as my show (how dare he…haha), the person that usually helps me take admission and give out wristbands at the door decided to have a “Me Day” at the mall for herself the day of my show and wasn’t available…I looked around and the only person to keep the show from

being a disaster was ME! If the show did go bad, it would have been my fault! Everyone would have been talking behind my back and never come to another show again! Stress and chaos, lions, tigers and bears!!

No, I stepped back from the situation and I took deep breaths. I calmed the racing treadmill in my mind and I let go of my worries. I took time to focus. Before you do any screaming, yelling, or throwing things, it helps to settle your nerves before you move on to Step #2.

Step #2 is this: Write down or list in your mind the things you need for your project or show that are now missing. Make the list simple so your planning doesn’t become complex.

Go through your business cards, your social media friend contacts, your cell phone numbers, and send emails and calls to people who can fill those gaps in service. A Facebook post requesting help, believe it or not, goes a very long way! Eventually,

if people can’t help, they know someone who can and will let you know how to contact them to replace those that have disappeared.

Lastly, step #3: once you have brand new people to replace those that weren’t available, don’t forget to show your appreciation and thank those people that came through for you in your time of need. Give them a discount or a free product of yours.

Let them into the show as your guest.

Promote an event for them in the future. Networking this way benefits you and leaves a positive lasting impression with everyone involved.

As an artistic professional, it’s worth your time to build strong connections with people that you can depend on even when the work and the effort seem overwhelming. When those people aren’t available, relax, relate, release (your anger) and yes, the show STILL goes on!

fer, rather than caring professionals who know their students as individuals. It reduces students to the leavings of a No. 2 pencil.

School reform cannot be something that ostensibly smart, ostentatiously tough “superstar” superintendents do to a school system and the people who depend on it. Reform has to be some-

thing that is done with a community of teachers, students and parents — with honesty and, yes, a bit of old-fashioned humility. © 2013 The Washington Post Eugene Robinson writes a regular column for The Washington Post. His e-mail address iseugenerobinson@ washpost.com.

Standardized Test Racket from page 12 totally reject the idea that students from underprivileged neighborhoods cannot learn. Of course they can. But how does it help these students to have their performance on a one-size-fits-all standardized test determine their teachers’ compensation and job security? The clear incentive is for the teacher to focus on test scores rather than actual teaching.

Not every school system will become so mired in an alleged pattern of wrongdoing that officials can be charged under a racketeering statute of the kind usually used to prosecute mobsters. But even absent cheating, the blind obsession with test scores implies that teachers are interchangeable implements of information trans-

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