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Vol. 38 No. 12 Website: theaustinvillager.com Email: vil3202@aol.com Phone: 512-476-0082 Fax: 512-476-0179 August 6, 2010

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Austin, TexasPermit No. 01949

This paper canbe recycled

Many Austin residentssat in Austin City CouncilChambers for hours Thursday(July 29) waiting for the coun-cil to come from an executivesession. The council was setto act on a settlement agree-ment for the Nathaniel Sand-ers, Jr. shooting case in theamount of $750,000.

The Sanders family hadsued former senior officerLeonardo Quintana for $10million. The City of Austinhad been named a party tothe suit, but was dropped. Ac-cording to the legal depart-ment, the city would be liablefor the suit, because Quintanawas an employee of the cityat the time he shot and killedSanders.

After waiting for hours,the council finally came frombehind closed doors andopened up the meeting to pub-lic comments on the case.Comments on the issue tookseveral hours, but with 24minutes left to go on the com-ments section, the council tooka break for more than an hour

for a musical interlude andProclamations.

While the council wason a break, many of the com-munity members left as theyhad seen the writing on thewall - that the council waspoised to turn down the settle-ment.

When the council recon-vened, the final commentswere made before the councilasked for a motion on the is-sue. Council member SherylCole moved that the settlementbe approved. It was immedi-

ately obvious that there werenot 4 votes in favor of theagreement as each member ofthe council stated their posi-tion on the issue.

Councilman Chris Rileymade a substitute motion forthe city paying $500,000. Thatmotion was seconded byRandi Shade. Mayor LeeLeffingwell stated that he wasnot in favor of any amount ofsettlement and wanted to cityto take the case to court. MayorPro Tem Mike Martinez agreedwith the Mayor in apposing the

settlement.The substitute motion

failed by a vote of 5-2 andthe main motion failed by 4-3. Cole, Laura Morrison andBill Spelman voted in favorof the settlement.

Turning down an agreedto settlement is unprecedentedin these kinds of cases. AndJudge Sam Sparks issued a rul-ing showing his anger over theactions of the council. And heordered that all council mem-bers to be part of any future law-suit settlement talks with theSander’s family. He went on tosay “Judges cannot rely onthe City of Austin to supportthe recommendations of itslawyers.” The judge alsostated that he had doubts asto whether a jury could befound in Austin that had notbeen tainted by the public-ity that has occurred overthe recent issues.

Quintana is no longera member of the Austin Po-lice Department. He wasfired by Chief Art Acevedoafter a drunk driving arrest.

Maoyr Lee Leffingwell opposed settlement while Councilmember Sheryl Cole favored the deal.

City Council turns down $750,000settlement for Sanders Family

A toughweek for the

cityMore than a week of

discussions took placelast week when it waslearned that the city hadentered into a settlementagreement with theNathaniel Sanders, Jr.family for the sum of$750,000. Finally, therewould be some kind of clo-sure to the case that lin-gered in the communityfor more than a year.

In May 2009, Sand-ers was shot and killed bythen Senior Patrol OfficerLeonardo Quintana of theAustin Police Department.Quintana claimed that heshot Sanders, after theystruggled over a gun. Theincident occurred in theearly morning hours at anapartment complex inEast Austin.

The Sanders familysued the City of Austin andQuintana for a reported$10 million dollars. Thecity was later dropped fromthe suit. The Austin CityCouncil gave the city le-gal department the ap-proval to try to work out anout of court settlementwith the family. After bothsides agreed to theamount, it had to be ap-proved by the council. Theitem was placed on thecouncil for the July 29meeting.

Austin citizenswaited for hours for thecouncil to complete an ex-ecutive meeting beforethey would take action onthe item. But the outcomewas not what they hadhoped for.

The council’s rejec-tion of the offer left somestunned and many wereoutraged. The results hascaused a split in the com-munity over the action.

Even Judge SamSparks, who agreed to letthe sides enter into theplea bargain, was angryover the decision. Somuch so that he has is-sued an order that con-demn the council for notgoing along with the rec-ommendations of their le-gal staff.

But the bigger prob-lem for the city is that it iscausing a lot of mistrustbetween the AfricanAmerican and White com-munity. There has been alot of name calling on bothsides and it is expected toget greater during the com-ing days.

The Austin CityCouncil should have a re-consideration of the voteand clear up this issue. Itonly takes one of the coun-cil members who votedagainst the issue to put itback on the agenda.

The Austin Indepen-dent School District Board ofTrustees tonight confirmedSuperintendent Meria Car-starphen’s appointment ofSheila Henry as principal ofLyndon Baines Johnson HighSchool.

Ms. Henry will officiallyassume the principalship ofLBJ High School on August 4.A reception welcoming Ms.Henry to Austin will be heldat 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday,August 18, at the LBJ HighSchool Cafeteria.

Ms. Henry has held ad-ministrative and teaching po-sitions with the Palm BeachCounty School District inWest Palm Beach, Florida,since 1983, including 13 yearsas a campus administrator. In2007, she was named one ofsix Turn-Around Principals forPalm Beach County.

She earned a bachelor’sdegree from Florida MemorialUniversity, and a master’sdegree in Special Educationfrom Nova Southeastern Uni-versity. In 2006, she was se-lected to attend the NationalInstitute for Urban SchoolLeaders of the Harvard Uni-versity Graduate School ofEducation.

LBJ High School, lo-cated at 7309 Lazy CreekDrive, is home to approxi-mately 950 students. It wasestablished in 1974.

Sheila HenryConfirmed asNew LBJ High

SchoolPrincipal

AUSTIN— State Rep-resentative Dawnna Dukes (D-Travis County) is proud toannounce the awarding of athree year, $5.2 million dol-lar grant to Reagan HighSchool.

According to TexasEducation Agency (TEA)Commissioner of EducationRobert Scott’s office, theTexas Title I Priority SchoolsGrant (TTIPS) is awarded toTitle I schools identified forimprovement, corrective ac-tion, or restructuring andother eligible campuses thatdemonstrate the greatestneed for the funds and thestrongest commitment to usethe funds to provide ad-equate resources in order tosubstantially raise theachievement of their stu-dents. Reagan High Schoolqualifies as a Title I schoolaccording to TEA.

Reagan High Schoolwill use these funds to imple-ment the Texas Transforma-tion Project on their campusfor the next three years. Theproject includes increasedassessment and support forninth grade students, devel-opment of a rigorous mathplan, and the launch of twonew Early College Start ini-tiatives.

“As a State Representa-tive who graduated from

Reagan High School, I am en-couraged that these fundswill be instrumental in pro-viding much needed re-sources to the deserving stu-dents and community ofReagan,” said Dukes.“Reagan High School facedclosure just two years ago.This award will strengthenthe efforts of Reagan andAISD to prepare these stu-dents to be exemplary com-munity leaders and positivecontributors to the local andglobal economy.” Dukescommends AISD, the ReaganHigh School community andTEA for their collaborative ef-forts toward improvingReagan High School.

The grant allows thecampus to hire a Director ofFamily and Student Servicesto support their Family Re-source Center. It also providesadditional professional de-velopment opportunities forstaff to include Quality Teach-ers of English Language(QTEL) and Texas Turn-around Leadership Academyprograms. The award contin-ues support for and possibleexpansion of Austin ISD’sn a t i o n a l l y - r e c o g n i z e dREACH strategic compensa-tion initiative to recruit andretain highly qualified in-structors at Reagan HighSchool.

Margarita A. Decierdo,Austin ISD’s Director of Di-versity and Intercultural Re-lations, represented by Attor-ney Robert Notzon, prevailedas a result of a Texas Educa-tion Agency (TEA) publichearing held on June 24, 2010.On April 26, 2010, the Boardof Trustees had recom-mended the early terminationof Ms. Decierdo’s three-yearcontract and closure of the de-partment, along with dozensof other positions as part of areduction in force due to aProgram Change pursuant to

Reagan High Schoolawarded $5.2 million Texas

Title I Priority Schools Grant

Board Policy DFF. Ms.Decierdo appealed to the TEACommissioner seeking an in-dependent ruling on the

AISD Board’s proposed earlytermination of her three-yearcontract.

On July 13th, a CertifiedHearing Examiner found thatthe AISD Board have over-stepped its statutory author-ity in an arbitrary and capri-cious manner by creating theirBoard Policies DFF and DFBA(LOCAL) and therefore, theAISD Board did not havestatutory authority to termi-nate Ms. Decierdo’s contract.

The AISD Boardmet onMonday, August 2, and ap-proved a settlement of$149,500 on the case, basedon the decision of the TEA’sCertified Hearing Examiner’srecommendations.

The effect of the TEA’sCertified Hearing Examiner’s(“CHE”) recommendation toAustin ISD Board of Trusteeswould mean that term con-tract teachers, school and Dis-trict administrators will nolonger lose their jobs becauseof a Reduction In Force due toanything other than “good

cause” or due to a declarationof “financial exigency,”which is exactly the author-ity granted to school districtsby the Texas Legislature ashighlighted in the CHE’s rec-ommendations.

If Austin ISD acceptsthe Hearing Examiner’s rec-ommendation , then the Dis-trict will have to change bothits DFF and DFBA (LOCAL)policies, which state in part:“A reduction in force maytake place when the Board de-termines that financial exi-gency or a program changerequires the discharge ornonrenewal of one or moreemployees in accordancewith this policy. Such a de-termination constitutes suffi-cient cause for discharge orrenewal.” Almost all schooldistricts across the state haveadopted the same or similarlanguage in their policies, i.e.,Dallas, Houston, San Anto-nio, Georgetown, RoundRock, Pflugerville, Manor andLaredo to name a few.

AUSTIN ISD DIVERSITY OFFICER WINS ON APPEAL

The City of Austin is apartner with the Multi-EthnicChamber Alliance (MECA) atits 4rd Annual Multicultural Ca-reer and Opportunities Expo onAugust 6, 9:30 am - 4:00 pmat the Crowne Plaza Hotel,6121 North IH 35.

The Career Expo is in-tended to foster opportunitiesfor minority job seekers andfacilitate career-training ses-sions for Austin area resi-dents. The Expo will consistof training sessions with afocus on resume develop-ment, job-hunting techniques,interview skills, and interna-tional trade.

“In a globalised age, at-tracting talent is a sought-af-ter commodity for industries.We appreciate partner oppor-tunities, such as the MECA[Multi Ethnic Chamber Alli-ance] job fair, to help attractdiverse talent while helpingAustin’s businesses grow,”said Kevin Johns, Director ofthe City of Austin Economic

City partners with Multi-EthnicChamber Alliance for Career Expo

Growth and RedevelopmentServices Office.

The Multi-Ethnic Cham-ber Alliance is a partnershipbetween the Austin AsianAmerican Chamber of Com-merce (AAACC), the CapitalCity African American Cham-ber of Commerce (CCAACC),and the Greater Austin His-panic Chamber of Commerce(GAHCC) and has become acommunity resource on eco-nomic development and edu-cation and networking. MECAis working with the City ofAustin Small Business Devel-opment Program to offer train-ing and one-on-one technicalassistance to business owners.MECA also assists businesseswith MBE/WBE certification.

Last year over 500 at-tendees and 60 companies par-ticipated in the expo..

For more information onthe 4th Annual MulticulturalCareer Expo please contactNayeli Gallegos with MECAat (512) 462-7502.

It isn’t often that youcome across a single event thatcelebrates art in all its forms.The Whole Shebang, the pre-miere of four local female art-ists, brings it all to life: fine art,installation, photography,dance and music. Growingup together, these four womenwent separate ways to studyart in different genres aroundthe globe, returning to Austinto share perspectives throughtheir respective media.

The Whole Shebang fea-tures photography by MiriamConner, drawings and instal-lation by Kara Kazanoff, mod-ern dance choreography byWynne Burchenal, anddance, video and fine art byTaylor Filtsch. Local musi-cians accompany both art-work and dance, pairing avariety of artistic media withequally diverse musical tal-ents. In total, The Whole She-bang accesses a wide range ofthe arts, producing a distinct,avant-garde artistic perfor-mance.

The Whole Shebangwill be Friday, August 13from 8 pm to midnight at1102 Cesar Chavez Street. ASilent Auction will show-case items from many of thesponsors listed below. Pro-ceeds from the door and Si-lent Auction benefit the art-ists and HOPE Farmer’sMarket. Helping OtherPeople Everywhere is a non-profit organization support-ing local artists and raisingawareness of humanitarianand social issues around theglobe.

It’s time for“The Whole

Shebang”

Page 2/THE VILLAGER/August 6, 2010

EDITORIALS/COMMENTARY

By Ron WaltersNNPA Columnist

Blacks Split With Obama Over Education Reform

(NNPA) - At the recentNational Urban League con-vention, President Obama’sspeech took aim at criticismsthat had been launched by theBlack Civil Rights communityover the educational reformsproposed by Secretary of Edu-cation Arne Duncan.The 17-page document,“Framework for Providing AllStudents an Opportunity toLearn through Reauthoriza-tion of the Elementary andSecondary Education Act,’was put together by the Law-yers Committee for CivilRights, the NAACP, the Na-

tional Urban League, Rain-bow Push Coalition, Na-tional Council for EducatingBlack Children and the SchottFoundation for Public Educa-tion. My understanding isthat the National Action Net-work was part of the groupbut ultimately not a signatoryto the document. These orga-nizations discovered last yearthat Duncan was putting to-gether a draft proposalknown as “Race To The Top”with little input from the Af-rican-American communityand this document stands asan important critique of thatproposal from our point ofview. I knew that somethingwas terribly wrong about theDuncan proposals whenDiane Ravitch, an architect of“No Child Left Behind” inthe Bush administrationwrote a piece in The Nationexplaining why she no longersupports NCLB. In that piece,she says, “I expected thatObama would throw outNCLB and start over. But, onthe contrary, his administra-

tion has embraced some of theworst features of the GeorgeW. Bush era.”

Specifically, she wastalking about how her viewof both “choice” and “ac-countability” had changedand her conclusion that nei-ther would improve Americaneducation. A radical point ofview! So, President Obama atthe NUL pointed to the un-precedented amount of fundsfor education in the RecoveryAct that saved the jobs ofmany teachers and the recentroll-out of the grant programthat provided funds for “RaceTo The Top” to the first 18states. He defended the criti-cism that it was not support-ive of minority students bysaying that the state propos-als had to have a robust mi-nority program.

But he spent a great dealof time suggesting that whilehe supported teachers, thatthey were, in effect, thelynchpin of accountability forhis new reforms. Again, thisview, very little different from

the Bush administration, alsogoes after teachers unions asa barrier to the concept of ac-countability.

Moreover, since theDuncan plan has been criti-cized by the civil rightsgroups as too Charter Schooltop heavy, the President de-fended it by saying that thebad ones would be closeddown. But this didn’t chal-lenge the concept, since a re-cent authoritative study byMargaret Raymond atStanford University, for thepro-Charter Walton FamilyFoundation, found that only17 percent of charters out-per-formed matched publicschools, the other 83 percentwere either no better or noworse.

These findings are simi-lar to Washington, DC whichhas the largest number ofCharters in the country.The support for Charters andpublic funding of privateschools is the modern versionof the segregated academiesof the period before Brown v.

Board of Education. Today,Whites flee public schoolsdemanding “Choice” as theybecome significantly popu-lated by black and Hispanicstudents and so the neoliberalparadigm that devalues pub-lic education – where mostblack children are – has be-come official. Many Black par-ents support Choice becauseit has been sold to them asproviding the best education.The Obama administrationhas put the largest amount ofmoney on the table for educa-tion in the history of the coun-try. But he needs to change theparadigm of accountability aspunishment if a schooldoesn’t turn around, to em-phasize what BarbaraArnwine, President of theLawyers Committee, saysshould be providing the nec-essary resources to enrich theacademic culture to enablethese schools to succeed.In this scheme of things, ac-countability should bechanged to supplement thedeficiencies in the resources

foundation of a school, not toassume that all the neededresources are there and theteachers are the main culpritin lack of student achieve-ment.

Teachers are but onefactor. In a 21st century modelof excellent education, themountain of research thatlinks poverty to educationsuggests that a more rigoroussocial unit should be devel-oped for schools. Otherwise,the NCLB model of blamingteachers is what has led theWashington, DC ChancellorMichelle Rhee to fire 241teachers, with 700 more onthe list because they didn’tevaluate well on a question-able measurement standard.The President suggests thatwhile Duncan is “trying toshake things up” those whooppose him either resistchange or are “comfortablewith the status quo.” Does hereally believe that these civilrights organizations don’twant the best for Black chil-dren?

Harry C. AlfordNNPA Columnist

This Education Policy is Uneducated

(NNPA) - Old “Massa”tries to keep us in our place.He will admonish us whenwe speak on behalf of our-selves and for our own ben-efit. Such is the case when theliberal education publicationInside Higher Ed went afterthe National Black Chamberof Commerce for speaking outagainst a ludicrous policy is-sued by the US Department ofEducation.

Their position was whythe NBCC was speakingabout education; as if educa-tion isn’t an important policyto us. The fact is we have beenfocused on education sincewe were incorporated in1993. Education is the great

equalizer. It can break thepoverty cycle. These foolscannot tell us if we can speakon education or anything else.We say to them, “Go to hell!”.Now back to education, theissue at hand.

President BarackObama, recently addressedthe Urban League and spokeabout the need to improveeducational opportunities forAfrican-Americans who, hesaid “trail not just nearly ev-ery other developed nationabroad; they badly trail theirWhite classmates here athome.”

Unemployment is at anintractable rate of 9.5 percentfor the population as a whole,but at 15 percent for minori-ties. The President said in hisspeech that “folks who havenever gone to college have anunemployment rate nearlydouble of those who havegone to college.”

Finally, PresidentObama said that the educa-tional “achievement gap iswidening the income gap be-tween Blacks and Whites; be-

tween rich and poor.”All good political rheto-

ric. All good applause lines.All good thoughts. But at thesame time the President isreading a speech which wemust assume was vetted byhis Department of Education,that same Department ispushing for a rule which willhave the effect of making itmore difficult for “folks” to goto college; will make it moredifficult to get a job; and forthose who do have a job willmake it more difficult to closethat “widening income gap.”The rule the Department ofEducation is pushing iscalled the “gainful employ-ment rule” which is specifi-cally aimed at career-orientedcolleges which, over the pastdecade, have become a majoreducational choice for Blackstudents attempting to taketheir first steps along a newcareer path.

The numbers tell thetale. Over 50 percent of stu-dents attending career-ori-ented colleges are minoritystudents, compared to ap-

proximately 34 percent atpublic and 32 percent at pri-vate, not-for-profit four-yearinstitutions.

Because of the incomegap the President described,minority students needgreater financial aid than dotheir White counterparts. Thisisn’t a give-away. This is themost basic investment in ourmost important natural re-source: Our young students.Career-oriented colleges arenot the “learn diesel mechan-ics in your spare time”schools which used to be ad-vertised on matchbook cov-ers. These are institutions ofhigher learning granting –depending upon the course ofstudy – everything from cer-tificates of completion to PhDdegrees. All of which are ac-credited by the same agencieswhich accredit not-for-profitcolleges and universities.About 23 percent of degreesearned by Black students areearned at fully accredited ca-reer-oriented colleges. Thinkabout having a quarter of ourBlack students unable to at-

tend college because of a rulewhich is supposed to protectthem.

Why are career-orientedcolleges so disproportionatelyimportant to African-Ameri-can students? Because nearlyevery career path requiresspecialized training over andabove a liberal arts education.The President spoke to this atthe Urban League when hesaid, “Eight out of ten jobswill require workforce train-ing or higher education by theend of this decade.”

Many minority studentscannot afford to spend fouryears getting a liberal arts de-gree, and then spend anothertwo-to-four years getting anadvanced degree before start-ing on the first rung of theircareer ladder.

Career-oriented collegestend to fulfill that “eight-in-ten” gap because they provideeducation not only the theorynecessary to expand astudent’s thinking; but alsoprovide the specialized train-ing which allows a graduateto begin working with a

sound foundation in theirarea of study.

A Department of Educa-tion rule which will cut offfunding to hundreds of thou-sands of Black students at atime when an education is theonly way to protect them-selves against another five or10 years of high unemploy-ment is exactly the wrong di-rection.

The President said atnot addressing improved ac-cess to education would be“Morally inexcusable andeconomically indefensible.”The same might be said of the“Gainful Employment” rule.Denying minority studentsaccess to higher education insearch of a badly thought-outand, ultimately, unreachablegoal is morally inexcusableand economically indefen-sible.

The President shouldimmediately order a review ofthis misguided and damag-ing rule which will harm thevery people the Presidenthimself said are most in needof support.

By Gary L. FlowersNNPA Columnist

Enough Already…Pay Black Farmers

By Nicole C. LeeNNPA Columnist

W A S H I N G T O N(NNPA) - “When will we bepaid for the work we’ve done”- The Staples SingersThe history of the Blackfarmer in the United States ofAmerica has been a “toughrow to hoe.” During the pe-riod of slavery Black farmerswere considered property by

law and thus had no legalrights. Following the end ofthe Civil War the question ofwhat to do with confiscatedConfederate lands owned byslaveholders was a criticalissue for President AbrahamLincoln. While SenatorsCharles Sumner andThaddeus Stevens had ar-gued for years to redistributelands to newly-freed AfricanAmericans president Lincolndispatched Secretary of WarEdwin Stanton to discuss theissue with General WilliamTecumseh Sherman who hadjust successfully marched fed-eral troops through the southdefeating Confederates.On January 12, 1866 SecretaryStanton, General Sherman,and twenty African Americanleaders met in Savannah,Georgia and agreed Special

Field Order Number 15 or the“40 acres and a mule” order.The Field Order called for theredistribution of over 400,000acres of land—from Charles-ton, SC through the Sea Is-lands of Georgia to Florida—to Black farmers. However,after the Hayes-Tilden Com-promise of 1877 the govern-ment began to renege on itspromise of land to Black farm-ers.

Black farmers have beenfighting for justice since theCivil War. In owning theirown land Black farmers wereempowered while southernWhites were embittered.Many members of the TeaParty are descendents ofsouthern whites whose Con-federate land was redistrib-uted by the federal govern-ment to African Americans.

By 1920, there were over 1million Black farmers.However, many were forcedinto “sharecropping” ar-rangements where theyworked the land and “settledup” with White landownersat the end of the year. Predict-ably, no matter how muchthey produced Black farmersusually “owed” the land-owner money. The discrimi-natory system of sharecrop-ping lasted well into the1970’s in some parts of thesouth. Today are less than25,000 Black farmers.Failed government promisesand racial discriminationhave decimated their num-bers. In 1995, the NationalBlack Farmers Associationwas founded in Virginia toassist African American farm-ers retain their land. The

Black Farmers Associationworked with academicprojects such as the Land LostPrevention Project at NorthCarolina Central UniversitySchool of Law to legally ad-vocate on behalf of Blackfarmers. In 1996, a class-ac-tion lawsuit was filed againstthe United States Departmentof Agriculture in Pigford v.Glickman or “Pigford 1”.The lawsuit alleged racialdiscrimination in the FarmService Agency’s credit andnon-credit programs between1981 and 1996. Pigford 1 wassettled with the agreementthat Black farmers would re-ceive payment. Not until 2008did the United States Con-gress appropriate 100 millionin the 2008 Farm Bill. As ofJuly 2010 no money had beenpaid.

This week, however, theUnited States Senate finally isconsidering passing withunanimous consent a bill thatwill finally pay 1.25 Billiondollars to Black farmers. Un-der the payout “Track A” willprovide quick relief of up to$50,000 for credit claims or$30,000 for non-credit claims,plus debt relief and paymentof taxes.

The Obama Adminis-tration is on the case. Farm-ers with questions concern-ing application processshould contact the Office ofthe Assistant Secretary forCivil Rights at the UnitedStates Department of Agricul-ture on 202.720.3808 On be-half of all Black farmers whohave waited or have diedwaiting for payment, enoughalready…pay Black farmers!

Haiti: An Opportunity for a New Model

(NNPA) - InternationalNGOs and Governmentsalike have been quick to rec-ognize that a return to pre-Quake Haiti can not be thestandard. With a small andweak government frequentlyundermined by foreign orga-

nizations and governments,Haiti was simply unable tointernally address the magni-tude of the Quake. Unfortu-nately, while there have beenextraordinary efforts and atremendous outpouring ofsupport from the Americanpeople, the crisis responsehas replicated flawed modelsof both emergency responseand long-term reconstruc-tion.

This model of relief andreconstruction has shut outHaitian civil society from tak-ing on leadership roles in therebuilding process. Their in-clusion in on-the-ground op-erations as well as policy con-

versations is imperative, buthas been sadly neglected.Throughout the rebuildingprocess, we have seen Hai-tians self-organize and em-power themselves to buildback better. NGOs and Gov-ernments alike say they arecommitted to including Hai-tian participants, but long-embedded prejudices andsystems continue to operate.If we do not correct the fail-ures of this post-emergencyperiod we will set the stagefor a failed reconstruction pe-riod: national and interna-tional corruption, continuedhuman rights violations,wasted resources and, most

importantly, continued suf-fering and loss for the peopleof Haiti.

Changing the model re-quires reinvention. We under-stand that creating recom-mendations and principles iseasier than their execution,particularly in the midst ofcontinued chaos and emer-gencies.

In coming months, thereare many opportunities to in-crease the participation of or-dinary Haitians. The Novem-ber 28, 2010 set date for presi-dential and parliamentaryelections, presents an occa-sion for unprecedented civicparticipation and voter turn-

out. But this requires immedi-ate action to be a fair and in-clusive electoral process.Haitian-led policy recommen-dations, generated by CivilSociety Organizations andtheir partners, exist to supportsuch a change. Investing insustainable, long-term solu-tions for Haiti means sup-porting decentralization.

It means that a con-certed effort at shifting re-sources and activities outsideof the capital must be at theforefront of all tactical reliefefforts. Haiti has been highlycentralized for centuries, withmost commerce, trade, educa-tion and jobs being located in

Port-au-Prince.An unfortunate result of

which has been that manypeople who initially fled thecapital following the Quakewere forced to return becauseof non-existent access to re-sources. In the medium- andlong-term development ofHaiti we must strengthen re-gional commerce centers, thedevelopment and support ofsecondary and tertiary roadssystems and local and re-gional food production.

With the goal of Haitianparticipation and leadershipwe can work, in collabora-tion, to truly Build Haiti BackBetter.

JOSHUA CHAPEL CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

1006 Yeager Lane, Suite 102-A Austin, Texas

Sunday ServicesSunday School 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.

WEDNESDAY Bible Study 6:30 P.M.SATURDAY New

Member Assimilation 10:00 A.M.

Agape Baptist ChurchIn “The Centre” Bldg. F-15 7801 N. Lamar Blvd. (SE Corner of N Lamar and 183)

AGAPE is a chuch for all people. “Where Jesus Christ is Magnified and the love He exhibited isExemplified.” Come, receive God’s unconditional lovefor you. For there is no greater love!

Church ServicesSunday School 9:30 AMSunday Worship 11:00 AM

Mid-Week ServiceThursday: Praise, Prayer and Bible Study 7:00 PM

Call 454-1547 for TransporationWebsite www.agapebcaustintx.org

St. Peter’s United Methodist Church 4509 Springdale Road Austin, Tx 78723

Office 512- 926-1686 Fax 512-929-7281Christian Web Site-

stpetersaustintx.ning.comstpetersaustintx@att.net

THE PLACE WHERE WE STEP OUT ON FAITH.COME AND STEP OUT ON FAITH WITH US

Sunday School 8:45 a.m. Praise and Worship 10:15 a.m.

Wednesday Bible Study 12:00 p.m.and Praise /Bible Study 6:30 p.m.

(to include Children’s Choir Rehersaland Bible Study with age appropiate Activities)

Rev. Jack C. Gause Pastor

Imani Community ChurchDavis Elementray Auditorium 5214 West Duval Road

Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Worship Service 10:00 A.M.•Power Hour Bible Life Group 6:00 P.M.

Imani Complex & Office,11800 Mustang at Duval Austin, Texas 78727

Visit:imanichurch.comOffice: 512-343-9300

Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Donald-Mims

Ebenezer Baptist Church1010 East 10th Street 512-478-1875 Fax: 512-478-1892

Radio Ministry (KIXI 970 AM 9:00 A.M.TV Ministry (ACTV. Ch 32) 9:00 A.M.Bus Ministry Call 512-478-1875

Sunday ServicesWorship Service 8:00 A.M.Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Discipleship Training 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.

WednesdayMidweek Prayer Service 7:00 P.M. Child Development CenterAges 0-5 years (Daily) 512-478-6709

Rev. Marvin C. GriffinPastor

Rev. H. Ed CalahanPastor

August 6, 2010/The Villager/Page 3

St Annie A.M.E. Church1711 Newton StreetAustin, Texas 78704

Voice mail (512) 444-4509E-mail: saamechurch@peoplepc.com

Church School 9:30 A.M. SunMorning Worship 10:45 A.M. Sun

Bible Study 7:30 P.M. Sun.

Rev. Derwin D. Gipson, Pastor

AFRICAN ASSEMBLIES of GODCHURCH

A growing church ministering to African American andother nationals

Come worship with us

Sunday Worship 11:30 A.M.Wednesday Prayer Meeting 6:45 P.M.

Place of WorshipThe Church of Glad Tidings 2700 Northland Dr. Austin, TX 78756

For more information, contact Pastor Jonah Ghartey512-873-8103 www.allnationschurch@yahoo.com

DOUBLE “R” GROCERYWe cash ALL Tax Refund

ChecksCheck Out

THE AIRPORT FLEE MARKETSaturdays and Sundays

450l East Martin luther King Blvd.

1149 Airport Blvd.

Serving Austin since 1970Let us Fill your next Perscription!

SAVE TIMEAsk your doctor to call

your prescription in to usand we’ll have it ready for you

when you get here!

2115 E. MLK Blvd.512-476-7338

Austin, Texas 78702www.PHRX.Net

Open Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sat 9 a.m. - Noon

HOSPITAL PHARMACY

Rosewood Avenue Missionary Baptist Church1820 Rosewood Avenue, Austin, Texas 78702

(512) 476-8201 Fax (512) 476-5693

Weekly ServicesSunday School 9:30 a.m.

Sunday Worship 11:00 a.m.Wed. Night Bible Fellowship 6:30 p.m.

Rev. Coby Shorter, IIIPastor

The Spencer & Ora Lee Nobles“Hope Center” (512) 476-6722

Websi te :www.rosewoodbaptistchurch.org

“Divine Enpowerment for Bold Ministries”

Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church 5900 Cameron Road Austin, Texas 78723-1843

(512) 451-0808 (512) 302-4575 Fax Web Site - www.themount.net

WORSHIP SERVICESSunday Worship - 7:45 a.m. & 11 a.m.Church School - 9:45 a.m.Bible Studies - Mon, 6:30 p.m. & Wed., 12 noonWednesday Night Worship - 7 p.m.

“Ministries For Mankind” Luke 4:18 A.W.. Anthony Mays, Senior Pastor

Rev. Lois Hayes, Pastor

Advancing the Ministry -Expanding the Church

David Chapel

NEW AND USED CARSPRE APPROVAL HOT LINE

callDONNIE POWELL

at970-1556Discounts for

City, State, Military, FederalGovernment

Bankruptcy welcomeLarge selection ofCars and trucks

To fit every need!!HENNA CHEVROLET

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August 9 - 11th

St. James Baptist Church3417 E. MLK Jr. Blvd.Austin, TX 7872(512) 928-2753

$$$ Debt Free Living Enrichment Services $$$

At 7:00 P.M.

Learn How to Experience Financial Freedom !Dr. Timothy J. Winters, Pastor

Bayview Baptist Church, San Diego, Ca.

Order Faith & Finances at www.cgministries.com

“RISE O MEN OFGOD”, referenced in theHoly Bible, 1 Samuel 3: 1-11,is the theme for the Men’s DayObservance at The EbenezerBaptist Church to be cel-ebrated this Sunday August8th. There will be two worshipservices on that date. TheBrotherhood of Ebenezer hasbeen leading the activities atthe church all week. The lead-ers of this year’ observancesare Brother Joel Rose andBrother Michael Rhone. ThePresident the Brotherhood isBrother Danny Gratten. Thespeaker at the 8:00 a.m. ser-vice will be Brother BrannenG. Temple, Sr. and the speakerat the 11:00 service will beBrother Maurice Augustus‘Gus’ Lyons. These two broth-ers have a wealth of knowl-edge and experience to share.

Come and avail your selvesto the opportunity. We willalso recognize as, MAN OFTHE YEAR, Brother StaymonPinson. You are invited.

Ebenezer BaptistChurch-1010 East 10th Streetph. 457-1875 is shepherd byReverend Dr. Marvin C. Grif-fin.

Ebenezer Men’s Day setfor Sunday

Staymon Pinson

Brannen Temple, Sr.

Maurice “Gus” Lyons

Four hundred AustinInterfaith leaders willgather to launch a Get Outthe Vote strategy to deliver10,000 voters to the polls onNovember 2nd around abroad agenda of issues in-cluding workforce, educa-tion, immigration, andhealthcare. CongressmanLloyd Doggett, TravisCounty Sheriff GregHamilton, and Mayor LeeLeffingwell will attend andbe asked to work with Aus-tin Interfaith on these is-sues. The action will be heldon Sunday, August 8, 2010at 7:00pm, at San José Catho-lic Church (2435 Oak CrestAvenue, Austin, TX 78704).

Austin Interfaith lead-ers and public officials willdiscuss proposals for build-ing and supporting a strongmiddle-class throughworkforce initiatives, creat-ing an educational systemthat prepares all children,and adults for the CentralTexas economy, fostering re-lationships between immi-grants and law enforcement,

and expanding the currentDove Spring health clinic.

“These issues are soimportant to the lives of ourfamilies that Austin Inter-faith is committed to deliv-ering 10,000 votes on No-vember 2nd.” Said Rev. FredKrebs of Prince of PeaceLutheran, “It is not enoughto have good ideas. We arecommitted to build an edu-cated citizenry that under-stands the issues and arewilling to vote for ouragenda.”

This meeting will pro-vide the opportunity forAustin Interfaith and pub-lic officials to commit toworking together on theseissues. “We want all of ourfamilies to have access togood education, good jobs,healthcare and feel safe andwelcomed” said Ofel iaZapata an Austin Inter-faith leader and member ofSan Jose Catholic Church.“When we invest in allCentral Texas families ,then our economy wil lprosper”.

Four hundred Austin Interfaithleaders hold action with officialsand commit to Get Out the Vote The fest will start off with a Financial Seminar series featuring the

impactful teaching of Rev. Dr. Timothy J. Winters, Pastor of the BayviewBaptist Church - San Diego, California. Monday, August 9th thru Wednes-day, August 11th

Then conclude with the powerful and dynamic preaching of Rev.Clinton McFarland, Pastor of the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, Atlanta,Georgia—Wednesday, August 11th thru Friday, August 13th .

Each service begins at 7:00pm nightly!You do not want to miss this week of teaching and preaching

from these awesome Pastors whom God has gifted to bless His people.Nightly music from the St. James Recording Mass Choir, Women

of Excellence Chorus, E. M. Franklin Male Chorus, and Praise & Wor-ship from Judah

St. James is located at 3417 E. MLK Jr. Blvd. Austin, TexasPastor B.W. McClendon, Senior Pastor

The St. James Baptist Churchcordially invites Family Faith Fest

Page 4/THE VILLAGER/August 6, 2010

The African Diaspors SectionBy Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

Life Loctk

By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

AA Awareness

Reaching Back HomeMillions of African im-

migrants come to the UnitedStates in the quest of that“American Dream”. Since theopportunities for a better lifeis limited in their native land,thousands of people migrateto the US and Central Texas.They come to the U.S in searchof a better life by attending col-lege, finding work or startingtheir own businesses. Whilesome immigrants focus onhow to better their family lifein the US, others seek to findways to reach back to theirnative lands, in-order to helpthe less fortunate of the soci-ety.

Moreover, LatiBouraima who came to the UStwo decades ago is seeking togive back to his native land ofTogo by opening up orphan-ages.

His native land of Togois a small country located inWest Africa, in which orphanshave a hard chance of beingadoptive to caring parents.Moreover, the orphans inTogo are more likely to fall

through the “cracks” of soci-ety. For instance, orphan girlsare more likely to fall prey toprostitution in order to makeends meet. While both boysand girls orphans are verylikely to go into “force servi-tude” in which they work forfree. And some orphans inTogo face malnutrition. Con-sequently, Lati sees the needto help reach out to these in-nocent children and hope-fully change their lives.

Moreover, Lati who im-migrated to the United Statestwenty years ago believes thathe needs to give back to hisnative country, whose educa-tional system helped him tosucceed in the United Statesand Central Texas. Lati, whocurrently resides in CentralTexas, has begun to set upplans and ideas to establisha system to help orphans inhis native land of Togo. Cur-rently, Lati is actively contact-ing churches in Central Texasand beyond this area, in or-der to raise the necessaryfunds to reach out to the or-

phans. Also, Lati hopes togain the support of theTogolese government in orderto work effectively with find-ing ways to improve the livesof orphan children in thatcountry.

In summary, Lati is apart of a few of immigrantswho seek to reach out to theirnative lands. After living andworking in the United Statesand Central Texas, Lati be-lieves that he can best giveback to his native homes byhelping orphans who fallprey to the “ills” of society.Consequently, Lati hopes toestablish a program thatwould rescue these orphansfrom things such as prostitu-tion, forced servitude, andmalnutrition. In order to helpthese orphans, Lati hasturned to local churches toraise the funds needed to es-tablish the project. Moreover,the success of Lati to establishthis program provides ser-vices that the current Togolesegovernment does not have thefund for.

AUSTIN CITY COUNCILTO VOTE FOR

NEW POLICE CAMERAS

The Austin City Coun-cil will convene on August 5,2010 at City Hall. During thenext meeting the city will behearing testimonies and alsovoting on items set before thecouncil. Moreover, their votewill either add new regula-tions or take away certainregulations. Consequently,the regular citizens livingand working in Austinshould be involved in theprocess because the council’svote affects everyone in Cen-tral Texas. Some of the itemsthat will affect the commu-nity directly are items thatwill better equip the policedepartment or find ways toimprove the city’s budget sothat they would not have tocut any vital services.

First of all, the Austincity council will vote on sev-eral items that affect the com-munity. For instance, Item 13and Item 14 seek to “Approvea resolution declaring theCity of Austin’s official intentto reimburse itself from Con-tractual Obligations in theamount of $3,500,000 relatedto services and equipmentpurchases relating to the digi-tal vehicular video systemproject. A $3,500,000 in Con-tractual Obligations is to beissued in August 2011 orlater, related to Items#6, 14,20, 21, and 22". Item 14 seeksthe “Approval of an ordi-nance amending the FiscalYear 2009-2010 Police De-partment Capital Budget ofOrdinance No. 20090914-003to appropriate $3,500,000 forthe digital vehicular videosystem project”. Funding inthe amount of $3,500,000 isavailable from a reimburse-ment resolution. Related to

Items #6, 13, 20, 21, and 22.”Moreover, the Austin PoliceDepartment is hoping that thepurchase of cameras for thepolice cars will be betterequipment than the previousset of cameras. They are hop-ing that the city council willgive them funds to purchasecameras that will automati-cally start when the police re-spond to a call, which wouldbetter capture the exchangewith the public that they aresupposed to protect. In otherwords, these cameras willprovide better accountabilityof their actions to a “skepti-cal” African American com-munity.

Furthermore, the Austincity council will have items setup for public hearing that af-fect everyone in the city. More-over, Item 33-35 which are setto public hearing will focus onvarious issues. Item 33, set apublic hearing for will dealwith the “annexation of theSpringwoods Municipal Util-ity District (MUD) for limitedand full purposes in accor-dance with a Strategic Part-nership Agreement (SPA) be-tween the City of Austin andSpringwoods MUD”. “ Item34 is set to a public hearing toreceive public comments onthe City of Austin Fiscal Year2010-2011 Proposed Budget.”Item 35, is set to a public hear-ing to “consider an ordinanceregarding floodplain vari-ances requested by the owner,Mr. Efrain V. Avila for an ex-isting development that con-verted a garage into a condi-tioned area at the existingsingle-family residence at 306Heartwood Drive, which is inthe 25-year and 100-yearfloodplains of Williamson

Creek.”In summary, it is impor-

tant for all the residents ofAustin to take an active partin city government. Duringthis time, the public can at-tend these hearings to give thecouncil input on how to de-velop their communities andhow to make their communi-ties a safe place.

Furthermore, the com-munity can hold the councilaccountable to their wordsand campaign promises.Also, it is important for thevoter to know whether or notthe council members whowere voted into office areproperly overseeing the ac-tions of each city departmentthat range from, the policedepartment; human healthdepartment; planning anddevelopment review; eco-nomic growth & redevelop-ment services; solid wasteservices and others.

Servicing theCommunity

Since 1973!

By Tsoke (Chuch) AdjavonDevelopment of East AustinOn July 31, 2010 be-

tween the hours of 3 PM and4 PM, members of the EastAustin community gatheredto brainstorm and developstrategies on how best to bringeconomic development backto East Austin particularly12th Street. Present at themeeting were business/prop-erty owners, community ac-tivists and concerned citi-zens who strongly believedthat it is up to them to developthe area.

In other words, theybelieve that they must taketheir own destiny into theirhands, in order to see that12th Street gets revitalized.One of the business ownersmentioned that he came to themeeting in-order to be a partof the redevelopment of thisarea. He also mentioned, “Attimes, the city governmenttends to send people to theEast Side, who do not havethe same perspective as themembers of the community”.Also, the group believes thateconomic development willbring jobs to the communityand also bring the ability toget political empowerment.

Moreover, the groupthat meet believes that thegathering will lead to a newsocial and political awaken-ing that will cause them tohave a better bargaining seatat City Hall. In other words,they will be able to identifyprojects in which both thecommunity and the city canwork on, that would bringbetter economic developmentto the area. Since other sec-tions of town tend to have aneighborhood association

that fights for what is best fortheir area, this new formedgroup of businesses/activ-ists/ and concerned citizenshopes that they could have thesame effect as these other as-sociations.

Furthermore, theystrongly believe that socialunity will bring the necessarygrants to see that 12th Streetand the rest of the area be-comes a source of economydevelopment instead of a“crime ridden” area.

In summary, the meetingon July 31st was the begin-ning for certain members of the

African American commu-nity who believe that it is timeto revitalize12th Street and thesurrounding areas. More-over, the organizers hope thatthis is the first of meeting ofseveral which will somedayin the near future, pave theway to a formation of a broadgroup that will help changethe section of Austin that is“East of Interstate 35.” Also,the group hopes that they canbest advocate for grants andprojects for the area. More-over, they hope the projectswould spur economic devel-opment.

August 6, 2010/The Villager/Page 5

EMPLOYMENT/BIDS/PROPOSALS /PUBLIC INFORMATION/ FOR

SALE /FOR RENT/MISCEmployment

JANITORIAL WORKERSNEEDED

ISS Facility Services, Inc. has open-ings for supervisory, floor men, andgeneral cleaners for part-time eveningemployment. Apply at ISS Facility Ser-vices, Inc. Austin, M-F, between 4-6pm, 8101 Cameron Road # 304. ISSFacility Services, Inc. is an Equal op-portunity Employer (EOE) and pro-motes a Diverse Workforce.

BIDS/PROPOSALS

Austin CommunityCollege

Apply at HR5930 Middle Fiskville Rd.

6th Floor, Austin, TX 78752Job Line (512) 223-5621hhtp://www/austincc.ed

EEO/AA/M/F/D/V

Women in Jazz

City of AustinPurchasingOfficeAdvertisements 08/02/2010

On October 2, 1995, a revision to the City’s MBE/WBE DBEsOrdinance became effective. The Ordinance establishes new goals for MBE/WBE or DBE Participation Bid/Proposal. Bidders are required to docu-ment efforts to solicit MBE/WBE or DBEs in the Compliance Plan. TheGoals for each project and the instructions and forms for the CompliancePlan are included in the MBE/WBE or DBE Program Packet included in thesolicitation. For construction contracts, the MBE/WBE or DBE ProgramPacket is a separately bound volume of the Project Manual. ALL BIDSAND COMPLIANCE PLANS NOT RECEIVED PRIOR TO THE DATEAND TIME SET FORTH WILL BE RETURNED TO THE BIDDERUNOPENED. SPECIAL NOTICE: Solicitations issued on behalf of theElectric Utility Dept. (Austin Energy) are no longer advertised in theAustin American Statesman. Notices will be posted on the City of AustinPurchasing website at: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/purchase

A. CONSTRUCTION ADVERTISEMENTS - ALL CON-STRUCTION SEALED BIDS addressed to the City of Austin will bereceived PRIOR TO date and time indicated for the following project(s), inthe Reception Area, 10th FL., Ste. 1045, Contract and Land ManagementDepartment, CLMD, One Texas Center (OTC), 505 Barton Springs Rd.,Austin, TX, then publicly opened and read aloud in the 10th FL. Confer-ence Room, Ste. 1045, unless otherwise indicated in the advertisement. AllBids received after the time set forth will be returned to the bidder un-opened. The OWNER’s Official opening the Bids shall establish the timefor opening of the Bids. All Bid Deposits are refundable upon return ofdocuments within the specified time frame and in good condition, unlessotherwise indicated. UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, Project Manu-als, Plans and Addenda may be obtained at the Office of Engineering De-sign & Surveying, PWD, Ste. 760, OTC. First time bidders are encouragedto attend the pre-bid conference to assure their understanding of Owner’sbidding and contracting requirements, particularly M/WBE ProcurementsProgram requirements. Cashiers or Certified Check Payable to the City ofAustin or acceptable Bid Bond must accompany each bid. Bidders will berequired to provide Payment/Performance bonds as specified in the bid-ding documents. The City reserves the right to reject any and all Bids andto waive any informality in the bids received.

Bidders must attend any Mandatory Pre-Bid Conference and areencouraged to attend any non-mandatory Pre-Bid Conference to ensuretheir understanding of Owner’s bidding and contracting requirements, par-ticularly MBE/WBE Procurement Program requirements. If the Pre-BidConference is mandatory the Bidder must arrive and sign-in within fifteen(15) minutes of the scheduled start time of the meeting, otherwise theBidder will not be allowed to submit a Bid for the project.

1. NORTH AUSTIN WASTEWATER OVERFLOW ABATE-MENT (CIP 4570 2307 8524). IFB 6100 CLMC206. Pickup bid docs atOTC, STE 760, Attn: Gabriel Stan 974-7151 after 8/2/10. A refundabledeposit of $100 is required. For info: Demira Wyatt, 974-7213. A MAN-DATORY Vendor Conf will be held at OTC, 505 Barton Springs Rd., 13thfloor Director’s Conf Room, Austin, TX, 78704 at 10:00A on 8/12/10.Offers due prior to 9:30A on 8/26/10. Compliance plans due prior to1:30P on 8/26/10. Offers will be opened on 8/26/10 at 1:30P. SPECIALNOTICE: Bidder must arrive & sign-in within 15 min. of scheduled starttime of the Pre-bid mtg. otherwise the Bidder will no be allowed to submita bid for this project.

B. SERVICES AND SYSTEMS CONTRACTING /C. COM-MODITIES - Solicitations will be issued, and sealed bids or proposalsmay be received at the Purchasing Office, Municipal Building, 124 W. 8thSt., 3rd floor, Room 308/310, telephone number (512) 974-2500, Austin,TX until the dates and times specified on following item(s):

B. SOLICITATION SERVICES AND SYSTEMS1. SDC0157 REFUSE COLLECTION AND HAULING SERVICE

FOR THE DOWNTOWN SERVICE DISTRICT (IFB BEST VALUE). AVendor Conf will be held at Municipal Building 124 W. 8th St., Ste 310 at(9:00A on 8/12/10. Offers due prior to 2:00P on 8/26/10.

2. SDC0158 REFUSE AND RECYCLING COLLECTION SER-VICES- CITY DEPTS. (IFB BEST VALUE). A Vendor Conf will be held atMunicipal Building 124 W. 8th St., Ste 310 at 10:00A on 8/12/10. Offersdue prior to 3:00P on 8/26/10.

3. CEA0008 UPHOLSTERY AND REPAIR SERVICE FOR VE-HICLES AND EQUIPMENT (IFB – Best Value). Offers due prior to12:00P on 8/24/10.

4. PAX0003 REPAIR SERVICES WITH ASSOCIATED PARTSFOR VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT WITH CATERPILLAR EN-GINES. Offers due prior to 11:30A on 8/24/10.

C.SOLICITATION COMMODITIES1.RDR0070 LIME SLURRY GRIT REMOVAL SYSTEM. Offers

due prior to 11:30A on 8/25/10.THE CITY OF AUSTIN HEREBY NOTIFIES ALL OFFERORS

THAT IN REGARD TO ANY CONTRACT ENTERED INTO PURSU-ANT TO THIS ADVERTISEMENT; MINORITY BUSINESS ENTER-PRISES WILL BE AFFORDED EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SUB-MIT OFFERS IN RESPONSE TO THIS INVITATION AND WILL NOTBE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST ON THE GROUNDS OF RACE,COLOR, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN OR DISABILITY IN CONSID-ERATION FOR AN AWARD.

Round Rock ISD is currently ac-cepting sealed bids and proposals.Solicitation documents may be ob-tained from the RRISD web site atWWW.roundrockisd.org under“Vendor Information” or by Call-ing 512-464-6950.

New Jobs for theWeek of 08/02/10

Asssistant, StudentServices

Riverside CampusMonday – Friday, 8:00

a.m. – 5:00 p.m., evening andSaturday hours required

$2,256-$2,820/MonthlyJob #1007032

Assistant, TestingEastview Campus

Monday – Friday, 11:30a.m. – 8:30 p.m.

$2,239-$2,319/MonthlyJob #1007028

Coordinator, IntramuralsEastview Campus

Monday – Friday, 8:00a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

$2,879-$3,599/MonthlyJob #1007034

Specialist, Advising/StudentServices

Riverside CampusMonday – Friday, 8:00

a.m. -5:00 p.m., evening andSaturdays hours required.

$2,879-$3,599/MonthlyJob #1007031

Specialist, CE CommunityPrograms

Highland Business CenterMonday – Friday, 8:00a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

$2,487-$3,109/MonthlyJob #1007033

FTWOODS ConstructionServices, Inc. is soliciting DBE Dis-advantaged Business Enterprise bidsfor participation on the followingproject: Brushy Creek Road Wid-ening and Improvements, CSJ:0914-05-147, Federal Aid Project:STP 2008 (343) MM, Bid Date: 8/10/2010 2:00pm local time, Projectconsist of widening existing road-way, concrete, drainage, illumination,traffic signals, pavement markingand signage improvements. – Pleasefax quotes by 8/09/2010 2pm to(512) 930-3748 Attn: GaryGutierrez, or email toggutierrez@ftwoods.com ContactInformation: Gary Gutierrez (512)930-2607

Save Money.

Advertise in the VILLAGER!Call 476-0082 for info.

Stop ForeclosureRemedies In Real Estate is sponsoring a semi-

nar hosted by Randal Kelton from Rule of Law Ra-dio. Seminar, Foreclosure and Mortgage Fraud, willbe from 1pm to 9:00pm on August 14th 2010 at theWyndham Hotel, at 3401 South IH-35 Austin and isfree of charge. You must reserve your place, as seat-ing is limited. Email carolyn @remediesinrealestate.com for more information.

Carolyn SkidmoreExecutive Assistant

Remedies In Real Estate512-394-8959

As the official start ofthe 2010-2011 school ap-proaches, the Austin SchoolDistrict will hold registrationfor new students:

· PreKindergarten —August 9-13, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30p.m., and August 11, 8 a.m. to6 p.m., at neighborhoodschools. Parents shouldbring the child’s official birthcertificate, current immuniza-tion record, proof of incomeand residence in AISD, par-ent or guardian photo identi-fication. PreKindergarten isopen to children who will befour years old by September1, 2010, and who qualify bybeing either:

Ø Low income (qualifyfor free or reduced lunch).

Ø Limited English-pro-ficient.

Ø A child or stepchildof an active military parent,or having a military parentwho has been injured orkilled in active duty.

Ø Homeless.Ø Having been in the

custody of Child ProtectiveServices.

· Elementary — August9-13, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.,and August 11, 8 a.m. to 6p.m., at neighborhoodschools. Parents shouldbring the child’s official birthcertificate, current immuniza-tion record, proof of residencein AISD, parent or guardianphoto identification. Regis-tration is open to childrenwho will be five years old bySeptember 1, 2010.

· Middle School — Au-gust 11, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Par-

New Student Registration BeginsNext Week in Austin ISD

ents should bring the child’sofficial birth certificate, cur-rent immunization record,proof of residence in AISD,parent or guardian photoidentification, and academicrecords from previousschool(s).

· High School — August11-12, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Parentsshould bring the child’s offi-cial birth certificate, currentimmunization record, proofof residence in AISD, parentor guardian photo identifica-tion, and academic recordsfrom previous school(s).

To locate their assignedschool, parents may call AISD’sStudent Services Office at 414-1726, or check the AISD websiteat www .aus tin isd.org. Classesbegin for the 2010-2011 schoolyear on Monday, August 23.

Speacial to the NNPAfrom the GIN (GIN) – Africanleaders will send thousands ofnew troops to Somalia in a U.S.-funded effort to defeat an insur-gent faction that now controlsmost of that East African coun-try. The pledges came at an Afri-can Union summit whichended Tuesday.

The summit began onlydays after twin bombings inKampala, Uganda, during theWorld Cup, that were linked tothe Somali insurgent group AlShabab. The new surge will becomprised of 2,000 Ugandansand Burundians to the AfricanUnion mission in Somalia,known as AMISOM, boosting

levels from 6,000 to the maxi-mum mandate of 8,000.

According to U.S. Assis-tant Secretary of State for AfricaJohnnie Carson, a stronger AUforce could defeat al-Shababwhich has grown in size andstrength despite U.S. training,logistical support and equip-ment worth more than $176 mil-lion since 2007.

To complete the mission,African Union leaders are re-questing helicopters from West-ern donors to allow the AUtroops to take offensive actionagainst the insurgents. Cur-rently the peacekeeping forcescan only respond to attacks orwhen they see militants. But

large-scale intervention by for-eign troops may create evenmore anti-Western forces as hadoccurred when the Somalis con-fronted U.S.-backed Ethiopiansin a raid on Mogadishu in 2007.“AU troops cannot police all ofSomalia,” said David Shinn,former U.S. ambassador to Ethio-pia, in a press interview.

Shinn, one of the coordi-nators of U.S. policy in So-malia in the early 1990s,said that the failure of U.S.and U.N. involvement in thecountry showed large-scaleforeign intervention would notwork. “That was not the solu-tion then and it will not benow,” Shinn said.

U.S. Funds Sends Africans To Somalia For War

It’s difficult to findsome vocal jazz music in Aus-tin. That is why the Womenin Jazz Association, Inc. isdevoted to bringing Austin aseries of concerts each yearfeaturing female jazz vocal-ists and musicians. Last June13, Women in Jazz featuredPamela Hart in “Lady Day: ATribute to Billie Holiday” atOne World Theatre. Pamelaknocked them out with herrenditions of such songs as“God Bless the Child” and“What A Little MoonlightCan Do.” It was a swingingevening too, thanks to theJames Polk band, who sup-ported Pamela so well shecould take the song wherevershe wanted—and she did justthat. Women in Jazz will paytribute to another great jazzvocalist as they will present“It’s Ella: A Tribute to EllaFitzgerald” on August 15,2010. Two shows, 6:00 and8:30 PM, will be presented atthe One World Theatre.Pamela will be joined by two

outstanding vocalists, KaranChavis of College Station andWillie Nicholson of Temple,TX. Austin, get ready for asassy and brassy evening full

of ballads, swings and scats! It’sElla all right! Tickets are avail-able at 512-330-9500 or online athttp://www .one world thea tre.org/All Shows.html

Pamela Hart sand before standing ovation at Lady Day: ATribute to Billie Holiday on June 13.

It’s Ella: A tribute to Ella Fitzgeraldfeatures Hart, Chavis, Nicholson

Travel guide authorWayne C. Robinson has justreleased his new book, “HowAnyone Can Generate a SixFigure Income in Hot Vaca-tion Spots.” The 94-pagedownloadable EBook fea-tures employment opportuni-ties in the vacation club in-dustry despite the world’seconomy.

The book targets salesand marketing professionalswho would consider work-ing at luxury resorts in exotichot spots such as Hawaii,Mexico, Caribbean Islands,Australia and Europe. It in-cludes job descriptions, re-cruiting agencies, hot job lo-cations, specific instructionson how to jumpstart a careerin the vacation club profes-sion, and hyperlinks to nu-merous websites for contacts

and networking.“With approximately

78 million baby boomers re-tiring over the next 12 to 15years, developers are buildingmore resorts worldwide tomeet the growing demand,”said Robinson.

Travel Author’s Response to theUnemployed – Take a Vacation!

How Anyone Can Gen-erate a Six Figure Income inHot Vacation Spots encour-ages readers to use their cur-rent sales, marketing andpeople skills. To learn more,go to Wayne@hotjobsin hotspots.com

W A S H I N G T O N(NNPA) - On July 28, theHouse of Representativespassed the Fair SentencingAct (S.1789) to restore fair-ness to Federal cocaine sen-tencing. The legislation,which matches a measurepassed in March by the Sen-ate, is aimed at reducing thecurrent sentencing disparityof those convicted of posses-sion of crack cocaine versuspowder cocaine and eliminat-ing mandatory minimumsentencing. In a releasedstatement, the NAACP ex-pressed support for the legis-lation calling the current sen-tencing practices “raciallydiscriminating.” It is legisla-tion that many have thoughtto be long overdue.

U.S. Attorney GeneralEric Holder also expressedhis support of the bill’s pas-sage stating that the bill“will go a long way towardensuring that our sentenc-ing laws are tough, consis-tent, and fair.”The bill willnot retroactively addressthose already serving sen-tences for crack cocaine pos-session. President Obama isexpected to sign the bill intolaw in the coming weeks.

Congress PassesFair Sentencing

Act

Page 6/THE VILLAGER/August 6, 2010

Black Women

Farrah Gray

By George HardinBy George HardinBy George HardinBy George HardinBy George HardinSportsBeatSportsBeatSportsBeatSportsBeatSportsBeat

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Serena Williams

Lorenzen Wright, 34,the former NBA power for-ward, was trying to find hisway back into professionalbasketball when he wasfound fatally shot recently inMemphis.

He had played with fiveteams. Wright’s mother,Deborah Marion, is accusingpolice of mishandling the 911call related to his death. “Theydid drop the ball,” she said.“How do you call 911 andhear shots and nobody re-acts?”

A 911 call was madefrom Wright’s cell phone earlyon July 19 to Germantown, aMemphis suburb.

News sources said aman’s voice and at least 10shots were heard before theline went dead. The dis-patcher called back but got noanswer. Nothing was doneand more than a week passed

Lorenzen Wright

before Germantown policenotified police in Collierville(an adjoining suburb)—whowere investigating Wright’sdisappearance—about thecall. Wright’s body wasfound in Memphis nine daysafter he was reported miss-ing. He had left his ex-wife’shome in Collierville hoursbefore the 911 call.

Cell phones usuallysend 911 calls through thenearest tower, which in thiscase was Collierville.

(Memphis, my home-town, and its suburbs haveseparate emergency responsesystems and some townshave resisted efforts to unify911 calls so it will be imme-diately apparent in whosepatrol area a call originates.A key to the dispute is juris-dictional issues betweenMemphis and the ShelbyCounty municipalities.)

Robbery was viewed asa possible motive becauseWright was known to carryas much as $2,000 in cash.However, The CommercialAppeal, the Memphis dailynewspaper from which I re-tired, reported that about sixweeks before Wright waskilled his former wife was vis-ited by three men with guns.

They threatened her after shedenied knowing his where-abouts.

Wright was the Los An-geles Clippers No 7 draft pickin 1996. In 1999 he was tradedto Atlanta Hawks.

He was with Atlantauntil 2001, and then returned(2006-2008). He also playedfor the Memphis Grizzlies(2001-2006), SacramentoKings (2008) and ClevelandCavaliers 2008-2009). He hadbeen planning to fly to Israelto try out for a team there.

Wright played for theUniversity of Memphis andwas chosen for the first teamAll-America while a fresh-man. He lived in the Atlantaarea and had gone to Mem-phis the day before the ill-fated phone call was made.

During his first stintwith Atlanta, Wright and threeother NBA players from Mem-phis, Todd Day, PennyHardaway and Elliot Perry,contributed $10,000 to aid aMemphis boy found underbizarre circumstances.

The 9-year-old boy livedwith the dead body of hismother for a month, fearingthat if he reported her pass-ing he would be placed in afoster home. He went to school

and cared for himself beforebeing discovered. His motherdied of complications from alung tumor. His grandmotherwas awarded custody.

Wright was astandout prep player but hisschool didn’t have a uniformto fit his 6-10 frame so refereesoften criticized him becausehis shirt was not tucked in.

He had six children,two daughters and four sons,ages 4 to 15. An 11-month-olddaughter died in 2003 of sud-den infant death syndrome.

Wright formerly owneda Memphis restaurant whereI once covered a photo assign-ment. But recent financialproblems had led to the repos-session of two Wrighthomes—in the Memphis areaand in Atlanta.

Wright’s father, HerbWright, played basketball atOle Miss and in Finland, buthis career ended when he wasshot at a Memphis gym afterbreaking up a fight, leavinghim paralyzed. Herb Wrightwent on to coach the ShelbyState Community Collegewomen’s basketball teamfrom a wheelchair.

Lorenzen had ex-pressed a desire to be a coachlike his dad when he retired.

St. Edwards grad holds role as a star in WNBABy George Hardin - SportsBeatBy George Hardin - SportsBeatBy George Hardin - SportsBeatBy George Hardin - SportsBeatBy George Hardin - SportsBeat

Taj McWilliams-Franklin, 39, a St. EdwardsUniversity graduate andWNBA star, continues to gainattention since joining theNew York Liberty. She signedwith the team as a free agentin April.

Her former team, theDetroit Shock, moved to Tulsaafter 2009 season ended.

Born in El Paso, sheplayed one season at GeorgiaState before transferring to St.Edwards. New York wasscheduled to play a homegame against WashingtonFriday, Aug. 6.

At. St. EdwardsMcWilliams-Franklin waschosen for the 1992 NAIA All-America second team, and in1993 she was selected as

Taj McWilliams-Franklin

NAIA National Player of theYear. She set St. Edwardsrecords for career scoring(1,837 points), highest scor-ing average (24.5 ppg), andmost points for a single sea-son (760).

With Detroit in 2009,McWilliams-Franklin startedin all 34 games, scored indouble figures 17 times andsnagged 10 or more reboundsseven times.

McWilliams-Franklinwas drafted as 40th overallpick in 1996 in the AmericanBasketball League andplayed with the PhiladelphiaRage before the league dis-banded.

In 1999 she was chosenby the Orlando Miracle as thethird round 32nd overall pick

in the WNBA draft. She alsohas been with the Connecti-cut Sun, Los Angeles Sparksand Washington Mystics. Shewon her first WNBA title in2008 with Detroit.

The WNBA is in thehome stretch of its season,with playoffs set for Septem-ber. The league received anunusual amount of attentionlast Sunday when PresidentObama took his daughterSasha and one of her friendsto the game between Wash-ington and Tulsa atWashington’s Verizon Cen-ter.

One Washingtonplayer, Marissa Coleman,said: “The only two times I’venoticed who was courtsidewas when LeBron (James)

was here, and obviously to-day. It’s just kind of a surrealthing to look over and see thepresident of the United Statessitting courtside.” The Mys-tics won 87-62.

Most WNBA teams areaffiliated with an NBA teamand play in the same arena.The San Antonio Silver Starsis the sister team of the SanAntonio Spurs. The Stars havewon one conference champi-onship and have a new coachthis year, Sandy Brondello.

New York was one ofthe original teams when theWNBA was founded andplayed its first season in 1997.Among milestones in theWNBA is the first slam dunk,achieved by Lisa Leslie of theLos Angeles Sparks in a game

against Miami.Jennifer Pillich, one of

Leslie’s former teammateswhen both attended the Uni-versity of Southern California,is a former assistant coach at

Akins High School. Pillichnow is head women’s basket-ball coach at Texas College.

McWilliams-Franklin ismarried to Reggie Franklinand has three daughters.

Wright Seeking NewBasketball Job When Shot

Sergio KindleBrian Bahr/Getty Images

Sergio Kindle of the Baltimore RavensHas Narcolepsy By Trent Reinsmith

Sergio Kindle, the Balti-more Ravens first pick in the2010 draft, has narcolepsy.Approximately one in 2000Americans is afflicted withthis sleep disorder.

Narcolepsy is com-monly undiagnosed or mis-diagnosed. The most com-mon symptom of narcolepsyis excessive sleepiness, whichcan be diagnosed in many

ways. Without really study-ing a person’s sleep habits,narcolepsy can be diagnosedas sleep apnea, sleep-depriva-tion, depression or epilepsy.

When a person is found

to suffer from narcolepsy theycan be treated with medica-tion.

Dr. Emmanuel Mignotis usually credited with dis-covering the cause of narco-lepsy. Dr. Mignot, a sleep dis-order specialist and psy-chologist at Stanford Univer-sity, states that medication canbring a person “back to about80% of what they were beforethey were diagnosed.”

Kindle, is an unsignedrookie with the Ravens. Hewill miss training camp dueto a fractured skull he sufferedafter falling down stairs. It isunknown whether narco-

lepsy contributed to the fall.The Ravens did know

about Kindle’s narcolepsyprior to the draft. Accordingto coach John Harbaugh,“That’s something that cameup in our information gath-

ering in the draft. So, we knewabout that. So, that’s an issue.He’s got medication for that.”

Currently, the Ravensdo not know when Kindlewill be healthy enough to jointhe team.

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