The Culvert Chronicles back issues from August 2008:
Governor Signs Measure Spearheaded By Senator Smith Strengthening Child Sex Abuse Crimes
Aug 14, 2008; ... (ALBANY, N. Y.) -A bill (S. 1862/A. 3530), sponsored by state Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm A. Smith (D-St. Albans) and Assemblywoman Vivian Cook (D-Queens), has been signed into law by Governor David Paterson. The measure creates a new section of law against using children in a ...
Legislators Discuss Cuts
Aug 14, 2008; ... The state budget crisis has the governor asking legislators to come up with $600-million in cuts. We've heard what lawmakers want to protect and but what is on the chopping block? State Senators will be back in Albany Friday as they discuss capping New York's property taxes, which are ...
Those Who Can Do, Those Who Can't Complain
Aug 14, 2008; ... Congressional Representative Charles Rangel is in the news again. This time the good he did was evil spoken of. Through the influence of his office, property owners were persuaded to keep 400 units of affordable housing in the section 8 housing program. The property owner's could have opted out ...
Reflections On The Presidential Election
Aug 14, 2008; ... Many Obama faithful are nervous about the Clinton supporters. They are still sleeping with one eye open, and one eye closed. Qbama's camp is doing a dress right dress. Dotting the eyes and crossing the T's. One long time Obama supporter said they have something up their sleeve. I have the uneasy ...
$68M Bond Sought For New Great Neck Sewage Plant
Aug 14, 2008; ... The Great Neck Water Pollution Control District has requested a $68-million bond to build a new sewage treatment plant that would consolidate operations with the Village of Great Neck's facility. But North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman, responsible for approving special district bonds, ...
Lessons In Black Studies #62
Aug 14, 2008; ... Introduction To Black Studies By EDWARD R. CULVERT An Act In Regard To Free Negroes The Cherokees felt free Negro's were a bad influence on their slaves. This, they felt, was an underlying cause of the slave revolt of 1842. To insure that there would never be another ...
Things I Would Like Someone To Explain To Me!
Aug 14, 2008; ... 1. Why do you have to put someone else down to make yourself look big? 2. Why do people have to lie? 3. Why do you feel everyone else has to obey the rules and you can do what you want? 4. Why do people change when they get a little authority? 5. Why do people ...
Paterson Signs Physician Misconduct Law
Aug 14, 2008; ... Physicians charged with misconduct can be publicly identified and the state Department of Health will have new powers to investigate medical wrongdoing under a bill signed into law recentlly by Gov. David A. Paterson. Legislators said the law - among 35 signed by Paterson recently - was ...
Senate Democrats Release Comprehensive Energy Plan
Aug 14, 2008; ... To respond to skyrocketing home energy costs and help alleviate financial burdens on renters and homeowners, Senate Democrats released a comprehensive energy relief plan calling on the Republican-led majority to pass the proposed legislation. State Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn), the ...
US Federal Reserve Approves ICBC New York Branch
Aug 14, 2008; ... The U.S. Federal Reserve has approved an application by China's biggest lender, the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, to open a branch in New York. Wu Bin, who heads ICBC's representative office in New York, welcomed this decision as an "important milestone," the official ...
Improving Government Efficiency To Make Each Dollar Count
Aug 14, 2008; ... With the economy stalling and tax revenues falling, state leaders from California to Maryland to our own capital of Albany recognize that they need to do more with less. Here at City Hall, we preach that wisdom - and practice it, too. Last year, at the first hint of the national economic ...
New Statute Announced To Protect Identity Theft Victims Against Debt Collection Attempts
Aug 14, 2008; ... Assemblywoman Audrey I. Pheffer (D-Queens) is pleased to announce that legislation she introduced to further protect Identity Theft victims has been signed into law by Governor Paterson. "As Chair of the Assembly Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee, the issue of identity theft has ...
The Pact
Aug 14, 2008; ... It all started with a trip to the dentist when George Jenkins was 13. He was at the dentist's office getting braces when a pair of pliers caught his attention. When he asked what they were for, the dentist took the time to show George how his different tools worked and teach him a few facts ...
The African-American/Caribbean Education Association, Inc., Celebrates Achievement And Excellence
Aug 14, 2008; ... The African-American/Caribbean Education Association, Inc. (AACEAINC) recently presented its First Annual Scholarship and Lifetime Achievement Awards ceremony in celebration of outstanding "achievements and excellence" at the Crowne Plaza JFK. Scholarships in the amounts of $1500 to $ ...
Senate OKs Property Tax Cap
Aug 14, 2008; ... ALBANY - Reacting to public outcry about rapidly rising property taxes across New York, the state Senate on Friday approved a plan to limit increases in school levies to a maximum of 4 percent a year. Members of the Republican-led chamber returned to the Capitol for an unusual oneday ...
Information Corner
Aug 14, 2008; ... Home And Community Security Forum The police sketches of two different perpetrators who have been committing a series of rapes, attempted rapes and assaults in the Southeast Queens community are plastered in store windows and have been appearing in all the news media. Assemblyman William ...
Major Felony Crime Drops By Eleven Percent In Schools During 2007-08
Aug 14, 2008; ... Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein, recently announced that major felony crime and violent crime at City public schools dropped substantially during the 2007-08 school year, building on progress over the course of the ...
Verizon Employees Throughout The Country Collect More Than $300,000 Worth Of Back-To-School Supplies To Assist Hundreds Of Schools
Aug 14, 2008; ... Hundreds of Verizon volunteers across the country have collected more than $300,000 worth of back-to-school supplies to assist schools and nonprofit organizations. Verizon employees participated in a two-week Tools for School campaign to collect new pens and pencils, rulers, crayons, backpacks, ...
Monitoring System Fails, Causing Subway Delays
Aug 14, 2008; ... A computerized system that controls trains on the numbered subway lines in New York City failed briefly on Tuesday afternoon, stranding dozens of trains and causing delays, transit officials said. The computer system, known as Automatic Train Supervision, crashed just before 4 p.m., ...
Verizon, Unions Reach An Agreement
Aug 14, 2008; ... Verizon and the unions that represent 65,000 of its workers reached a new tentative three-year contract agreement Sunday that protects union jobs and maintains employer-paid health care while providing cost saving for the company on retirement health care for new hires. The settlement ...
NYPD Plan Would Track Every Vehicle Into Manhattan
Aug 14, 2008; ... The New York Police Department wants to keep track of every vehicle that drives into Manhattan - an initiative it calls necessary in the age of terror - but one civil liberties group calls it an assault on privacy rights. The ambitious plan is part of a larger approach to securing the ...
Brooklyn Man Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter And DWI In Fatal Highway Crash
Aug 14, 2008; ... On August 13, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced that a 25-year-old Brooklyn motorist who had allegedly been speeding along the Belt Parkway was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol after colliding with a tree and killing his girlfriend ...
Officials: All City Buildings Must Be Subject To Fire Code
Aug 14, 2008; ... Elected officials and family members of a firefighter killed in a fire in the former Deutsche Bank building last August are calling for city buildings outside local jurisdiction to be brought under the city's recently revised fire code. More than 800 buildings owned by the Port ...
DA Brown Presents Awards To Two Top National Tennis Center Officials For Their Work On Behalf Of His Star Track Program To Help Young People In Far Rockaway
Aug 14, 2008; ... Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown recently hosted a ceremony in recognition of the assistance provided by the United States Tennis Association and the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and, in particular, NTC officiais Tina Taps and Whitney Kraft - for all of their hard work in ...
Teenage Girls Shoot Cabbie; Father Says, Not My Daughter
Aug 14, 2008; ... A few days ago, three young women attempted to rob a taxicab driver named Enois Malbranche of his hardearned money. They did not expect him to give chase. However, he did, and for his efforts, all indications are that he will be blind in his right eye for the rest of his life. The ...
Speaker Quinn Hosts NYCyber Safety Summit 2008
Aug 14, 2008; ... Speaker Christine C. Quinn recently hosted hundreds of parents, teachers and children at NYCyber Safety Summit 2008, a forum that brought together leading voices in technology and internet safety, including Microsoft and Google, to provide a series of lectures, workshops and activities to help ...
Who Is The Right Doctor For My Specific Condition?
Aug 14, 2008; ... Finding the right doctor to treat your specific condition may not be as easy as one may think. There are often several issues that need to be researched or investigated in order to come up with the right choice. To help you find the "right" doctor or our specific condition, it may be helpful to ...
Tips For Packing Healthy School Lunches
Aug 14, 2008; ... (NewsUSA) - Parents might make healthy breakfasts and dinners, but they should also worry about what their children are eating away from home. According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, some school lunches contain too much saturated fat and lack healthy fruits, vegetables ...
Calling All Men 40-49: Don't Forget That Prostate Test
Aug 14, 2008; ... According to a group of researchers, one-fifth of young men aged 40 to 49 reported having had a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test within the last year. Although young, black, non-Hispanic men are more likely than young, white, non-Hispanic men to report having a PSA test, the screening rates ...
Cost Of Prescription Medications Rising
Aug 14, 2008; ... While Americans continue to feel the effects of soaring fuel prices, there is another consumer good enjoying a "quiet" price explosion-prescription drugs. We are accustomed to slight increases each year in the price of medication, along with everything else, but during the first half of this ...
Flu Shots For Seniors May Not Be As Effective As Once Thought
Aug 14, 2008; ... Do you get a flu shot annually in hopes of warding off the flu or even worse pneumonia? Another study released recently has shown flu shots to not be as effective as once thought in the elderly. The study, conducted by a team of researchers for the Group Health Center for Health Studies, through ...
Studying Vitamin C In The Fight Against Cancer
Aug 14, 2008; ... Vitamin C could be useful in the fight to end cancer after all. According to a new U.S. study that was published on Monday, using high dose injections of vitamin C on mice greatly reduced the rate of tumor growth. The American scientist, Linus Pauling, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...
International AIDS Conference 2008: Efforts Not Reaching Enough Children
Aug 14, 2008; ... The focus of the International AIDS conference shifted mid-week to children affected with HIV. Though children's access to antiretroviral treatment has increased from 75,000 in 2005 to 198,000 in 2007, it remains lower than the coverage rate for adults. According to Jim Yong Kim of ...
Ask Dr. Rochlen
Aug 14, 2008; ... Dear Dr. Rochlen: This is an odd question. I need a new denture and my dentist told me that I could have one for one price or if I want a better denture it would be a different price, more of course! I thought this was weird. He explained it had to do with the lab he used and if I wanted ...
Stem Cells Created From Skin May Help In The Fight Against Multiple Diseases
Aug 14, 2008; ... Using a new method known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS), ordinary cells have been re-programmed to look and act like embryonic stem cells. Experts in stem cell research have now produced a collection of these master cells using skin and bone marrow cells from patients that will be shared ...
NYS Senate Gets Bill Banning Bullying Acts In The Schools
Aug 14, 2008; ... Legislation aimed at banning bullying in public schools, including harassment based on sexual orientation, has been quietly introduced in the State Senate. The legislation, which includes language protecting transgender students and teachers, has been a priority of advocates for gay and lesbian ...
Gene Indicates Smoking Might Mean Addiction At First Puff
Aug 14, 2008; ... It could all be traced back to that first puff. The physical and emotional reaction to the first attempt at smoking a cigarette might be linked to a gene that dictates the likelihood and level of addiction, smoking frequency, and chances of it resulting in lung cancer. While the gene is not an ...
New Case Shows Need For Fake Police Badge Crack Down
Aug 14, 2008; ... New York City - After another set of reports that fake police badges were being distributed to bounty hunters and convicted felons, Representative Anthony D. Weiner (D - Brooklyn and Queens) called for a renewed crack down on the production and distribution of fake badges. In 2006, Weiner, a ...
NJ-Born Comic Sunda Croonquist Brings Her "Kosher Soul Food" To Stand Up New York On August 21st
Aug 14, 2008; ... "when you're a Swedish and Black Jew, growing up looking like a Puerto Rican and your mother gives you a Hindu name and sends you to an Irish Catholic School ....you're bound to be funny." In a rare East coast appearance, comedienne Sunda Croonquist will serve a generous portion of her ...
'The Opening Ceremony Of The 2008 Olympics In Beijing, China': An Open Letter To Jeff Zucker, President Of NBC
Aug 14, 2008; ... (National Broadcasting Company, Television Channel 4) First, let me thank NBC, Channel 4, for presenting free to the world the fabulous opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, on Friday, August 8,2008. Superlatives have been exhausted by all forms of media, including ...
BET Premieres New Original Weekly Talk Show The Truth With Jeff Johnson
Aug 14, 2008; ... In the weeks leading up to the Democratic Convention in August, when the first African-American will accept the Democratic nomination for President of the United States of America, BET News will unveil a new and timely weekly talk show, The Truth With Jeff Johnson, premiering on Friday, August ...
Health Department Reminds Parents To Make Sure Kids Get The Required Vaccinations Before School Starts
Aug 14, 2008; ... As the first day of school approaches, the Health Department is reminding parents to get their kids the required vaccinations. City public schools open on September 2 this year, leaving only three more weeks to get your child to the doctor. Vaccines can prevent many serious illnesses, such as ...
ON AND OFF BROADWAY
Aug 14, 2008; ... Reviewing the past, we all grow up in slow motion. It's a fact acknowledged by Don Reed who wrote about the the 1970's, performed solo and directed "East 14th," true tales of a reluctant player" at New World Stages. Coming of age in the 70's in Oakland, California requires a comic of his ilk to ...
Harlem Week Celebrates Famed Neighboorhood With Blow Out Weekend In Honor Of Its 34th Anniversary
Aug 14, 2008; ... New York City's largest outdoor festival Harlem Week returns with yet another spectacular line up of exciting concerts, events, and activities in honor of its 34th Anniversary. Themed "The Health of Our Communities is Our Top Priority" - this year's event turns the spotlight on eating and living ...
Western Union, Our World, Our Family Supports Leadership Institute
Aug 14, 2008; ... The Western Union Foundation recently donated a $50,000 grant to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), a premier organization in Black Higher Education that develops and prepares the next generation of leaders by providing scholarships, resources, and opportunities to public Historically ...
Buying A House In Today's Market
Aug 14, 2008; ... (SPM Wire) With interest rates at significant lows, now is the time for many Americans to pursue their dreams of home ownership. Many have been unable to participate in the housing market in the past because of high real estate prices and interest rates. Experts at Harris ...
Stroke Patients Urged To Seek Timely Treatment
Aug 14, 2008; ... Strokes are the number one, leading cause of adult disability in the United States, and also the third leading cause of death. Somewhere close to 780,000 Americans will suffer a stroke this year, and about 150,000 of them will die from the event; 15 to 30 percent will be left disabled ....
Harlem Dowling Far Rockaway Families Join Rockaway Children Network For Friends & Family Day
Aug 14, 2008; ... Harlem Dowling Far Rockaway Family Services Center recently participated in the first Rockaway Children Network Friends & Family Day. The event, which took place at Bayswater Park, brought over 500 children and adults together for a day of food, family and fun. With support from NYC Parks ...
100 Join The One Hundred Black Men At Second Annual Golf And Tennis Outing
Aug 14, 2008; ... On a recent picture-perfect Monday in New York, nearly 100 golf and tennis players descended on the links and courts at the elegant Pelham Country Club for The One Hundred Black Men, Inc. of New York City's (OHBM) second Annual Golf & Tennis Outing. Building on the outstanding ...
Windows Over Harlem To Host Veterans Confab
Aug 14, 2008; ... Windows Over Harlem, 163 West 125th Street, in the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building, August 16th and 17th, 2008 will host the First Conference of Veterans, honoring members of the all Black 784th Tank Battalion Unit. This will be the first 784th annual conference of veterans to ...
Running May Help You Live Longer And Healthier
Aug 14, 2008; ... Run for your life! It is never too late to start running, a new study finds. Running may help you to not only live longer, but also live free of disabilities. The study, performed by Stanford University School of Medicine, studied the benefits of running. The researchers based their ...
Entertainment Icon Isaac Hayes To Be Remembered At Memphis-Area Memorial Service
Aug 14, 2008; ... A memorial service will be held on Monday at Hope Presbyterian Church, 8500 Walnut Grove Road, Cordova, Tennessee from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to celebrate the life of pioneering soul icon Isaac Hayes, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 65. Born in the rural poverty of a ...
Are You Eligible For An Unclaimed Tax Rebate?
Aug 14, 2008; ... (SPM Wire) It's like an unclaimed lottery ticket due to expire. Over one million Americans still are eligible to receive a tax stimulus rebate, but they must file a 2007 tax return by October 15, 2008. Indeed, many people who receive Social Security and veterans benefits are likely to ...
SO, THIS IS WHAT YOU DO!
Aug 14, 2008; ... Question 2: I have been in a relationship for approximately 16 years. In those 16 years I have two beautiful children. My relationship with my boyfriend has been full of emotional and physical abuse since the beginning. I don't want to leave him because I don't want to uproot my ...
Jelena Jankovic Uses Prince O3 Technology To Become World's New No.1
Aug 14, 2008; ... Twenty-three year-old Jelena Jankovic officially becomes the new No. 1 ranked female tennis player in the world - only the 18th woman ever to claim the sport's top spot. It has been a wild ride for the former No. 1 ranked junior. Two and a half year's ago, Jankovic struggled through a ...
Robinson Takes Net Classic
Aug 14, 2008; ... Jelahni Robinson of South Ozone Park turned back Arthur Hainline of Douglaston, 6-3, 6-4, to capture the sixth annual Atlantic Beach Challenger at the Atlantic Beach Tennis Center in Long Island last Saturday as the tournament trail comes closer to the National Tennis Center. . This Men's Open ...
Cotchery Looks Forward To Season
Aug 14, 2008; ... Last fall marked Jerricho Cotchery's fourth season, all with the New York Jets of the National Football League. With his 82 receptions, tying him with his previous year, and 1130 yards gained in the air, his statistics marked a breakout season for him. At times he received the football ...
JOHN EDWARDS AND HIS SEX LIFE
Aug 21, 2008; ... I guess if you do not have a life, you live vicariously. When you really stop and think about it, who cares about John Edwards' sex-capades. With entire world in crisis, why waste ink on an extra-marital affair. In an election year, this kind of thinking appeals to some people. We ought to call ...
Governor Cuts $1B From State Budget Over Next Two Years
Aug 21, 2008; ... The New York's Legislature and Gov. David Paterson agreed late Tuesday on a plan to cut state spending by nearly $2 billion over the next two fiscal years to trim looming deficits. Paterson said he believes a turning point of responsibility and courage to stand up to special interests ...
Senator Clinton Calls On Bush Administration To Ensure A True Crop Safety Net
Aug 21, 2008; ... Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton recently joined a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in calling on the Bush Administration to implement the 2008 Farm Bill according to the law's intent and abandon an interpretation that would disadvantage small farms across New York and around the country. In a ...
Tempers Hot As A/C Rule Is Ok'd
Aug 21, 2008; ... Ignoring the pleas of irate and fearful business owners, the City Council recently approved a bill that requires retailers to keep their doors shut when air-conditioning units are operating to conserve energy. The vote was 41-8. Council members hailed the legislation - which ...
Lessons In Black Studies #63
Aug 21, 2008; ... Introduction To Black Studies THE BLACK SEMINOLES If you ask most people about the direction escaped slaves traveled when they ran away, they would say they headed north. This is partially true. However, little is known about the relationship the Spanish had with the Seminoles ...
Yonkers: Paterson's Cuts Would Mean Layoffs
Aug 21, 2008; ... The city would suffer more than 100 layoffs if cuts in state aid proposed by Gov. David Paterson last week were enacted, a spokesman for Mayor Phil Amicone said recently. The reductions in state aid to municipalities totaling 6 percent were proposed by Paterson as one part of an effort ...
Councilman Seeks To Ban Text Messaging At Wheel
Aug 21, 2008; ... Councilman David I. Weprin's 16-year old twins are like a lot of teenagers: They text-message their friends every few minutes. And they cannot wait to get their driver's licenses. It's a combination their father, a Queens Democrat, worries about. On Friday he will unveil a measure that ...
Sentencing Children To Die In Prison
Aug 21, 2008; ... Ian Manuel was 13-years-old when he participated in a robbery attempt in Florida, leaving the victim with a nonfatal gunshot injury. Ian turned himself in to police, and his attorney told him he would receive a 15-year sentence if he pled guilty. Instead, he was sentenced to life in prison ...