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Reporter
LOCAL
Mayor-Elect Lovely Warren Invites Public Comment
Mayor-elect Lovely Warren said she
is seeking the publics ideas on issues
that are vital to the city of Rochesters
future. As part of her transiton
process, Warren is progressing with
a comprehensive review of the city
of Rochesters operatons, interviews
with city staf, and discussions with
community leaders.
She said the goal is to develop
workable proposals that address key
challenges the city faces.
City government should serve the
people, and the more quality public
input we receive, the beter the
policies and programs that we design
will represent the needs and desires
of the community, explained Mayor-
elect Warren.
Six focus groups have been assembled
to provide input on critcal issues.
These focus groups were facilitated
by the consultng frm Strategic
Community Interventon LLC. Nearly
100 citzens, representng a diverse
cross-secton of the community, met in
downtown Rochester on Saturday Dec.
14, and were organized to respond to
the following topics:
Educaton
Public Safety
Economic Development
Workforce Opportunites
Neighborhood Quality of Life
Fiscal Responsibility
In additon, each focus group addressed
the following three questons:
1. What does city government do well?
2. In what areas does city government
need to improve?
3. How can city government be a
player/partner in making those
improvements?
The public is encouraged to review the
focus groups fndings and share their
thoughts on these important issues.
Public comment is open untl 5:00 pm
on Dec. 20 at www.warrentransiton.
com.
Click on the Have Your Say link at
the top of the page to see the focus
groups fndings. The page will also
explain how you can submit your
public comment.
This is just the beginning of what
will be a contnual and meaningful
dialogue between my administraton
and the community, said Warren.
Mayor-Elect Lovely Warren
Mayor Richards Says Finger Lakes Regional
Economic Development Award Will Have Big Impact
The Finger Lakes Regional Economic
Development Council (FLREDC) award
of $59.8 million is positve news,
Mayor Richards said. While not
everything we asked for was funded,
the dollars that were allocated will
have a tremendous impact on our
citys future through highly-visible and
needed investment.
According to a statement from city
ofcials, the recently announced
awards will fund important projects
within the city of Rochester, including:
$1 million for the RIT Center for Urban
Entrepreneurship in the Center City;
$500,000 for the implementaton of
the Public Market Master Plan;
$750,000 to assist with the
redevelopment of the Sibley Building;
$150,000 for constructon of owner-
occupied homes in conjuncton
with the Greater Rochester Housing
Partnership;
$150,000 for the Mills and Michelson
Apartments afordable housing
projects in the High Falls and the El
Camino neighborhoods;
$1.2 million for the Erie Harbor
Promenade, to contnue trail
connectons along the Genesee River;
$500,000 for the Garden Aerial project
at High Falls;
$150,000 for improvements to
the Urban League of Rochesters
downtown historic building; and
$100,000 for an MCC certfcaton
training program in precision
manufacturing for residents of the El
Camino neighborhood.
The Governor and the FLREDC
both understand how important the
development of Eastman Business
Park (EBP) is to our community,
said Richards. There was no specifc
request in this years FLREDC Plan, but
the state has been contnually working
on and supportng the development
of EBP with expertse and fnancial
assistance. I am confdent that this will
contnue. Overall, there is a lot of good
news in this award and our community
should focus on the positves.
Mayor Thomas Richards
4 www.minorityreporter.net |DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
LOCAL
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J-Macs NY high school hoops jersey being retired
GREECE, N.Y. (AP) Jason McElwain
has met pro sports legends and a U.S.
president, appeared on the Oprah
and Larry King shows, and even has
bobblehead dolls in his likeness.
But the ultmate honor for the former
high school basketball team manager
known as J-Mac comes later this week,
when his No. 52 jersey is retred in the
gym where his one-game heroics went
viral in 2006.
J-Mac, whos autstc, was put into
the fnal home game of his senior
year at Greece Athena High School
in suburban Rochester. He hit six
3-pointers and fnished with 20 points
in the games fnal four minutes. A
video of his hot streak made him an
Internet sensaton.
The Democrat and Chronicle of
Rochester reports that (htp://
on.rocne.ws/1c0hHWT ) J-Macs jersey
is being retred Friday night before
Greece Athenas home game.
NY man guilty of killing college professor
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) A western
New York man has been convicted of
frst-degree murder in the death of
a college professor whose body was
dumped in a ravine.
A Monroe County jury delivered
the verdict against Jerrell Henry on
Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Henry and accomplice
Natalie Johnson entered Edline Chuns
home and robbed her last Feb. 3 before
Henry shot her twice in the head. The
Rochester Insttute of Technology
professors body was found in a city
park three days later.
Authorites say Henry was on parole
at the tme and wearing an electronic
monitoring device, which proved he
was in Chuns home and the park.
He faces life in prison without parole
at his Jan. 14 sentencing.
Johnson was convicted of second-
degree murder in October and is
scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday.
NAACP President to Deliver
University of Rochesters MLK Commemorative Address
Benjamin Todd Jealous, the youngest
president in the history of the Natonal
Associaton for the Advancement
of Colored People, will deliver the
University of Rochesters 2014 Martn
Luther King Jr. Commemoratve
Address on Friday, Jan. 24. The free talk
begins at 6 p.m. in Strong Auditorium
on the River Campus.
Jealouss address will draw on the
traditon of leadership that connects
Nelson Mandela, Martn Luther King,
Jr., Shirley Chisolm, Frederick Douglas,
Cesar Chavez, and Frances Willard to
inspire young people to change the
world. Jealous will discuss victories
he has won, as well as those of
young organizers he has trained and
mentored, as a framework for how to
achieve social transformaton.
We are honored to have Benjamin
Jealous serve as our Martn Luther
King Jr. Commemoratve Address
speaker this year, said Norman
Burnet, dean and director of the
Ofce of Minority Student Afairs. As
a result of his dynamic leadership,
Jealous is credited with reenergizing
the natons oldest and most revered
civil rights organizaton and advancing
natonal discussions on disparites in
economics, health care, educaton,
voter empowerment, and the criminal
justce system.
He is young, he is in touch with the
current issues, and he has the ambiton
necessary to inspire college students
like myself to keep pushing, keep
innovatng and keep being the best
version of ourselves that we can be,
said Akan Nelson, Vice President of
the Universitys Pan-African Students
Associaton, who will introduce
Jealous at the address. Nelson said
that Jealouss success in revitalizing
the NAACP, partcularly the creaton
of an online registraton system would
resonate well with a young audience.
A ffh generaton member of the
NAACP, Jealous began his career in civil
rights at age 18, opening mail at the
organizatons Legal Defense Fund. He
has since become an outspoken leader
of successful state and local movements
to ban the death penalty, outlaw racial
profling, defend votng rights, secure
marriage equality, and free multple
wrongfully incarcerated people. Under
his leadership, the NAACP grew to be
the largest civil rights organizaton
online and on mobile, experienced its
frst mult-year membership growth
in 20 years, and became the largest
community-based nonpartsan voter
registraton operaton in the country.
He announced last fall that he planned
to step down from the leadership
positon at the end of 2013.
Prior to leading the NAACP, Jealous
spent 15 years working as a journalist
and community organizer. While
at Mississippis Jackson Advocate
Newspaper the most frequently
frebombed publicaton in the U.S.
during the late 20th century his
investgatons were credited with
exposing corrupton at the state
penitentary at Parchman and proving
the innocence of a black farmer who
was being framed for arson.
While at Amnesty Internatonal, he
led successful eforts to outlaw prison
rape, expose the increasing trend
of children being sentenced to life
without the possibility of parole, and
drew atenton to expanded racial
profling in the wake of the September
11, 2001 terrorist atacks. When he
was stll a college student, Jealous
helped lead a successful campaign
to stop the governor of Mississippi
from turning a public historically black
university into a prison.
A Rhodes Scholar, Jealous is a graduate
of Columbia and Oxford Universites.
He was named to both Forbes and Time
Magazines 40 under 40 lists, labeled a
Young Global Economic Leader by the
World Economic Forum, and was #1 on
TheRoot.coms list of 2013s Top Black
Infuencers.
The annual address, which kicks-of
the Universitys Black History Month
celebraton by recognizing the legacy
and infuence of Kings Life, is co-
sponsored by the Ofce of Minority
Student Afairs and the Ofce of the
President.
5 www.minorityreporter.net | DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
STATE
NEW YORK (AP) -- Financial services
frm Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost
nearly two-thirds of its employees in
the Sept. 11 atacks, revealed a $135
million setlement with American
Airlines and insurance carriers
Tuesday to a judge who said the deal
will end the fnal airplane-focused
case resultng from claims of wrongful
death and personal injuries.
The agreement averts a trial scheduled
for next month, which means there will
be no airing of such questons as how
terrorists got through security, the best
way to stop terrorists, whether there
was really wrongdoing and negligence
and how best to preserve libertes
amid such threats, U.S. District Judge
Alvin K. Hellerstein said.
All this will remain a mystery, he said.
Calling the setlement a signifcant
conclusion afer 12 years of litgaton
that resulted in scores of setlements
and not a single trial involving airlines,
the judge said, Hopefully what was
achieved was a measure of justce, a
measure of reparaton and closure.
He added, But the lives that were
lost were irreparable and being
irreparable, there now are no words to
describe that loss.
The deal was announced by Cantor
Fitzgerald atorney John Stoviak, who
said money from various insurers is
already in escrow and ready to be paid
out pending formal approval by the
court at or afer a Jan. 13 hearing.
Aferward, Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman
and Chief Executve Ofcer Howard W.
Lutnick said in a statement that the
case for insurance companies was just
another case, just another setlement,
but not for us.
Lutnick, whose brother Gary was killed
in the atacks, added: We could never,
and will never, consider it ordinary.
For us, there is no way to describe
this compromise with inapt words like
ordinary, fair or reasonable. All we can
say is that the legal formality of this
mater is over.
Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 of its 1,000
people in its New York workforce when
the 101st through 105th foors of its
One World Trade Center headquarters
were destroyed when terrorists struck
the tower. Howard Lutnick was not in
the ofce.
American Airlines spokesman Sean
Collins said in a statement American
had vigorously defended itself in
litgaton brought against it by property
owners and their insurers who allege
that American should have done what
the government could not do: prevent
the terrorist atacks.
He also noted that the courageous
crew members and passengers on
Flight 77 and Flight 11 were all victms
of the terrorist atacks.
Hellerstein praised lawyers on both
sides, saying he once thought a deal
was impossible. He noted that some
litgaton from Sept. 11 remains,
including claims involving the trade
center, developer Larry Silverstein,
frst responders and others.
Cantor Fitzgerald, meanwhile, has
risen dramatcally from a low of about
150 employees in the months afer the
atacks. It now has 3,200 employees in
New York and about 8,000 worldwide,
including the employees of a spinof,
BGC Partners, an achievement praised
by Hellerstein.
Afer the brief hearing, Hellerstein
stepped of the bench and shook
hands with lawyers on both sides.
American Airlines to pay $135M settlement
over 9-11 terrorist attack to firm that had 658 workers killed
www.MINORITYREPORTER.net
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - Authorites say
a 27-year-old man has died afer being
shot outside a Rochester convenience
store.
Rochester police tell local media outlets
that Antoine Brown of Rochester was
standing in front of the store around
12:15 p.m. Wednesday when another
man walked up to him and pulled out
a gun afer the two exchanged words.
Police say the gunman shot Brown in
the torso and fed the scene.
Brown was taken by a private vehicle
to a hospital, then was transferred to
Strong Memorial Hospital, where he
was pronounced dead.
No arrests have been announced.
Police: Man fatally shot outside Rochester store
LOCAL
GREECE, N.Y. (AP) - Authorites say
a 10-year-old boy is recovering in in
the hospital afer he became trapped
when the snow pile he was playing on
collapsed.
Police in Greece tell local media that
the boy and a friend were making
snow forts at an apartment complex
Wednesday when a pile collapsed,
sending him head-frst into the snow.
When he couldnt free himself, several
children had to help pull him out while
another child ran for help. Emergency
crews took the boy to a hospital, and he
was later transferred to the pediatric
unit at Strong Memorial Hospital.
Ofcials say his injuries arent
considered life-threatening.
Greece boy recovering after getting trapped in snow
6 www.minorityreporter.net |DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
STATE
NY judge sets trial on legal aid for the poor
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A trial is needed
to determine whether the state
systemically provides inadequate staf
and money for the consttutonally
required defense of poor people
charged with crimes, a state Supreme
Court judge said.
Justce Eugene Devine refused on
Monday to throw out the class acton
lawsuit brought by the New York Civil
Libertes Union. He also rejected the
NYCLUs request for a decision based
on evidence already presented that
claimed indigent defense by the
state and several countes routnely
fails defendants and violates their
consttutonal rights to lawyers.
NYCLU Executve Director Donna
Lieberman on Tuesday called the
decision a tentatve step toward
justce.
The lawsuit was fled in 2007 on behalf
of 20 defendants in Onondaga, Ontario,
Schuyler, Sufolk and Washington
countes.
In 2010, a divided New York Court
of Appeals reinstated the lawsuit,
rejectng a lower courts conclusion
that the issue was simply poor
performance by individual lawyers.
The higher court noted that the
complaint claimed 10 defendants had
no lawyers at their arraignments and
eight were sent straight to jail with bail
set beyond what they could aford.
The judge said the testmony from
atorneys serving in the defendant
countes shows indigent criminal
defendants consistently are arraigned
without being aforded their right to
counsel.
The prevailing sentment among
the criminal practtoners that have
testfed in this mater is that such an
occurrence does not necessarily result
in the violaton of a fundamental
consttutonal right, the judge wrote.
The state atorney generals ofce,
which sought to dismiss the lawsuit,
declined to comment on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman said the trial is
scheduled for March 17.
Cuomo pushes tax break for renters statewide
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Gov. Andrew
Cuomo is supportng the minority
positon of his own tax commission
when it comes to providing a property
tax credit to renters across the state,
with most of the break going to New
York City tenants.
Including renters in his property tax-
cutng plan along with home owners
would strike a politcal balance that
could get his proposal through the
Legislature.
Cuomos commission supported
his goal of reducing property taxes
upstate and in the New York City
suburbs, where residents pay some of
the natons highest taxes. A Cuomo
spokesman said Monday that the
governor will also push a tax credit for
renters statewide.
Cuomo says its too early to say how
much of a beneft renters could see in
2014, an electon year.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
Stores have free rein to recoup shoplifting losses
NEW YORK (AP) Racial profling
claims at New York department stores
are highlightng the wide lattude that
laws natonwide give retailers to hold
and fne suspected shoplifers.
More than $12 billion is lost to
shoplifing each year. State laws vary
on strictness and maximum fnes that
stores can charge to try to recoup
losses. Suspects can be held liable
even they havent technically stolen
anything or criminal charges are
dropped.
In New York, retailers may collect as
much as $1,500 if the merchandise
cant be resold. At Macys fagship
store, suspects are held in cells, asked
to sign an admission of guilt and
sometmes pay hundreds in fnes.
Customers say in lawsuits they were
bullied into paying on the spot or
harassed with leters demanding
payment.
Macys says it uses the law legally.
NY Regents recommend school aid increase
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - A Board of
Regents subcommitee has voted to
recommend a $1.3 billion increase in
state aid for New York schools next
year, along with fairer funding for high-
needs districts and bigger investments
in universal pre-kindergarten programs
and teacher training.
The recommendatons announced
Monday are expected to be approved
by the full board and sent to the state
Legislature.
Also Monday, Educaton Commissioner
John King Jr. and Regents Chancellor
Merryl Tisch said they are moving
forward on recommendatons to
improve implementaton of the new
Common Core learning standards
statewide.
The recommendatons were made
by the Educatonal Conference
Board, a panel made up of parents,
school board members, teachers
and others. The recommendatons
include increasing understanding of
the Common Core, ensuring adequate
funding, and reducing testng tme.
7 www.minorityreporter.net | DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
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SUDOKU by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan
Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9X9 grid that has
been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3X3 squares.
To solve the puzzle each row, column and box must
contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in
three grades: easy, medium and diffcult. Level: Medium
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8 www.minorityreporter.net |DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
COVER
By Delani Weaver
How much atenton do everyday
residents pay to poverty in the
Rochester area? A lot of people believe
poverty only exists when they see
someone standing on a street divider,
or on a corner holding up a sign asking
for help.
But there are many individuals and
families living in apartments and
houses who are struggling to pay every
day bills such as rent, mortgage and/or
electricity. They, too, are considered to
be living in poverty.
Here are the facts:
* Rochester is the ffh poorest city in
the country, among the top 75 largest
metropolitan areas.
* Rochester is the second poorest
among comparably-sized cites in
those metro areas.
* Rochester is ranked third for highest
concentraton of extremely poor
neighborhoods among cites in the top
100 metro areas.
* Rochester City School District is the
poorest school district in Upstate New
York and the poorest urban district in
the entre state.
A 49-page report presented to the public
by the Rochester Area Community
Foundaton, and ACT Rochester, ttled
Poverty and the Concentraton of
Poverty in the Nine-County Greater
Rochester Area, analyzed data from
the 2010 U.S. Census, the U.S. Census
Bureaus American Community Survey
(2007-11), a 2012 racial-segregaton
study by the Manhatan Insttute for
Policy Research and a 2011 Brookings
Insttuton study on extremely poor
neighborhoods to detail the state of
poverty in Rochesters nine-county
region.
According to the Community
Foundaton, this report has been
prepared in response to a new
strategic framework for future grant-
making and community leadership
that has recently been approved by
the organizatons board of directors.
Ofcials from the organizaton said one
of the main goals of this new framework
has been to help create an equitable
community by focusing on three
critcal community issues: reducing the
academic achievement gap, fostering
racial and ethnic understanding and
equity, and building awareness of
poverty and the concentraton of
poverty while encouraging economic
and community development eforts
to counteract them.
Jennifer Leonard, president and
CEO of Rochester Area Community
Foundaton said, We live in two
Rochesters. The Rochester of the well-
employed, beter-educated and ofen
suburban; and the Rochester of the
barely-scraping-by. The un- and under-
employed, the working core, are living
in the city, or invisibly in the suburbs,
and rural areas of our nine-county
region. We live in two Rochesters that
never see each other, because we
live and work, or live without work,
in separate places. We can therefore
deny ourselves knowledge and the
responsibility of doing something
about it.
The current federal poverty level
comes from a 1963 formula where the
Department of Agriculture estmated
the cost to meet basic food needs.
The purpose of the report is to lif
a curtain on the profound poverty
in our area, Leonard said. It is far
deeper than you think, much worse
than you believe, and a cancer on
our communitys soul. It is tme for us
to acknowledge greater Rochesters
poverty so we can address and reverse
its insidious efect on our educaton,
economy and future as a region.
Leonard, along with Ed Doherty
of the Rochester Area Community
Foundaton, and four other community
leaders each spoke about the report
and what they believe needs to be
done in order to make a dent in
lowering the number of people living
in poverty.
One-hundred sixty thousand six
hundred ninety-nine Rochestarians
do not have enough money to feed
themselves or their families, Leonard
said. Fify-nine percent of people
living in poverty live outside the
city of Rochester. Forty-six percent
of Rochester children are living in
poverty.
According to the report, families with
children under the age of 18 are more
likely to be poor when compared to all
families. Female heads of households
are more likely to be poorer than
families in the general populaton, and
female heads of households are even
poorer if they have children under the
age of 18.
9 www.minorityreporter.net | DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
The president and CEO of Acton for
a Beter Community, James Norman,
said, We should let go of the noton
that, if you arent doing well, you
should just blame yourself. While
individual choices are part of the
picture, our local history, structures,
policies and practces play big factors
in what economic structures are in
place for various populatons.
In additon, the report stated the
amount of students eligible for
reduced-price or free meals consttutes
the measure of student poverty.
Eighty-three percent of students in
the Rochester City School District
(RCSD) are eligible for free school
meals, while an additonal fve percent
are eligible for reduced-price school
meals, bringing the total amount of
RCSD students living in poverty to 88
percent.
RCSD Superintendent Bolgen Vargas
did not atend the press conference,
however he did release a statement.
Poverty in Rochester is a fact that
makes student achievement more
challenging for most city families,
Vargas said. The District is using every
available resource to give our students
the extra tme and support they need
to succeed. Our goal is to mitgate
the impact of poverty, providing
city children the same quantty
of educatonal opporutnity and
outcomes as students in middle-class
districts. We applaud the Foundaton
for maintaining focus on this problem
and helping the District to receive
widespread community support for
our work.
Gladys Pedraza-Burgos, chief operatng
ofcer of the Ibero-American Acton
League of Rochester said, We know
that the gaps in academic achievement
are strongly associated with race,
ethnicity, socioeconomic background,
family and neighborhood stability, and
that they are having a major negatve
efect on our children in school.
The only way people will escape
poverty is by getng an educaton.
Unemployment and the poverty rate
for Hispanics contnues to be about
double the general populaton. At the
same tme, working families have few
optons for accessing the training that
they need. Our overall goal at Ibero is
to foster development, primarily for
Latnos and Hispanics, and to move
them toward economic and social self-
sufciency.
The report also names several factors
that contribute to the poverty level in
the community, including past policies
and structures that have created racial
segregaton, limited housing choices
for the poor, and the manufacturing
colossus no more, which explains how
the community has been negatvely
afected by the closing of pioneer
manufacturing companies such as
Kodak and Bausch & Lomb.
Chief Counsel for Empire Justce Center,
Bryan Hetherington said, We dont
like to hear this news about Rochester.
We like to think something else about
ourselves. Poverty is constructed. It is
constructed by social policy. We have
a very low rate for elder poverty. Why,
because we have social programs that
provide a foor for our elders that lif
them out of poverty. We dont have
similar programs for children, for
adults. We can change this. We know
what to do because we did it for our
elderly.
And, George Moses, executve director
of North East Area Development Inc.
said, now that we know the facts
about poverty, its tme to act.
Lets not make programs that
manage poverty, Moses said. We
dont want programs that manage
poverty, and make it comfortable
for people to stay there. How can
we create opportunism? Programs
that create wealth? We can actually
create programs that close that gap
numerically; thats low hanging fruit.
Moses said he has been inspired
by Nelson Mandela using the word
Amutu, meaning I am because you
are, and you are because I am.
It was so powerful, he stated. I am
because you are, and you are because
I am. So, when I hear people think
poverty is just a city problem, its insane
to think that you can just take out the
core. Can you take out the core, and
let everything else around it survive?
Absolutely not. On a neighborhood
level, lets work with people who may
or may not know theyre in poverty.
They have just decided, just like we
did. Everyone gets up in the morning
and says Will I live or will I die? Folks
who live in poverty say, Im going to
live. Im going to live with whatever
Ive got. Were not going to stand by
and just contnue to talk about these
problems. How can we actually help
these folks to improve their situatons?
We are because they are, and they are
because we are.
COVER
10 www.minorityreporter.net |DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
Minority Reporter wants to recognize you for your hard work and
achievements. If you or someone you know recently acquired a new positon,
was promoted or received an award or recogniton, send us a photo and a brief
descripton (200 words or less) and we will take it from there!
Please email all submissions to editor@minorityreporter.net
ROCHESTER, N.Y. Dec. 17, 2013
The DiMarco Group recently hired
Tashanda Thomas as human resource
hiring specialist.
As human resource hiring specialist,
Thomas is responsible for scoutng top
candidates to fll numerous positons
across The DiMarco Groups family of
companies. She also supports general
employee relatons actvites and
provides backup to the benefts and
compensaton functons.
Thomas has more than six years
of experience in human resources,
most recently as a human resource
specialist at Harter, Secrest & Emery
LLP, where she worked in recruitment,
benefts, policies and procedures, tme
and atendance. She also worked as
the human resource coordinator at
the Urban League of Rochester. She
is the member of the Urban League
of Rochester, the Natonal Human
Resources Associaton, and the Society
for Human Resource Management
Diversity Council. Thomas also
volunteers for Food Link and Making
Strides Against Breast Cancer.
Thomas received her associate degree
in business administraton from
Monroe Community College and her
bachelors degree in management with
a human resource concentraton from
St. John Fisher College. She resides in
Rochester with her husband and son.
TASHANDA THOMAS JOINS
THE DIMARCO GROUP AS HUMAN
RESOURCE HIRING SPECIALIST
TASHANDA THOMAS
www.MINORITYREPORTER.net
11 www.minorityreporter.net | DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
Notce of Formaton of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) 1. Name of
the Limited Liability Company is PARK AVENUE TAXI, LLC. 2. Artcles
of Organizaton were fled with the Department of State of New York
on 10/10/2013. 3. County of ofce: Monroe 4. The Company does not
have a specifc date of dissoluton. 5. The Secretary of State has been
designated as agent upon whom process against the Company may be
served. The address to which process shall be mailed: 504 HUMBOLDT
ST, Rochester, NY 14610.
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12 www.minorityreporter.net |DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
ADOPT
Birth Date: August, 1997
State: Florida
damian is a handsome young man who sits
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of his thoughts and is described as an introvert. A
child with medical challenges, he would be a won-
derful addition to a family with love in their heart.
damian requires a full time caregiver who can
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with unconditional love.
If youre interested in learning more about Damian or
other waitng children, visit:
www.childrenAwaitingParents.org or call 585-232-5110.
Photograph by Lori Grifth
NATIONAL
President Obama: Help Our Less Fortunate at Christmas
By Hazel Trice Edney
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - With a
bi-partsan budget agreement
established with no contnuaton of
unemployment benefts, President
Obama has appealed for Americans
to Help Our Less Fortunate at
Christmas.
Every year, we mark the holiday
season with celebratons and good
cheer. And I should remind my girls
that I like getng Christmas presents
as much as anybody. But this is also a
tme to remember the story of a child
born to two faithful travelers on a holy
night, long ago, said the President
in a rare moment of public refecton
from a Christan perspectve. The
sacred birth of Jesus Christ was Gods
gif to man on Earth. And, through His
example, He taught us that we should
love the Lord, love our neighbors, as
we love ourselves. Its a teaching that
has endured for generatons. And
today, it lies at the heart of my faith
and that of millions of Americans, and
billions around the globe.
With a gradually improving economy, a
bi-partsan budget agreement that will
avoid another government shutdown,
and a Congress about to recess for
Christmas, Obama made note of the
economic disparites that remain.
No mater who we are, or where we
come from, or how we worship, its a
message of hope and devoton that
can unite all of us this holiday season,
he said. It compels all of us to reach
out and help our less fortunate citzens
- our poor, our sick, our neighbors in
need - and to serve those who sacrifce
so much on our behalf.
The Presidents words of compassion
were spoken between the music and
festvites of the 32nd Christmas
in Washington Broadcast held at
the Natonal Building Museum in
Washington Dec. 15. This years event
benefted the Childrens Natonal
Medical Center.
With what appears to be a repaired
Afordable Care Act website bringing a
degree of justce and parity to health
care in America, the President must
now focus on his annual State of the
Union Address before a joint session
of Congress Jan. 28. With three more
years in ofce, Obama is expected
to speak strongly on strengthening
the economy specifcally healing
economic inequites.
Meanwhile, in establishing a bi-
partsan budget deal, Congress cut of
extended unemployment benefts to
1.3 million Americans.Those benefts
will end just afer Christmas, causing
great hardships to many.
While the budget agreement is a
slight improvement over current law
because it provides temporary relief
from across-the-board, automatc
spending cuts known as sequestraton,
it shortchanges federal employees and
turn its back on millions of unemployed
Americans, said Congressional Black
Caucus Chair Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) in
a statement.
She refused to vote for the budget
bill, notng Unless reauthorized,
unemployment benefts to 1.3 million
Americans will end on December
28th. This cutof will afect more than
3 million Americans over the next six
months.
With 1.3 million fewer jobs than in
2008 when the recession began, Fudge
pointed out that Unemployment
benefts play a critcal role in helping
Americans get back on their feet and
strengthening our economy. In fact,
the nonpartsan Congressional Budget
Ofce has found that unemployment
benefts are one of the most
efectve fscal policies to increase
economic growth and employment.
Nevertheless, Republican members
of Congress argued that contnuing to
extend the benefts hurts the defcit.
President Obama had also appealed
for the extension of the unemployment
benefts as well as a hike in minimum
wage, but - so far - to no avail.
Giving hope for 2014, the conversaton
about poverty in America appears
to be increasing despite litle talk
of new policies to deal with it. Upon
the 50th anniversary celebraton of
the March on Washington, Martn
Luther King III in the presence of
President Obama pointed out that
the economic gap between Blacks and
Whites had remained consistent for
the past fve decades. That included
the unemployment rate which, in
1963, was 5 percent for Whites and
10.9 percent for Blacks. In August it
was 6.6 percent for whites and 12.6
percent for blacks, about the same 6
percentage points apart.
Civil rights leaders have been
consistent in their outcries on behalf
of the poor.
Many of those excluded are found
waitng in America. They wait while
some in Congress would cut $8 billion
from food stamps, or cut of benefts
for more than a million long-term
unemployed citzens, wrote Natonal
Urban League President/CEO Marc
Morial in a recent column. They wait
while the Presidents proposal and
the economic wisdom of a raise in the
minimum wage contnue to languish
on Capitol Hill. They wait while working
jobs for wages too low to support
the basic needs of their families.
They wait while some in Congress
contnue to resist transportaton and
infrastructure funding and the good
paying jobs that would result.
Concluding his column, Morial quoted
the late Nelson Mandela who was
laid to rest on Sunday: Overcoming
poverty is not a task of charity, it is
an act of justce. Like Slavery and
Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It
is manmade and it can be overcome
and eradicated by the actons of
human beings. Sometmes it falls
on a generaton to be great. You can
be that great generaton. Let your
greatness blossom.

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13 www.minorityreporter.net | DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
Target: 40M card accounts may be breached
Target says about 40 million credit and
debit card accounts may be afected
by a data breach that occurred just as
the holiday shopping season shifed
into high gear.
The chain said customers who made
purchases by swiping their cards at
terminals in its U.S. stores between
Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 may have had their
accounts exposed. The stolen data
includes customer names, credit and
debit card numbers, card expiraton
dates and the three-digit security
codes located on the backs of cards.
The data breach did not afect online
purchases, the company said.
The stolen informaton included Target
store brand cards and major card
brands such as Visa and MasterCard.
Targets frst priority is preserving
the trust of our guests and we have
moved swifly to address this issue,
so guests can shop with confdence.
We regret any inconvenience this may
cause, Chairman, President and CEO
Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement
Thursday.
The Minneapolis company said it
immediately told authorites and
fnancial insttutons once it became
aware of the breach and that it is
teaming with a third-party forensics
frm to investgate and prevent future
breaches. The company said it is
putng all appropriate resources
toward the issue.
Target Corp. advised customers to
check their statements carefully. Those
who see suspicious charges on the
cards should report it to their credit
card companies and call Target at 866-
852-8680. Cases of identty thef can
also be reported to law enforcement
or the Federal Trade Commission.
Target hasnt disclosed exactly how
the data breach occurred, but said it
has fxed the problem and credit card
holders can contnue shopping at its
stores.
The company has 1,797 U.S. stores
and 124 in Canada.
Every if Target shoppers havent
notced suspicious actvity on
their credit card accounts, a Target
spokeswoman said, we encourage
everyone to be vigilant.
In Wednesday mornings trading,
Targets stock dipped $1.15, or 1.8
percent, to $62.40.
Targets breach comes at the height
of the holiday shopping season and
threatens to scare away shoppers
worried about the safety of their
personal data. The November and
December period accounts for 20
percent, on average, of total retail
industry sales.
The incident is partcularly
troublesome for Target because it has
used its branded credit and debit cards
as a marketng tool to lure shoppers
with a 5 percent discount.
The company said during its earnings
call in November that as of October
some 20 percent of store customers
have the Target branded cards. This
holiday season, Target added other
incentves to use its cards. Two days
before Thanksgiving, Target.com ran
a special review sale with 25 exclusive
ofers, from electronics to housewares
for those who used the branded card.
As a result of these incentves,
households that actvate a Target-
branded card have increased their
spending at the store by about 50
percent on average, the company said.
This is how Target is getng more
customers in the stores, said Brian
Sozzi, CEO and Chief Equites Strategist.
Its telling people to use the card. Its
been a big win. If they lose that trust,
that person goes to Wal-Mart.
Target is just the latest retailer to be
hit with a data breach. TJX Cos., which
runs stores such as T.J. Maxx and
Marshalls, had a breach that began
in July 2005 that exposed at least
45.7 million credit and debit cards
to possible fraud. The breach wasnt
detected untl December 2006. In
June 2009 TJX agreed to pay $9.75
million in a setlement with multple
states related to the massive data
thef but stressed at the tme that it
frmly believed it did not violate any
consumer protecton or data security
laws.
At TJX, for at least 17 months, one or
more intruders had free rein inside
TJXs computers. Without anyone
notcing, one or more intruders
installed code on the discount
retailers systems to methodically
unearth, collect and transmit account
data from the millions of credit card
and debit cards.
An even larger hack hit Sony in 2011. It
had to rebuild trust among PlayStaton
Network gamers afer hackers
compromised personal informaton
including credit card data on more
than 100 million user accounts.
Greg Melich, an analyst at ISI
Internatonal Strategy & Investment
Group, wrote in a note published
Thursday that Targets most important
goal should be to maintain customer
trust and therefore longer-term
loyalty.
NATIONAL
Kwanzaa Family Day
at the Memorial Art Gallery
Enjoy art activities, tours, storytelling, music & dance performances.

SPECIAL GUEST:
Dr. Maulana Karenga will present
Celebrating and Living Kwanzaa: Sowing and Harvesting Seeds of Good.
Dr. Maulana Karenga is professor and chair of Africana Studies at California State UniversityLong Beach.
Sunday, December 29, 2013 12 - 5
Suggested donation $5 per family.
500 University Avenue Rochester, NY 14607
585-276-8900 mag.rochester.edu
Presented in cooperation with Rochester Kwanzaa Coalition
Additional support provided by:
Robert and Madeleine S. Heilbrunn Memorial Fund
photos above by: Brandon Vick and Peck Babcock
14 www.minorityreporter.net |DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
OPINION/EDITORIAL
The views expressed on our opinion pages are those
of the author and do not necessarily represent the
position or viewpoint of Minority Reporter.
At the tme of
this writng,
I am setling
back into life
in America,
which is truly
an extremely
blessed and
p r o s p e r o u s
naton! I was
blessed to
take my frst
missions trip
to Malawi, Africa, recently, with Hesed
Internatonal Missions (H.I.M; www.
hesedmissions.org).
The leaders of this group are Steve
Butcher and his wife Dianna. The
mission trip was to aid in the
orphanage that H.I.M has started in
Mzuzu, Malawi, in partnership with
Bishop Samuel Mkisi and his wife
Florence.
This trip was life-changing for so many
reasons, but the main reason was the
fact that I did not realize my heart could
be stolen by children from a distant
land who were not my fesh and blood.
And, the reason they stole my heart
was because their single demand was
for someone to care about them and
show them love!
This cost me a lot in terms of the airfare,
the meals, the shots that I had to get,
the tme away from my family, etc.
However, all of that cost was nothing
compared to the smiles we were able
to see because these children from
another country understood the
universal language of a genuine hug!
That is what stole my heart. I am so
very grateful to God for encouraging
me to go, and for the Butchers, for
walking in the vision God has given to
them. It is my desire to go back again,
as the Lord leads, and bring a crew of
people with me. Being able to impart
some love that can forever change a
life is a priceless experience, and one
of which I encourage all people to take
advantage.
There are things that one will have to
get over in order to have his or her
heart completely stolen by others,
but it can be done if one keeps the
objectve in focus. This type of trip is
not about the convenience of those
who are going, but to share the love of
Jesus with those who are in need.
The fact remains that we may only be
in that environment for several days,
and then return to the comforts of our
homes, hot showers, cable television,
Internet, etc. However, these young
people will probably contnue to live in
an environment that has none of these
things. This is not to say that our way
of life is bad, and that we should feel
ashamed to have what we have been
blessed to have. It is only to point
out the fact that ours is a temporary
situaton.
Therefore, when we visit countries like
Malawi, there should be a willingness
to part from these comforts in order to
put ourselves in the path of allowing
our hearts to be stolen.
Another take-away from this trip is
that we have nothing to complain
about. Sure there are things that get
on our nerves, and we want to speak
to it, or complain about it. However,
when you see how people in third-
world countries live, it makes you
understand that we are extremely
blessed in America, and we should
always be able to fnd something good
going on in our lives.
This will make us more grateful for
what we have, and help us realize
that, even though we may not have all
we want, it is much more than some
others. Its defnitely not a tme to stck
our noses in the air in arrogance, but
to fall on our knees and thank God for
all that He has provided!
----------------
If you would like to contact me, please
email me at mvaughn.seniorpastor@
newwineskin.org
C. MICHAEL VAUGHN
SOMETHING TO tHInK ABOUT
A Heart Stolen
(Tri ceEdneyWi re.
com) - An artcle
published on
nky.com, ttled,
Running for
Senate not job for
paupers, cited:
The average
household in the
United States has
a net worth of
$69,000, but the
average wealth of
a U.S. senator is about $12 million,
according to statstcs from the
U.S. Census Bureau and Center for
Responsive Politcs.
To me, it illustrated the fact that we are
far removed from the original intent
of serving in Congress; no longer are
regular people going of to serve
for a few years and returning home
to their jobs as farmers, shopkeepers,
and factory workers, and the like.
Washington, D.C. has become a
veritable money pit, and candidates
are doing and saying some of the
dirtest hypocritcal things in order to
set up residence there. At the likely
prospect of becoming millionaires, its
no wonder those running for ofce
are quite willing to forget about the
people and get to work immediately
to maintain their lucratve jobs in
Congress. They spend more tme
running and campaigning than they
do governing, and they end up staying
in their positons for ridiculously long
periods of tme, which is why we have
such dysfuncton in Congress.
But, there is also a high level of
dysfuncton among the people
because we are the ones who elect
and keep them in ofce, despite
their horrendous record of working
on our behalf. They become mult-
millionaires and we keep losing ground
economically. You would think, in light
of the current debate over raising the
minimum wage and the sad fnancial
situatons afectng a huge number of
American families, the people would
decide to do something about the
disparity and the uter disregard some
of these nouveau poverty pimps have
for us.
Now lets be real here. It takes two to
tango, right? If some of our elected
ofcials are pimps, what does that
make us? You know the word, no need
to say it here. Queston is, Why do
we allow ourselves to be treated this
way? We are obviously mesmerized
by what we perceive as royalty and
celebrity in this country, but to allow
our penchant for person-worship to
bleed over into the politcal arena is
very dangerousand we are seeing
the results of having done that for
so long. We respond to some of our
politcians in ways that mimic idol
worship, and pay them quite well in
the process.
Since award shows are in vogue now,
we should have a Politcal Players Ball
and give an award for the best playa.
They could dress in their best playa
outitspinstripe suits with red or
blue tes, that is, and strut their stuf
down the runway while they ratle of
their promises and claims, and tell us
how bad they feel for the poor and
for disabled veterans. Of course, the
one who has the most money would
have a leg up on the competton and
would probably get the most votes for
Politcal Playa of the Year.
Amos Wilson wrote, The irratonal
economy ofAmerica, based as it is
on irratonal consumpton, requires
a high level of impulsivity and
economic stupidity in its populaton,
all the more in its lower classes
and subordinated African American
populaton. Of course, Wilson was
referring to economic empowerment
and the lack thereof within our ranks,
but the same principle applies to
politcal empowerment, not only for
Black voters but for the entre U.S.
electorate. This natons elite relies and
thrives on the necessary stupidity
of consumers and the electorate to
keep them in their positons of power.
Politcal pimps, with an average wealth
of $12 million versus $69,000 for those
over whom they rule, are defnitely
slapping us around and making us pay
them for doing so. Whats that famous
line Huggy Bear and other pimps used
to say? beter have my money.
I encourage the bi-polar electorate and
the blind consumers to be more aware
and actve around these issues. If we
act like sheep, we will be treated like
sheep, right? We must stop getng so
fred up about politcians who are only
interested in having a sweet job as a
result of our votng for them. We must
stop being so emotonal about politcs
and start being more practcal.
We major in the minors and get
fghtng mad because someone calls
our President a name, and we spend
an inordinate amount of tme allowing
the talking heads to str the fames,
which keeps our atenton diverted
from important issues. President
Obama is a mult-millionaire too;
believe me, he is not the least bit
concerned about folks calling him
names. He and his family are going to
be just fne. What about you and your
family?
Stop working for the politcal pimps;
they are supposed to be working for
us.
Political Poverty Pimps
JAMES CLINGMAN
15 www.minorityreporter.net | DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
(TriceEdneyWire.
com) Natonwide,
African-American
girls contnue to be
disproportionately
over-represented
among girls in
confnement and
c o u r t - o r d e r e d
r e s i d e n t i a l
p l a c e m e n t s .
They are also
signifcantly over-
r e p r e s e n t e d
among girls who experience
exclusionary discipline, such as out-of-
school suspensions, expulsions, and
other punishment. Studies have shown
that Black female disengagement from
school partally results from racial
injustces as well as their status as
girls, forming disciplinary paterns that
refect horrendously misinformed and
stereotypical perceptons.
While academic underperformance
and zero tolerance policies are
certainly critcal components of
pathways to confnement, a closer
examinaton reveals that Black
girls may also be criminalized for
qualites long associated with their
survival. For example, being loud or
defant are infractons potentally
leading to subjectve reprimanding or
exclusionary discipline. But historically,
these characteristcs can exemplify
their responses to the efects of
racism, sexism, and classism.
More than 42,000 youth were educated
in juvenile court schools located in
California correctonal and detenton
facilites in 2012, according to the
California Department of Educaton,
and a disproportonate number of
them were Black girls. In the states 10
largest districts by enrollment, Black
females experience school suspension
at rates that far surpass their female
counterparts of other racial and ethnic
groups. Litle has been shared about
these girls educatonal histories and
experiences inside the states juvenile
correctonal facilites or out in the
community.
As a response, I conducted an
exploratory, phenomenological, acton
research study that examined the self-
identfed, educatonal experiences
of Northern Californias Black girls in
confnement using in-depth interviews
and descriptve data analysis, among
other research actvites. The study
revealed the following about the
educatonal experiences of confned
Black girls in Northern California:
They value their educaton. Ninety-
four percent of the girls in this study
reported their educaton to be either
very important or important to
them, and nearly as many said their
educaton was equally as important
to their parents or guardians, where
applicable.
They have a history of exclusionary
discipline in their district schools.
Eighty-eight percent had a history
of suspension, and 65 percent had a
history of expulsion from non-juvenile
court schools; half cited elementary
school as their earliest experience
with suspension or expulsion.
They experience exclusionary
discipline while in detenton, too.
Almost all had been removed from a
juvenile court school classroom, and
one-third of these girls believed it was
because they simply asked the teacher
a queston. Two-thirds reported it
was the result of talking back - but
in each case, the student felt she
was responding to an unprompted,
negatve comment made by the
teacher. One partcipant recalled,
She called me retarded in front of the
class...I have a learning disability.
They have missed a lot of school.
The majority reported having
recently missed at least 2 weeks
of instructon. Among these girls
who missed signifcant portons of
school, 36 percent had removed their
court-ordered electronic monitoring
device and/or were on the run and
avoiding a warrant for their arrest.
Fourteen percent cited prosttuton as
a major deterrence from atending or
partcipatng in school. For 18 percent,
mothering a child under the age of
3 years old made atending school
difcult. Over half reported they had
been expelled from or had dropped
out of school.
They have drug use and/or
dependency issues. Almost all of the
girls in this study admited to a history
of smoking marijuana, and 65 percent
reported doing so at or just before
going to school. Among these girls, 64
percent reported their teachers knew
they were high in class - all said there
was no acton taken by the school.
Many of them lack confdence in
their teachers. Nearly 60 percent
reported a lack of confdence in the
teaching ability and/or commitment of
at least one instructor in their school,
and almost half perceived a teacher
routnely refusing to answer specifc
questons about the material they
were learning.
They are not engaged. The majority
found the coursework to be too easy
and perceived it as below their grade
level.
Their school credits do not transfer
seamlessly between juvenile court
schools and district schools. Most
reported a prior experience in the
juvenile court school where this
study took place. Among these girls,
57 percent believed that the credits
they earned while in detenton had
not transferred appropriately to their
district school; the majority were
unsure of their credit status.
They have goals, but they dont
know how to reach them. Eighty-eight
percent had ideas of their occupatonal
goals, with one-third indicatng they
would like to be a staf counselor at
the juvenile hall. However, 73 percent
felt their educaton was not preparing
them for their future.
This studys fndings show where
future research and advocacy eforts
might beter interrogate the efects of
inferior and hyper-punitve nature of
these schools.
Notwithstanding their status as
juvenile delinquents with signifcant
histories of victmizaton, these
girls tended to fnd a potentally
redemptve quality in educaton.
Though most of the girls in this
study did not consider their juvenile
court school to be a model learning
environment, they generally agreed
these schools occupy an important
space along a learning contnuum that
has underserved them. For many of
these girls, the fguratve laceratons
from bureaucratc and ethical failures
may leave lastng marks.
While our ultmate goal is to prevent
more girls from being educated in
correctonal facilites, these schools
should be included in the conversaton
about equity, not only because are
they structurally inferior and failing to
interrupt student pathways to dropout
or push-out, but because there is a
moral and legal obligaton to improve
the quality of educaton for all youth
- even those who are in trouble with
the law. We must contnue to explore
ways for access to quality educaton in
these facilites more equitable, while
improving the rigor of the curricula,
such that it is trauma-informed
and culturally competent. We must
also examine ways to facilitate a
seamless reentry of these girls back
into their district schools and home
communites.
Thurgood Marshall wrote in Procunier
v. Martnez (1974), When the prison
gates slam behind an inmate, he does
not lose his human quality; his mind
does not become closed to ideas; his
intellect does not cease to feed on a
free and open interchange of opinions;
his yearning for self-respect does not
end; nor is his quest for self-realizaton
concluded.
It is a long-standing American value
that educaton is a potental tool to
restructure social hierarchies and
elevate the conditons of historically
oppressed peoples. However, current
trends in the administraton and
functon of the juvenile court school
may exacerbate many pre-existng
conficts between Black girls and
teachers and/or the structure of
learning environments. The limitatons
and challenges of these conditons may
nullify the opportunites for improved
associatons between Black girls,
school, and academic performance -
antthetcal to the stated educatonal
goal of the juvenile court school.
If we can improve the accountability
and performance of these schools
alongside their district counterparts,
we will inevitably move toward a more
comprehensive approach to reducing
the impact of policies and practces
that criminalize and push girls out of
school. We will, in essence, begin the
process of maintaining her human
quality - an essental component of
her successful rehabilitaton and re-
engagement as a productve member
of our communites.
A more detailed version of this artcle
was published in the latest issue
of Poverty & Race www.prrac.org.
Monique W. Morris, Ed.D. (info@
moniquewmorris.com) is the co-
founder of the Natonal Black Womens
Justce Insttute (blackwomensjustce.
org) and author of Black Stats: African
Americans by the Numbers in the
Twenty-First Century. (The New
Press, January 2014). Americas Wire
is an independent, nonproft news
service run by the Maynard Insttute
for Journalism Educaton. Our stories
can be republished free of charge
by newspapers, websites and other
media sources. For more informaton,
visit www.americaswire.org or
contact Michael K. Frisby at mike@
frisbyassociates.com.
Black Girls Disproportionately Confined;
Struggle for Dignity in Juvenile Court Schools
MOnIquE W.
MOrrIs
OPINION/EDITORIAL
The views expressed on our opinion pages are those
of the author and do not necessarily represent the
position or viewpoint of Minority Reporter.
www.MINORITYREPORTER.net
16 www.minorityreporter.net |DECEMBER 23 - 29 | 2013
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