Thursday, March 31, 2011

Chef Proudly Admits Lying To Gluten-Free Customers

 

Chef Proudly Admits Lying To Gluten-Free Customers Tavern on the Green was always known more for its glitzy ambiance than for the quality of its food, so it's not particularly surprising to learn that a chef there may have been up to some shady shenanigans. Former executive banquet chef Damian Cardone is taking heat today for a Facebook confession regarding his habit of screwing customers who requested gluten-free pasta. Cardone, you see, is a gluten-allergy denier, and according to this Facebook post, he seemed to enjoy disregarding their requests: [ more ›
  

Chef Proudly Admits Lying To Gluten-Free Customers
John Del Signore
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:08:00 GMT

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Feds unseal indictment charging Pedro Espada Jr. and son with tax evasion

 

BY John Marzulli
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, March 28th 2011, 8:11 PM

Former state senator Pedro Espada Jr. is now in trouble with the feds.

Ward for News

Former state senator Pedro Espada Jr. is now in trouble with the feds.

The feds unsealed a superceding indictment Monday charging ex-Bronx state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. and his son with tax evasion.

He, and son Pedro Gautier Espada, were also hit with a new wire fraud charge in connection with a bid-rigging scheme to win a janitorial contract.

Pedro Espada Jr. is accused of filing personal tax returns in which he under-reported his income in the years 2005-2007.

His son is charged with filing falsified corporate returns for the janitorial service in 2004-2005, according to the indictment filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Both men are free on $750,000 bail and will likely be arraigned on the new indictment next week.

They are accused of stealing more than $550,000 from Soundview Medical Center coffers to pay for expensive dinners, tickets to Broadway shows and and sports events and a downpayment on a Bentley.

Federal prosecutors indicated the government will seek forfeiture of the Espadas' ill-gotten profits if they are convicted.

Pedro Gautier Espada's lawyer declined to comment. Pedro Espada Jr.'s lawyer could not immediately be reached.

Feds unseal indictment charging Pedro Espada Jr. and son with tax evasion
Rafael Martínez Alequín
Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:01:00 GMT

Monday, March 28, 2011

Miranda Warning Revision

Miranda Warning Revision| Obama Administration| Domestic Terrorism | The Atlanta Post

http://atlantapost.com/2011/03/28/miranda-warning-revision-may-be-bad-news-for-blacks/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bossiprss+%28Bossip.com%29
March 28, 2011

'Last week, news broke that the Obama administration created a new policy that allows investigators to waive Miranda warnings for domestic-terror suspects, even when there is not an “immediate threat,” thus giving the FBI more leeway to question terrorist suspects.

As pointed out by many commentators, this new approach to fighting terrorism is an about-face for the president, who once criticized the Bush presidency for its “ad hoc” approach to fighting terrorism. According to the Wall Street Journal, which obtained a copy of a FBI memo, the move is one of the Obama administration’s most significant revisions to rules governing the investigation of terror suspects in the U.S.

The Miranda warning, also known as Miranda rights, was created in 1966 as a result of the United States Supreme Court case of Miranda v. Arizona.  While the warning does not shield against self-incrimination, it does require law enforcement agencies in the U.S. to inform those suspected of criminal activity of their constitutional rights, including the right to remain silent or to have an attorney present, before being placed into police custody or undergoing custodial interrogation.

This isn’t the first time the Miranda warning has been altered. In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement could delay reading someone their Miranda rights if there is an immediate public safety concern involved. However, what’s so troubling about this recent revision is that it not only removes the immediate threat clause but clearly targets those who are considered a domestic terrorist – whatever that is.

The term “domestic terrorism” is partly defined by the U.S. Patriot Act as “activities that involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State.” As such, the definition of domestic terrorism is broad enough to encompass the activities of several prominent activist campaigns and organizations. Over the years, reports have surfaced about how certain activist groups have been targets of secret Homeland Security investigations that have claimed to act under the guise of tracking “domestic terrorists.”

Even the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) criticized the formation of the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 as a result of the vagueness of the term, “domestic terrorist.” The ACLU expressed concerns that portions of the Patriot Act II could “create a federal crime that could link drug dealers to terrorism without proof of any connection to a Terrorist organization.” Basically, under the new designation, acts related to the manufacture, distribution or possession with intent to sell any amount of controlled substance could be directly or indirectly linked to aiding a terrorist organization.

Just three short years after the passage of the Patriot Act II, a document released by the U.S. Senate showed that in fiscal year 2008, 62 percent of sneak-and-peek searches—also known as delayed-notice warrants—that were conducted under the protection of the Patriot Act were in cases having to do with illegal drugs. By comparison, only 0.4 percent of the Patriot Act sneak-and-peek searches in fiscal year 2008 had to do with terrorism.

During that same period, it had been discovered that the FBI had abused other portions of the Patriot Act, including illegally acquiring phone records, IP addresses and portions of credit histories on thousands of Americans from 2003 to 2005 through the use of self-issued subpoenas based on fake emergencies.

While the revision of the Miranda warning will likely please conservatives, who over the last few years have criticized the Obama Administration for being too soft on terrorism, this revision also serves as a very dangerous slippery slope that could have unintended consequences down the line for American citizens, particularly black and brown people, who have been adversely effected by drug laws. Despite the threat of global terrorism, there is no real cause to give neither the executive branch nor law enforcement agencies carte blanche to roll back rights, including the Miranda warning, especially when those same agencies still have quite figured out who or what constitutes as a terrorist or imminent threat.

Charing Ball is the author of the blog People, Places & Things.

To Fight Discrimination, a Long List of No-Nos - NYTimes.com

To Fight Discrimination, a Long List of No-Nos
By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY

It shouldn’t take a lawyer to know that it is illegal to use phrases like “no Chicanos,” “no blacks” or “not for handicapped” in a real estate listing.

But at some real estate firms, brokers are also forewarned not to include in listings, or even mention in conversation, phrases that even the most prejudiced New York landlords would be hard pressed to think up, like “no Appalachians” or “no Hungarians.” They also are cautioned to never, under any circumstances, call a home a “fisherman’s retreat.”

All these phrases appear on “fair housing lists,” informal collections of perilous words and phrases that grew out of the 1968 federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibited discrimination against buyers and renters based on race and religion, and a 1988 amendment, which added families with children and people with disabilities. At one point, some brokerages and newspaper classified-advertising departments had become so cautious that the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a clarification memo in 1995 that said phrases like “master bedroom,” “mother-in-law suite” or “bachelor apartment” were acceptable.

Still, there are also state and city fair housing laws to account for, which is why David Schlamm, president of City Connections, includes “bachelor pad” in his brokerage’s list: with its suggestion of masculinity, it could violate the city’s law prohibiting housing discrimination based on gender, he said.

“It’s the same idea as ‘perfect for shares or families,’ ” he said, adding that the phrase had been flagged as discriminatory.

Mr. Schlamm couldn’t explain apparent inconsistencies in his own extensive list, which covers 203 terms and categorizes them as “acceptable,” “caution” and “not acceptable.” “No Appalachian” is banned, but it advises brokers only to be cautious with words prohibiting gays and lesbians.

There is no official, HUD-approved roster of good and bad words. But most brokerages and newspapers, including The New York Times, keep some kind of list, often a version that has been distributed for more than 15 years by the Oregon Newspaper Association, hence the occasional head-scratcher that would not seem to apply to 21st-century New York City.

To Fight Discrimination, a Long List of No-Nos - NYTimes.com.

Tom Joyner Kicks Foxy Brown Off His Cruise, Foxy Responds

 

Foxy Brown

Recently, Tom Joyner called out Foxy Brown, saying she had to be kicked off his annual Fantastic Voyage cruise this year.

On Friday, Joyner stated that he and his staff had to really put in some work to get Foxy to vacate the ship.

“We put Foxy off the cruise. Let’s just say she got put off,” Joyner said. “You had to really act a fool to get put off.”

However upon hearing about Joyner’s on-air comments, Foxy made sure to express her feelings of the situation and added that she was going somewhere where she’d be more appreciated—Belize with her “pumpkin” Shyne.

Huh??? Check out what else she had to say at HipHopWired.com

 

 

Tom Joyner Kicks Foxy Brown Off His Cruise, Foxy Responds
EditorialGrrl
Sun, 27 Mar 2011 18:25:09 GMT

Bomb Shelters Going Up In Washington Square

Bomb Shelters Going Up In Washington Square

Bomb Shelters Going Up In Washington Square If you spot some bomb shelters and hear sirens in Washington Square Park tomorrow don't panic, but take a moment to immerse yourself in the new multi-media installation, titled The Bomb Shelter. It's meant to connect New Yorkers to what Israelis went through last week during the bombing of a Jerusalem bus stop and repeated rocket strikes. [ more › ]

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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Anne Frank Center moving across street from Ground Zero mosque - NYPOST.com

Imams' girl next door

By ANNIE KARNI

Last Updated: 8:21 AM, March 27, 2011

Posted: 12:38 AM, March 27, 2011

They're strange neighbors.

A museum commemorating the world's most famous Holocaust victim is planning to move across the street from the proposed Ground Zero mosque, The Post has learned.

The nonprofit Anne Frank Center USA, a partner of the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, offers educational programs about the Holocaust and the history of World War II. The group is poised to sign a lease in the 20-floor, glass-and-steel tower at 100 Church St., sources involved in the negotiations confirmed.

The windows of the 1 million- square-foot office tower overlook Park 51, the planned 16-story, 125,000-square-foot Muslim community center and mosque at 45 Park Place, two blocks from Ground Zero.

The museum, which currently rents loft space at 38 Crosby St. in SoHo, took out ads last year seeking a larger home in order to re-create the "secret annex" where the doomed Jewish teen wrote her famous diary while hiding from the Nazis with her family in Amsterdam between 1942 and 1944.

The move would be more evidence that lower Manhattan is becoming a Mecca for religious and cultural groups of all stripes. There are already more than 20 houses of worship below Canal Street and 13 museums south of Chambers Street, according to the Downtown Alliance. A nondenominational Christian church recently opened in 7 World Trade Center.

"It's appropriate to have a mix of diverse organizations as a part of the lower Manhattan community," said Julie Menin, chairwoman of Community Board 1. "We want it to reflect the melting pot that is America."

Board members at the Anne Frank Center said they harbored no concerns about their odd juxtaposition with the mosque, whose proximity to the 9/11 site has sparked outrage.

"We've been working very hard to find a new location that will be more accessible to our exhibits," said board member Hyman Enzer. "I like the idea of the new location."

Board member Sam Fredman said, "I don't know that the mosque was or would be a factor of any kind."

In January, the new imam of Park 51, Abdallah Adhami, was fired after it was discovered that he preached that homosexuals were abused as children and that people who leave Islam should be jailed. The first imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, stepped down after clashing with developer Sharif El-Gamal.

The Anne Frank Center is in negotiations with SL Green Realty Corp. to rent 2,500 square feet of ground-floor space, according to Steven Durels, SL Green's director of leasing for the building. Asking rent is $50 a square foot, which would be $125,000 a month for the exhibition center.

"We're in advanced negotiations with them and, hopefully, we'll sign a deal in the next few weeks," Durels said. "We think the Anne Frank Center is a good use for the building."

A broker representing the Anne Frank Center declined to comment.

akarni@nypost.com

Anne Frank Center moving across street from Ground Zero mosque - NYPOST.com.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Bronx Tenants Paying Rent Under $1,000 Dealt Blow by Court

 

A state court ruled that landlords can impose extra charges on tenants paying under $1,000 a month rent. Landlords say it's fair because the low rents don't cover their costs. The Legal Aid Society had brought the suit on behalf of affected tenants and call the charges a "poor tax." For more about this from the Times, click here.
To read the rest of this post, please click on the link above.

Bronx Tenants Paying Rent Under $1,000 Dealt Blow by Court
noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Moss)
Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:18:00 GMT

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Haitian Teens Need $15,000 to Travel to Robotics Competition

Haitian Teens Need $15,000 to Travel to Robotics Competition

Filed under: ,


They watched their friends and family die in last year's devastating earthquake and they have survived the rigors of being an immigrant in a new land to excel in school.

Now a group of Haitian teens from Brooklyn, N.Y. who have won an invitation to a prestigious robotics competition in St. Louis need just $15,000 to make it there.

The mostly Haitian students from the It Takes a Village Academy in East Flatbush beat out kids from 63 other area high schools, including some of New York City's most prestigious, to earn the invitation. It was something many of the kids on the team did not think was possible.

"It's like a dream come true," said Margely Saint-Pierre, 17, who saw 10 friends die and his high school destroyed in the devastating Haitian earthquake, told the New York Daily News.

The school is just one of two from the city to be invited to the FIRST Tech Challenge next month where they would participate in a competition to build the fastest and most precise robot.

"What their victory shows is how a little bit of money in the right place can accomplish a lot," Marilyn Gelber, president of the Brooklyn Community Foundation, told Aol Black Voices in an interview.

The foundation, in conjunction with Polytechnic Institute of New York University, sponsors the Central Brooklyn Robotic Initiative. Graduate students from the university travel to 18 schools in Central Brooklyn to work with the kids on robotics programs. The program is working so well that it will double to 36 schools next year.

"To travel from Brooklyn to St. Louis to compete on a national level would be an extraordinary experience and show these kids that you can be written off as one who is not going to succeed but come out on the other side as champions. We want them to be champions and represent all kids in that situation," Gelber added.

For many of these kids, participating in the robotics program has brought a world of benefits.

Closing the Gap with Robotics from NYU-Poly on Vimeo.



"They're like brothers and sisters, sharing experiences," Yvon Morin, a computer science teacher who serves as the team's coach, and who's also a Haitian immigrant, told the News.

It takes math, physics and computer programming to build these robots. And they are learning about cooperation and being creative as well. Many of the kids also see this as another opportunity to add an impressive attribute on their resume as they strive to go to college.

"We're going to show that we're Haitian and we've accomplished something really important," said Christopher Leveille, the 17-year-old team captain who immigrated from Port-au-Prince just two years ago.

And more children of color should be involved with math and the sciences. It's about these kids serving as role models for future generations.

In a piece a few weeks ago about Benjamin Alvin "Al" Drew Jr., the only black astronaut on the last mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery, I shared how my sister was laughed at by her own high school teachers in Brooklyn when she shared her goal of becoming a doctor.

It's one of the reasons black children are not as involved in math and science professions as they should be. Luckily, my sister had the encouragement of my family. Today, Dr. Mays, as my mother loves calling her (She earned it, my mother says.), is rated as one of the top practitioners in her field in the region of the country where she lives.

That's what I want for these kids and for all of our kids. This program may produce the next Benjamin Alvin "Al" Drew Jr., Bill Gates or Dr. Mays.

"Science and math education is important to the future success of students. We want to emphasize math and science but do it in a way that is engaging to young people," Gelber told Aol. Black Voices. "Young people love math and science but too may are just consumers of technology. We want to let them know that you can be a creator and an inventor. You don't have to be just a consumer of technology. Robotics makes that idea very real to kids."

As this country heads toward a more technologically advanced future, we need to make sure our kids have a chance to compete at the highest levels and to be the next great inventor.

I know that $15,000 seems like a lot of money in these tough economic times but it's not. If each person reading this story contributed just $5 or $10 we could help these teens reach their goal in no time.

For many of these children, Gelber said, their families simply aren't able to produce the amount of money needed to go on the trip this quickly.

"Fifteen thousand dollars is a lot for these families and these kids but they they are out their working at raising the money," said Gelber.

Think about the amount of money we waste on coffee or junk food in a single day and then make the decision to send that money along. All of the donations are tax deductible. This is the type of endeavor that the community, the diaspora, should be able to make quick work of.

"These are children who were deeply affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Some arrived here after the earthquake but others had family members affected. Just a year later these kids are competitive on such a high level," said Gelber. "It's not an exaggeration to say that going to this competition would mean the world to them."

Call (718) 260-3524, (718) 629-2307 or visit the Brooklyn Community Foundation at www.bcfny.org to get more information or to make a donation.

 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Race Issues Rise for Miami Police

Race Issues Rise for Miami Police

MIAMI — The video, shot with a hand-held camera, shows brawny Miami police officers breaking down doors and hauling handcuffed African-American suspects off some of the city’s toughest streets. “We hunt,” one officer says in the five-and-a-half-minute clip. “I like to hunt.”

But it was not a source of embarrassment for Miami’s police chief, Miguel A. Exposito. The video was part of a reality television pilot, “Miami’s Finest SOS,” a project with the enthusiastic backing of Chief Exposito. “Our guys were proactively going out there, like predators,” he says during his cameo in the video, which surfaced online in January.

A few weeks later, a Miami police officer shot and killed a black man during a traffic stop at North Miami Avenue and 75th Street in the Little Haiti neighborhood. The man, Travis McNeil, 28, was unarmed and never left the driver’s seat of his rental car when he was shot once in the chest, members of his family said.

Mr. McNeil was the seventh African-American man to be shot and killed by Miami police officers in eight months. The shootings in this racially polarized city have led to marches on the Police Department’s headquarters and calls for a Justice Department investigation, and the city manager has initiated an investigation into the chief’s record.

After pushing for action for weeks, the families of the seven shooting victims will speak at a City Commission meeting on Thursday. Some families are demanding that Chief Exposito be dismissed.

“I don’t understand how the powers that be can allow these things to keep happening,” Sheila McNeil, the mother of Mr. McNeil, said of the Feb. 10 shooting death of her son. “Something is drastically wrong.”

Chief Exposito, a burly 37-year veteran who became chief in November 2009, defended his leadership. “We don’t have a violent police department,” he said in an interview last week. “You’ll find our officers are very compassionate with the people they deal with. They will try to de-escalate situations rather than resorting to deadly force.”

The officer who shot Mr. McNeil is Reinaldo Goyo, a member of the city’s elite gang unit who appeared in the “Miami’s Finest SOS” video. (The TV show has since been shelved.)

Saying on the video: “I’ve got some style. I’ve got some flavor” while wearing a hoodie emblazoned with the words “The Punisher,” Detective Goyo says he and his partner inherited the nicknames Crockett and Tubbs after the lead characters in the 1980s TV show “Miami Vice.” “It’s got a nice little ring to it,” he says.

Detective Goyo would not comment, a police spokesman said. A lawyer for Detective Goyo did not respond to phone messages.

Chief Exposito said he thought the video was “excellent,” although in an e-mail to the production company in December, he acknowledged that he regretted using the word “predator” and asked that his quotation be changed. In another e-mail to one of his assistants, he wrote: “This statement would add fuel to the fire. They need to soften it!”

In an interview last week, Chief Exposito said the video was not supposed to be for public consumption. “I had a problem with the production company — it was not supposed to be on YouTube or anywhere else.”

The chief also defended the officer who said, “I like to hunt.”

“Hunting doesn’t mean you go kill people,” the chief said. “Hunting means you go out there and capture people.”

Miami has a long history of racially charged police shootings, some of which combusted into deadly riots and Justice Department inquiries that ended with police officers in prison. The pattern this time is familiar: All seven men who were fatally shot by the police were African-American; the police officers who shot them are all Hispanic.

“There is a wide range of growing concern in the community regarding the apparent lack of communication and response to these incidents by the City of Miami Police Department,” Representative Frederica S. Wilson, a Democrat from Miami, wrote in a recent letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., asking the Justice Department to investigate.

Questions about Chief Exposito’s leadership have galvanized some leaders of the African-American community, who say that two of the men shot by the police were unarmed. Police officials would not describe details, but they have said that during both shootings, the officers had reason to believe their lives were in danger.

Community leaders also expressed outrage that a 12-year veteran of the city’s gang unit, Ricardo Martinez, shot and killed two men within nine days last August. Officer Martinez returned to his job six days after fatally shooting one man, then shot and killed another three days later. Before the shootings, he was under investigation for allegedly selling seized phones.

One officer being responsible for two fatal shootings in such a short period of time is highly unusual, national experts on police forces say.Typically, officers are assigned to desk duty after a shooting pending an inquiry.

“What does that tell you about the chief’s judgment?” said the Rev. Anthony Tate, president of the civil rights organization Pulse and pastor of New Resurrection Community Church in the Liberty City neighborhood.

Chief Exposito said that the inquiry had been initiated by his department, and that it would have been inappropriate to keep Officer Martinez off the street because of an allegation of wrongdoing. In December, Officer Martinez was charged with selling stolen Bluetooth phone headsets. He has been dismissed.

Mr. Tate, two Miami city commissioners and other community leaders have repeatedly called for the chief’s dismissal. Chief Exposito was a major in the property room and in charge of a compliance task force before being elevated two years ago to police chief by Mayor Tomas P. Regalado. Since then, the chief and the mayor have feuded bitterly over a variety of issues.

City Commissioner Richard P. Dunn II was the first on the commission to call for the chief’s dismissal. “It’s not personal. He’s just not competent to be a chief, that’s all,” said Mr. Dunn, whose district includes the neighborhoods where all seven fatal shootings occurred.

“These shootings have us sitting on a time bomb,” he said. “Everyone wonders: When is the next one going to happen? And the fact the chief is still here just makes Miami look like a banana republic.”

Chief Exposito said that after the first of the fatal shootings, last July, he invited the F.B.I. to attend the department’s internal inquiry, a gesture his predecessors had not offered, he said. “This is not something I was forced to do,” he said.

The chief’s critics say his leadership is markedly different from that of his predecessor, John F. Timoney, a deputy police commissioner in New York in the Giuliani administration.

During Mr. Timoney’s seven-year tenure, the department once went 22 months without having a police officer fire a weapon. When Mr. Exposito succeeded Mr. Timoney in November 2009, he assigned more than 100 officers to “tactical units” to try to curb violent crime.

The tactical units, including the gang unit whose officers have been responsible for the majority of the most recent shootings, have arrested hundreds of suspects and removed 400 more guns from the street in 2010 than in 2009, the chief said.

During those sweeps, “seven people decided they were not going to obey the law and not adhere to the police orders,” said Armando Aguilar, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, the police union, “and they ended up getting shot.”

The chief’s fate is in the hands of the city manager, Tony E. Crapp Jr. In late February, Mr. Crapp hired a former senior F.B.I. agent, Paul R. Philip, to assess the department’s record.

Mr. Philip, who headed the F.B.I.’s Miami field office, said in an interview that he compared the number of police shootings in 2009, the last year of Mr. Timoney’s leadership, with the first 15 months of Chief Exposito’s tenure. During Mr. Timoney’s final year as chief, seven officers shot at suspects, killing four and missing three others. Under Chief Exposito, there have been 10 shootings, with seven fatalities.

“It seemed to be a concern that the department was engaged in an accelerated rate of shootings, but there doesn’t appear to be,” Mr. Philip said. “The data seems to support the chief.”

Mr. Philip said his review did not include interviewing police officers who fired their weapons, witnesses or the family members of victims. Determining whether each of the shootings was justified is the state attorney’s job.

The chief said he was gratified that “someone with the stature of Paul Philip is agreeing with me.” He added: “I’ve been saying all along, we’re trying to get violent crime under control in that community. Unfortunately when you do that, you will be confronted by people who are armed and dangerous.”

Community leaders said they were upset about the pace of the Police Department’s own inquiries. They complained that police investigators had not taken a statement from Kareem Williams, 31, who is Mr. McNeil’s cousin and was shot three times as he sat with Mr. McNeil in the rental car last month. Mr. Williams, who left the hospital two days later, told his family that the officer began shooting without saying a single word, Mrs. McNeil said.

Not long ago, Mrs. McNeil met with Chief Exposito, who spoke about police procedures on the use of deadly force, she said. She added that the “impersonal” nature of the discussion had left her frustrated and sad.

“When your son has been shot,” she said, “you don’t want to hear about policies.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/us/23miami.html


Report: City To Begin Using Partial DNA Of Convicted Felons To Solve Cold Cases

 

According to the New York Post, starting April 1st, the city medical examiner's office will begin notifying police and prosecutors if partial DNA collected from 25 cold case crime scenes matches DNA profiles of any convicted felons in the state's databank.

Report: City To Begin Using Partial DNA Of Convicted Felons To Solve Cold Cases
Tue, 22 Mar 2011 13:47:40 GMT

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Kickoffs Moved To 35-Yard Line: NFL Owners Vote To Keep Touchbacks At 20

 

NEW ORLEANS — The NFL will move kickoffs up 5 yards to the 35-yard line, keep touchbacks coming out to the 20 and allow the number of players in a blocking wedge to remain at two.

Kick coverage players now will be limited to lining up 5 yards or fewer from the spot of the kickoff.

Read More...
More on NFL

Kickoffs Moved To 35-Yard Line: NFL Owners Vote To Keep Touchbacks At 20
The Huffington Post News Editors
Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:23:42 GMT

Columbia Construction Blamed for West Harlem Rat Explosion

Columbia Construction Blamed for West Harlem Rat Explosion Updated 5 hrs ago

West Harlem residents say Columbia University's expansion plan has lead to a rodent infestation.

 
Rats Are Taking Over Downtown Subways, Expert Says
West Harlem residents say Columbia's expansion project has led to a growing rat problem. (Health Department)

By Jeff Mays

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

HARLEM — Residents near Columbia University's West Harlem expansion say the construction has unleashed some unwelcome visitors: mice and rats. 

Alicia Barksdale, president of the 3333 Tenants Association, said the 35-story building at Broadway and 135thStreet has seen a recent jump in rat and mice activity.

"It's to the point where rats run in to the building through the lobby," Barksdale said. "If you got to 3333 Broadway at night you'll see a rat running across the street with its whole family. You try to stomp to scare them and they stomp back at you."

West Harlem Residents Blame Columbia Construction for Rat Expolsion
A rendering of Broadway at 131st Street. (Courtesy Columbia University)

One woman at a Community Board 9 meeting with the university last week said she had found a hole created by mice in her apartment that wasn't there before construction started.   

"Now the mice run from my neighbor's house to my house," she said. "There are big holes in front of the building where the mice run."

But the university says they are not to blame.

Columbia said that they have had experts working on pest control management since they started the expansion project. They said they took many precautions before starting construction, including surveying the entire area to determine the rat population and baiting and trapping.

Rodents are also tracked during activity and a follow-up survey is done when construction is complete. 

Manny Guzman, the owner of bug and rodent extermination service Pestrol, was hired by the university. He said he doesn't doubt that area residents have a rodent problem, but said he did not believe the university expansion was the problem.

"Anything is possible but based on our work in the area, we don't think that's the case. We survey the area before and after construction and haven't seen any increase in rodent activity," Guzman said after addressing area residents last Thursday.

The university said they have also been working with Jill Gordon, a rodentologist and pest management specialist. 

Columbia is expanding into 17 acres of land from West 129th to West 133rd streets, between Broadway and 12th Avenue. The $6.3 billion plan will see the creation of 6.3 million square feet of space, with the first phase of the project scheduled to be completed by 2015. Later phases are scheduled to be completed by 2030.

The university is also currently undertaking a $22.6 million expansion of storm and sanitary sewers between 125th and 131st streets in the area of Broadway and Marginal Street. That work will continue until spring 2012.

The university is also planning an information session with residents about pest prevention measures.

"Columbia is committed to an ongoing dialogue with the community," said Victoria Benitez, a spokeswoman for the university. 

Jeff Mays

By Jeff Mays, DNAinfo.com



Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20110321/harlem/columbia-construction-blamed-for-west-harlem-rat-explosion?utm_content=chiefcharley472%40gmail.com&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Columbia%20Construction%20Blamed%20for%20West%20Harlem%20Rat%20Explosion&utm_campaign=Teen%20Pleads%20Guilty%20to%20Baby%20Stroller%20Robbery%20Spreecontent#ixzz1HL8oycE8

Disco Singer Loleatta Holloway Reportedly Dead At 64

 

New York– Disco singer Loleatta Holloway reportedly died Monday evening after battling an illness at 64-years-old. Holloway was known for disco songs such as “Hit and Run” and “Love Sensation”.

“Holloway’s death was confirmed Monday by her manager, Ron Richardson,”  SpinningSoul.com reported early Tuesday.

Holloway was born in Chicago, Illinois in November 1946, and began her career singing gospel music with the Queen of Gospel.

Reports of Holloway’s death have spread across Twitter, Reddit, and numerous other sources.

More updates are expected as morning progresses.


 

Disco Singer Loleatta Holloway Reportedly Dead At 64
Samuel Aleshinloye
Tue, 22 Mar 2011 06:51:40 GMT

Monday, March 21, 2011

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Posted via email from blackcotton's posterous

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Pastor Calls Flock Devils, Demons;

Survey: 88% of All Blacks Believed to Have Experienced Workplace Discrimination

 

Filed under: Careers, News

A survey taken this week at YourBlackWorld.com has revealed that 88.5% of all African American respondents believe they have been victims of workplace racial discrimination at some point in their careers. The results were nearly uniform across men and women. A small percentage (5.5%) said they do not believe they've ever experienced racial discrimination in the workplace, and a similar percentage (6.1%) claim they are not sure.
The results are interesting in light of the well-documented economic struggles among African Americans, including unemployment rates that are nearly double those of white Americans. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, black unemployment stands at 15.3%, compared to just eight-percent for white Americans. Black public figures and political leaders have been calling on the Obama Administration to use targeted economic policy in order to alleviate racial disparities in wealth and employment, but to no avail thus far.
Within the black middle class, there is a pervasive, yet untold story about the challenges that many African Americans feel, educated or not, as they attempt to navigate their way through predominantly white institutions. While many are quick to blame the black community for their plight without regard to the effects of 400 years of slavery and Jim Crow, the truth is that there are millions of African Americans who work hard, abide by the law, get as much education as they can and try to do the right thing. In fact, this represents the majority.
What is sad is that those within our community who are working hard to do the right thing and play by the rules still see far too many cases where the white man down the hall gets breaks that we would never receive. In academia, I've seen countless universities turn down dozens of qualified black faculty and then tell us that we're not being hired because we're simply not good enough. In nearly every industry in America, it is not uncommon to see companies that have never hired an African American to certain positions, with such glaring disparities receiving barely a peep from public officials.
This year, the Obama Administration has taken stands to improve workplace rights for women and the gay community. It is hopeful that our nation's first black president and Attorney General will take a look at the abundance of issues that relate to racial disparities as well. The silent majority of black Americans experiencing workplace discrimination should not continue to remain silent forever, and we must push our elected officials to speak up.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. To follow Dr. Boyce on Facebook, please click here.

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Survey: 88% of All Blacks Believed to Have Experienced Workplace Discrimination
Boyce Watkins, PhD
Sat, 19 Mar 2011 02:30:00 GMT

Coon of The Day: Pastor Denies Communion To Members Who Don’t Give Their Tax Refund To Church

 

Now this is not a Godly way to act, shame on you Pastor.

HOUSTON – Members of the small congregation at Houston Unity Baptist Church said when they refused to give the pastor their tax refunds; he refused to give them their Communion.

Some members of the church spoke with FOX 26 anonymously.

“He said for all those who are getting a tax refund, ‘How many are you are going to give it to the church’?” James said.

Pastor John Goodman said while he refused Communion, it wasn’t because his members didn’t donate their tax refunds to the church. It’s because they’ve failed to step up and do what’s needed to keep the church afloat.

“I asked if there were any other members, which I know it is, that got income tax money. I ask if they would like to contribute it over here to the new parking lot.”

When asked if he withheld Communion, Pastor Goodman said absolutely but it wasn’t because of the tax refund issue. He said it was because of internal issues in the church he refused to disclose.

Goodman said only 4 or 5 members in the church actually help with bills, but he called the rest of his congregation devils and demons.

LMAO!! What type of bullsh*t is THIS?!?! So now communion is a bargaining chip to get the money that is supposed to be given voluntarily from the heart?? Jesus is not pleased sir, not pleased at all…

Source

 

 

Coon of The Day: Pastor Denies Communion To Members Who Don’t Give Their Tax Refund To Church
hiphopobama
Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:41:59 GMT

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

East Harlem Officials Want Liquor Store Near School Closed

East Harlem Officials Want Liquor Store Near School Closed Updated 2 hrs ago

Officials fear the owner's husband had his license revoked for selling alcohol to minors and is using his wife as a front.

 
Assemblyman and Councilwoman Want Liquor Store Near High School and Church Removed

By Jeff Mays

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

HARLEM — Community officials are demanding a liquor store operating opposite a high school and a church be closed because the owner's husband has a history of selling alcohol to minors.

In January, the State Liquor Authority granted Gramercy Park resident Mimi Fisher permission to open East River Wine and Liquor Discount at 302 Pleasant Avenue, at East 116th Street, under one condition — her husband, Shane Doyle, couldn't set foot in the store.

He has had a liquor license revoked after three instances of selling alcohol to minors at another store in NoHo. SLA commissioners were concerned he could be using his wife as a front in the Harlem store.

But community officials claim her husband's history of infractions and the store's location opposite the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics High School and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church meant the store should be shut down.

"That puts it over the top. You have someone with a history of breaking the law and doing something that is immoral and then you say, 'Let's put this guy right next to a school,'" said Matthew Washington, chair of Community Board 11. "The general consensus is that it shouldn't be there."

Doyle was originally listed as manager of the store but Fisher has since hired a new manager. Despite the SLA's warning, a store employee said Doyle spent time at the store, but was "not involved" in the business.

However community members said they thought Doyle was involved.

"I think it's outrageous that a license was ever granted in the first place," said Marina Ortiz of East Harlem Preservation, a neighborhood advocacy group. 

The East River Wine and Liquor Discount manager said an electronic age verification system had been ordered and Fisher said employees would be especially vigilant against underage customers. SLA officials said they believed the restrictions on the license protected the public.

But Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito questioned whether the agency would be able to properly enforce its prohibition against Doyle.

"During difficult fiscal times our enforcement sources are weakened," she said.

"Now they have to rely on us as a community. What happens if we can't get the attention we deserve to make this person comply with the law?"

Local officials also questioned whether the liquor store was at least 200 feet from the entrances of the church and school, as required by law. Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez sent a letter asserting one of the school's entrances was just 98 feet from the store and asked for the SLA to remeasure.

The SLA's deputy CEO and an investigator checked the distance on Monday and determined the doors were further than 200 feet away, a SLA spokesperson said.

Ortiz said that there was a plan to ask legislators to increase the rule to 500 feet.

Jeff Mays

By Jeff Mays, DNAinfo.com



Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20110316/harlem/east-harlem-officials-want-liquor-store-near-school-closed?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#ixzz1GnQaRUxU

Top 20 Black Radio Jockeys Of All Time

 

Throughout American history, Black disc jockeys did more than just spin records. They were, for African-American listeners across the country, the important and influential voices and leaders of their communities.

Here are NewsOne’s top 20 Black radio jockeys of all time, picked for their pioneering spirit and influence.

[DJs who made their name before becoming radio personalities have been excluded, but honorable mentions must go to folks like Steve Harvey, Rickey Smiley, and Yolanda Adams].

Related: Samples of History: Inheriting Prince’s Funk

1) Jack L. Cooper

Widely considered to be the first African-American radio announcer, Jack L. Cooper’s “All Negro” radio show aired in the 1930s on Chicago’s WSBC. Cooper was succeeded in Black Chicago radio by very important air personalities like Al Benson — who brought the blues and jazz to Chicago on WGES — and his colleague Herb Kent, who made his mark after his move to WVON, where he was a strong voice for progress during the tumultuous Civil Rights movement.

2) Jack “The Rapper” Gibson
Gibson got his start on the very first Black owned radio station, Atlanta’s WERD, in 1949. Embodying the fast talking style for which he was named, Gibson also went on to create one of the first Black radio trades, “Jack The Rapper,” and the infamous Black music convention of the same name.

3) Rufus Thomas
Rufus Thomas was the preeminent DJ of Memphis’ WDIA, the nation’s first radio station with an all-Black air staff. A triple-threat performer of song, dance, and comedy, Thomas’ nighttime show, “Hoot and Holler,” was an influential source of blues and R&B for a generation of white and Black listeners alike. Thomas also hosted amateur talent shows on Memphis’ famed Beale Street, premiering young talents like B.B. King, Ike Turner, and Bobby “Blue” Bland.

4) Jocko Henderson
A legendary disc jockey on the airwaves of Philadelphia and New York in the 1950s and 1960s, Douglas Wendell “Jocko” Henderson was a pioneer of the slick-talking, rapid-fire radio patter that influenced Black and White jockeys nationwide and laid a cultural foundation for “rap” music.

5) Petey Greene
Known as one of the original shock-jocks, Greene was a trailblazer of talk radio; and his influence was such that he has been credited with quashing the riots in Washington, D.C. in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Greene got an unusual start to his broadcasting career when he began DJing for the Virginia prison in which he was serving a five year sentence for armed robbery. Upon his release when he was hired to host his own show, Rapping With Petey Greene, at WOL in Washington D.C. His success led him to television where he hosted his own Emmy Award-winning show, Petey Greene’s Washington, on local WDCA-TV and BET.

6) Melvin Lindsey
Almost twenty years after his death, WHUR jock Marvin Lindsey’s “Quiet Storm” playlist remains an inspiration for imitators at radio stations across the country. Lindsey started out interning at Howard University’s WHUR, and got his first break filling in for a DJ who couldn’t make it in. The positive response for Lindsey’s impromptu show led WHUR station manager (and now Radio One founder) Cathy Hughes to give him his own time slot. Christening the show “Quiet Storm” after a hit single from Smokey Robinson, Lindsey’s smooth soulful playlist was an instant success, and may well have influenced the growth of the “smooth Jazz” sector of the music and radio business.

7) Dyanna Williams
Dynanna Williams is one of the earliest and most influential female air personalities in Black radio. Using the name “Ebony Moonbeams,” Williams started her career in broadcasting in 1973 when she was hired at Howard University’s WHUR. Two years later, Frankie Crocker hired Williams at WBLS-FM in her hometown, New York City. In 1978 she became the first African American woman rock DJ at WRQX-FM in Washington DC. In 1990 Williams launched the Association of African American Music Foundation to promote African American musicians, and currently hosts a weekly broadcast, “Soulful Sunday,” on Radio One’s 107.9 WRNB in Philadelphia.

Chuck Leonard
Leonard, another pioneer of Black jocks’ move into the mainstream, was the first African-American disc jockey on landmark pop station WABC-AM, where he stayed for 14 years doing late-night shifts before moving through a string of New York stations like WRKS, WBLS, and WJUX. Leonard caught the radio bug in college as program director of University of Illinois station WPGU.

9) Frankie Crocker
Crocker first became a household name on New York’s Black station, WWRL. But after becoming one of the first Black jocks to “cross over” into more mainstream radio (as one of WMCA’s “Good Guys”), Crocker crossed back when a Black-owned consortium hired him for a new FM station in New York called WBLS. Crocker assembled a huge, multiracial audience, and had a great influence on the mainstreaming of disco. Though resistant to rap, he played some of the first hip-hop records and hired hip-hop’s first legendary radio jock, Mr.Magic.

10) Mr. Magic
When John “Mr. Magic” Rivas created “Disco Showcase” in 1979 on a small pay-for-time FM station in New York called WHBI, he didn’t know he was starting what would become the very first rap radio show. A few years later, Magic took his “Rap Attack” to commercial station WBLS, and fostered the careers of producer Marley Marl, and artists like Biz Markie and Big Daddy Kane. Mr. Magic brought the first rap show to commercial radio on New York’s WBLS.

11) Red Alert
New York rival 98.7 Kiss-FM answered Frankie Crocker’s hiring of Mr. Magic when they asked Kool DJ Red Alert to craft his own rap show on weekends. Self-effacing where Magic was brash, Red Alert became a beloved figure of listeners and rappers alike. Red Alert fostered the careers of acts such as KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah and A Tribe Called Quest.

12) Greg Mack
Mack was already a successful air personality in Houston when a small AM station in Los Angeles called KDAY hired him to be disc jockey and music director. But Mack’s aggressive programming of rap music made KDAY the first station to embrace rap as a core part of its programming, and helped launch the L.A. rap scene. Mack gave the first airplay to now legendary acts like the LA Dream Team, Egyptian Lover, World Class Wreckin’ Cru, Dr. Dre, Eazy E, Ice T, Ice Cube, NWA, Tone Loc and dozens more.

13) Tom Joyner
In 1985, Tom Joyner earned his stripes as “The Hardest Working Man In Radio,” juggling two top-rated shows in separate cities over a thousand miles apart. For eight years Joyner would do a weekly morning show at K-104 in Dallas, and fly to Chicago every weekday afternoon for a show at WGCI. In 1994, “The Fly Jock” became the one of the first nationally syndicated Black DJs when was hired to host his own program, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, which spread to 29 stations. In 1998, Joyner became the first African-American inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.

14) Russ Parr
Russ Parr began his career as a stand-up comedian in California, and got his start in radio on Los Angeles’s famed KDAY. In the mid-1980s Parr also recorded with his band “Bobby Jimmy and The Critters.” In 1996, he became the second African-American giant of syndication in 1996 when his Russ Parr Morning Show on Radio One’s WKYS-FM became the base of operations for a network that eventually reached more than 3 million listeners daily on over 40 radio stations.

15) Robin Quivers
As the long-running Black female sidekick of white shock-jock Howard Stern, Quivers has held her own in a predominately male atmosphere for thirty years. Part cohost and part cosigner, Quivers has maintained a precarious and controversial role as foil for Stern’s arguably racist rants: Does her presence give Stern Stern a “pass,” or does she keep him in check? Either way, Quivers has become one of the most recognized female radio personalities in the country.

16) Wendy Williams
Referring to herself as the “Queen of All Media,” Wendy Williams’ trademark mixture of oversized personality and merciless celebrity gossip created a new radio archetype and captured millions of fans. After college, Williams started her career in radio as an intern for Kiss 108 in Boston, and made the move to New York City’s Kiss-FM, where she eventually landed her own air shift; and then on to New York’s Hot 97. Williams was Billboard’s Best On-Air Radio Personality in 1993, and became the second African-American woman inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2009. Williams currently hosts her own daytime TV talk show.

17) Electrifying Mojo
Broadcasting first on WGPR in Detroit, Mojo challenged ideas about the role of a radio jockey. His unbridled and unusual music selection inspired legions of fans in Detroit, and Mojo is recognized for having introduced listeners to a number of artists that include Prince, The B-52’s, and Kraftwerk. Mojo was well known for his habit of playing lengthy recordings without interruption, and was hugely influential in the formation of the Detroit techno scene.

18) Star & Buc Wild
Star (Troi Torain) and his stepbrother Buc Wild (Timothy Joseph) made their bones in the late 1990s hosting the morning show on Hot 97 in New York City. Their hit show eventually surpassed the mighty Howard Stern for the number one spot on New York City morning radio. But the show continued to attract flak for what many thought was insensitive and offensive material. Though often contentious, the nonconformity of Star and Buc Wild’s show captured a huge amount of listeners and proved once again that Black air personalities could best their white rivals. Star & Buc Wild currently host the morning show on Philadelphia’s 100.3 The Beat.

19) David “Davey D” Cook
A nationally renowned pioneer blending hip-hop, radio and community activism, David Cook moved from the Bronx to the Bay Area shortly after the dawn of the hip-hop era. Cook eventually landed a radio show on Berkeley’s KALX. With his Bronx Science high school colleague Kevvy Kev Montague over at Stanford’s KZSU, and a number of other important DJs and shows at college and community stations across the Bay, Cook eventually became the ringleader of the Bay Area Hip-Hop Coalition, the first rap radio deejay collective in the world, with more hours of hip-hop on air than in any area of the country. When local pop station KMEL started playing hip-hop aggressively, Cook pioneered a new kind of prime time community affairs program, blending music with activism.

20) Sway
Sway Calloway, along with his partner King Tech, became the first to host a hip-hop radio show on a pop station when his Wake Up Show debuted on San Francisco’s KMEL-FM in 1990. The Wake Up Show eventually became internationally syndicated, reaching more than 20 different markets in five countries. Sway himself became the morning personality on KMEL-FM, and then was hired by MTV as an on-air host and journalist. Sway now hosts the morning show on Sirius satellite radio’s Shade 45.

Related: Top 9 Black Television Talk Show Hosts

Related: 25 Reasons We Love Arsenio Hall

Top 20 Black Radio Jockeys Of All Time
News One
Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:19:39 GMT