1 Business Focus
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Briefs
Federal jury awards $1.6 million
in Marin discrimination case
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - An African-Ameri
can deputy probation officer in Marin County was
awarded $1.6 million in damages in a civil rights
lawsuit.
Officer Lonnie Morris, 44, along with fellow
officer Wilfred Broom, sued the county govern
ment in 1999, asking for $2 million and accusing
Marin County officials of maintaining a hostile
work environment for racial minorities. The suit
named the county, the board of supervisors, the
probation department and Chief Probation Officer
Ronald Baylo as defendants.
The U.S. District Oiurt jury in San Francisco
issued a verdict Friday in favor of Morris that
included $1.1 million in damages against the coun
ty and more than $500,000 against Baylo for racial
discrimination. It also found Baylo liable for
$20,000 in punitive damages, but rejected Morris'
claim that he was not promoted because of racial
discrimination.
During tne six-weeK trial, Morris lesimea tnat
he found a bullet on Broom's desk in January 1997,
which they considered a death threat. Morris also
said he was subject to racial slurs, jokes and epi
thets while at work.
"This is the largest verdict ever against Marin
County government for one person for discrimina
tion," Morris' lawyer, Charles Bonner, told the San
Francisco Chronicle.
Since 1995. six other African Americans have
filed lawsuits or administrative grievances against
the county. The county settled three of the cases.
County Counsel Patrick Faulkner said that his
office is considering whether to appeal the verdict.
South African Airways
appoints first black captain
|. CAPE TOWN, South Africa (PANA) - In
another classic show of the end of the apartheid
era, the South African Airways (SAA) has
Announced the appointment of its first black cap
tain, Mpho Mamashela.
' During the apartheid era, blacks were barred
from taking up senior posts within the airline,
i "The airline is very proud of Mpho and has the
strongest confidence in his abilities as a command
ing officer," said Andre Viljoen, SAA president and
chief executive officer.
Mamashela, 37, who has almost 10,000 flying
hours to his credit, joined SAA in 1994.
For his first flight as an SAA captain,
Mamashela piloted a Boeing 737-200 to and from
Durban.
"I have been most fortunate and have had great
opportunities. I hope to exceed people's expecta
tions of me," said Mamashela, who had earlier
worked for Lesotho Airways and Anglo-American
as a corporate pilot.
Sony settles case regarding
phony movie review case
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Sony Pictures
Entertainment Inc. has agreed to pay the state
$326,000 for using fake reviews attributed to a
Connecticut newspaper in promoting its films.
Sony also has agreed to stop fabricating movie
reviews, and to stop using ads in which Sony
employees pose as moviegoers praising the films
they have just seen. Attorney General Richard Blu
menthal said Tuesday.
"These deceptive ads deserve two thumbs down
- and now are getting a third from Sony itself,"
Blumenthal said.
The state launched an investigation last June
after a reporter for Newsweek challenged the
authenticity of movie blurbs in Sony print ads. The
reviews, said to be from film critic "David Man
ning" of The Ridgefield Press, praised films
including'" A Knight's Tale" and "The Animal."
The Manning blurb on "The Animal" called the
movie "another winner!" Another blurb praised
Hfcath Ledger of "A Knight's Tale" as "this year's
hottest new star!"
Someone at Sony concocted glowing blurbs
from the fictitious reviewer, a studio spokeswoman
later admitted.
~Vo "-ere -fabricated-for the "Hollow ?
Man" and "Vertical Limit."
"What Sony did was like having a chef pose as
a food critic and then give his own restaurant four
stars," said James Fleming, the state's consumer
protection commissioner.
; The Ridgefield Press, a small weekly newspa
per in Connecticut, was unaware that its name was
being used in the ads.
David Manning is a real person - just not a real
critic. Ridgefield's former First Selectman Sue
Manning, who held the town's top office from 1987
to 1997, said a friend who works at Sony asked to
use the name of her son in the a4fc -
After the David Manning disdSwy, Softy, 20th
Century Fox, Artisan EntertainmdM and Universal
Pictures admitted using employees or actors in TV
commercials purporting to feature testimonials
from moviegoers.
At least two moviegoers filed their own law
suits against Sony, saying they were deceived by
false advertisements into paying 10 see bad films.
f
High-tech Partnership
Microsoft breaks
high-tech
ground with
Black Enterprise
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
NEW YORK - Black Enterprise, together
with Microsoft Corp.. announced recently a
groundbreaking joint endeavor aimed at equip
ping minority-owned businesses with the latest
technology and software to grow, compete and
thrive in today's global market. Microsoft, the
worldwide leader in software, services and Inter
net technologies, and Black Enterprise, the defin
itive source of information for and about African
American business markets and leaders, expect
their efforts will open doors and yield new
avenues of information technology to minority
businesses across the' country.
To this end, Microsoft has been named title
sponsor of the seventh annual Black Enter
prise/Microsoft Entrepreneurs Conference to be
held May 15-19 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort
in Nashville, Tenn. The corporation also has
signed on as the title sponsor for the 2003 con
ference.
The Microsoft sponsorship marks the first
time a pure-play technology corporation has
signed on as title sponsor of the conference. "This
historic paring between the nation's leading
source of innovative technology tools and the
nation's leading source of business solutions for
African Americans will serve to foster the growth
and development of minority-owned business
es," said Earl G. Graves Jr.. president and chief
operating officer of BE. "Microsoft's investment
in this partnership demonstrates its continued
recognition of the African-American business
market as critical to reaching its bottom-line
objectives."
Bill Gates, chairman and chief software
architect at Microsoft, hopes to narrow the digital
divide. "Technology is advancing at an incredibly
rapid pace, and it is crucial that the African
American community not get left behind," he
said. "We must all work to ensure that everyone
in America has the opportunity for equal access."
Recognizing the ongoing need to bridge this
digital divide for African Americans. BE for
Bill Gates shakes hands with Earl Graves Jr. after an agreement last week.
decades has addressed the latest tech-savvy news
and industry advancements though its monthly
Techwatch column, special issues, book series,
and participation in high-tech conferences and
roundtables. The latest effort toward this goal is
the Black Enterprise/Microsoft Entrepreneurs
Conference titled "New Ideas. New Solutions:
Strategies for Reinventing Your Business." This
event will provide the opportunity for business
owners, executives, and future entrepreneurs to
interface with contacts, capital financiers, and j
corporate franchisers. Seminars and other meet
ings will offer insights and advice about what it !
takes to run a successful business venture from
established experts who understand, utilize and
integrate innovative technology.
School will
help displaced
workers
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
uurhaivi ? i ne nospiiainy ana
tourism program at N.C. Central Univer
sity was awarded S200.CXK) from Golden
LEAF Inc. to support a program that will
train displaced workers from the Greater
Triangle area to work in the tourism and
hospitality industries.
The program, "A Demonstration
Model for Workplace Preparedness in the
Hospitality and Tourism Industry," is
designed to recruit and retrain a minimum
of 45 new employees or existing employ
ees in one of the training tracks - lodging
operations, food service and management.
Through the program, industry certified
courses recognized by national associa
tions would be available to participants.
In addition, training will be offered to
accommodate full-time employees and
provide support services for successful
completion of the program. Priority will
be given to people who once worked in
the tobacco industry.
The program will be available to resi
dents in Durham. Wake, Orange.
Chatham. Person. Vance. Alamance.
Grafrvflle. Johnston. Lee. Franklin. Har
nett, Caswell and Warren counties.
NCCU wi!fe;-&bora{c with Wake
Technical Community College and Ala
mance Community College to provide
food service and lodging operations train
ing. These colleges have state-of-the-art
culinary facilities and will partner with
industry to provide hands-on work experi
ences for the participants.
The Durham Convention and Visitors
Bureau, the Triangle Area Hotel and
Motel Association, the local Workforce
Development Committee and the
Employment Security Commission
offices in each of the 14 counties will
assist in recruitment and placement of
participants.
According 10 ine r> a. . employment
Security Commission, in June 2001 more
than 32.000 people were unemployed in
the 14-county area. The commission also
reported that counties in the Piedmont
region of the state continue to experience
large layoffs because of the area's domi
nance in manufacturing employment.
Club barred minorities
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS while patrons, and by telling The nightclub also must
employees to deny access to buy advertisements explaining
WICHITA, Kan. - A minorities. it does not discriminate and
nightclub that admitted it Under a consent decree must pay $5,000 to a civil
excluded blacks and Hispan- filed Friday. Joe's owners and rights organization to finance
ics now must provide written managers admitted they dis- testing to make sure the night-,
explanations to patrons who criminated. The club agreed to club complies with the provi
are denied admission. train employees about civil sions of the settlement agree
The Justice Department rights laws, change its dress ment.
and Kansas Human Rights code and change its policies "No one should be denied
Commission found that own- for handling identification access to a nightclub or other
ers and managers at Joe's, for- cards. place of entertainment that is *
merly known as Acapulco Joe's owners must post open to the public because of >
Joe's, discriminated by refus- signs in English and Spanish their national origin or the
ing to accept valid ID cards as explaining its nondiscrimina- color of their skin," said
proof of age. applying stricter tion policy and identifying Ralph F. Boyd Jr.. assistant '
dress code requirements to what forms of ID it will attorney general for civil
blacks and Hispanics than to accept. rights.
I "
Singer Jill Scott, left,
chats with Diane
Weathers, the new edi
tor-in-chief of ESSENCE
magazine, at a recent
party held in Weathers'
honor.