It
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Ott tapped as Austin's
first black city manager
\jti V v. v , ' . ,
AUSTIN (NN^A/Nokoa) - Austin has been abuzz with
anticipation of the city's first African-American city manag
er. He is Fort Worth Assistant City
ott
Manager Marc Ott.
Two African-American finalists
were under consideration, Ott and
Jelynne Burley, San Antonio's Deputy
City Manager. Ott has been confirmed
as the council's choice.
Ott said one of his most cherished
goals has long .been to manage one of
the premiere cities in the nation. 9
"Austin is one of the premiere cities
in the country, wouldn't you agree?"
Ott said. He said he believed that his
leadership style would make Austin known as one of the
greatest managed cities in the United States.
He praised the vision and leadership of the city council
and said he would make it his priority to make sure the city's
priorities are carried out.
Ott has held every classification under city manager.
Unlike cities with strong mayors, Austin is led by a city
manager who answers to the mayor and six council members
somewhat equally. During the consideration process, many
African-Americans in the audience viewed the choice
between the two African-American candidates as a win-win
situation. ,
Sierra Leone joins African
neighbors to save forests
(NNPA/GIN) - Sierra Leone has joined the Ivory Coast,
Guinea and Liberia in an effort td control loggers from plun
dering forests for their valuable natural resources.
"They just invaded and started doing what they felt like
doing," Forestry Minister Joseph Sam Sesay said of Chinese
and other foreigfi companies, in a BBC interview. -
Cut logs were being cut and exported raw without value
addition and benefit to the country, he said.
A new forestry policy is being developed. Meanwhile, the
75.000 acre Gola Forest - home to 50 species of mammals,
including leopards, chimpanzees and forest buffalos - has
been declared a new national park.
t o
'White' college advertisment
turns off some African Americans
JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) - Blackhawk Technical
College employs a diversity specialist and hosts an annual
Diversity wee* to neip make minority
students feel welcome. 2?
But a recent advertisCoem sent to
local homes may have unintentionally
undercut its efforts.
The cover of the magazine-style
publication featured a photograph of
two sjniling adults and two children
under the following headline:
Family Affair: BTC is the perfect fit for
the White family."
Most people may have understood
fh*? artirl^ u/a? ahnnt familv namftd
Leavy
White. But some read it as an assertion the college was par
ticularly good for white people.
Bob Baldwin, a diversity specialist for the Janesville
School District, who is black, said most black people would
have a problem with the wording.
"That's kind of a natural thing - when you're white, you
don't think about these things," Baldwin said. "And people
need to start thinking about these things beyond their own
comfort level - you know, what about the other folks?"
But Blackhawk Technical College board member Kevin
Leavy, a black businessman who sits on the Beloit City
Council, said he didn't think anyone intended any harjn.
College president Eric Larson said he didn't think of the
double meaning before the advertisement was published. But
the college received some complaints afterward, he said.
The college changed the headline in a version on its Web
site: "BTC is the perfect fit for the James and Casey White
family."
Cosby talks positive parenting
at MLK scholarship breakfast
CHICAGO (APy ^Comwrhlh Bill Cosby says successful
paSents make it clear they want their children to succeed. He
says that message wasn't there Jor people who are failing.
Cosby spoke at the Reverend Jesse' Jackson's annual
scholarship breakfast to honor the Martin Luther King Junior
holiday.
Cosby has been criticized and accused of elitism and rein
forcing stereotypes for rebuking black parents and people in
low-income situations ? who he says are failing the civil
rights movement by "not holding up their end in this deal."
But he received a warm reception at the morning event in
Chicago.
Cosby told the audience that some people have children
without intending to help them succeed in life. He cited as an
example absent fathers who aren't around to give positive
messages to their children
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest H.
Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every
Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc., 617
N. Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101. Periodicals
postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C. Annual subscription price
M $30.72.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
? The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636
Restoration sought for
Harlem's Apollo Theater
BY SAMANTHA GROSS
?Tqg ASSOCIATED PRESS f
NEW YORK - Back in
the Apollo Theater's ftfeyday,
audience members walked
through an ornate, spacious
lobby. Inside the theater,
hand-painted detailing deco
rated the walls. And on the
stage, stars were born.
Supporters have long tried
to restore the Harlem land
mark to those golden days of
the 1930s atad *'40s, when
unknown teenagers Ella
Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan
launched their careers at the
theater's "Amateur Night."
" Now, after years of strug
gling to finance an expansion
and restoration, theatert offi
cials are beginning a national
fundraising effort for what
they are calling the "final
phase" of the renovation.
The $47 million project
calls for doubling the size of
the theater lobby, building a
grand staircase at its center
and replacing its wall-mount
ed columns and marble wain
scoting. Work inside the the
ater would include repainting
.the colorful, intricate patterns
on the walls and restoring box
seats.
Under the Apollo Theater
Foundation's plan, the names
of musical legends would be
memorialized on bronze
plaques in a walk of fame in
front of the venue. A
revamped third-floor perform
ance space would be placed in
front of the building's win
dows, allowing passers-by a
! A
P
O
L.I
L
O
peek inside.
The foundation also aims
to raise $12 million for an
endowment.
The nonprofit organization
already has spent $37 million
to replace the theater's seats
and stage and restore its
famous marquee, said Jonelle
Procope, the foundation presi
dent.
Architect Christopher
Cowan said his firm was bas
ing its restoration on the
Apollo of the mid-1930s,
when the whites-only, theater
was opened to blacks. The
theater was built in 1914.
"In a way, you'll be step
ping baclf in time to experi
ence the Apollo in its hey
day," Cowan said. "That's the
period of cultural significance
for the Apollo. It became a
center for jazz. It had amazing
performers."
The foundation plans to
raise cash for the project
through appeals in Atlanta,
Chicago, Detroit, Los
Angeles, Washington and
New York.
"The Apollo has been the
venue in which so much of
American culture has been
created and demonstrated to
the world," said Dick Parsons,
chairman of Time Warner Inc.
and the theater's board of
directors. "We still want it to
be a place where stars are
bom and legends are made
and culture is disseminated."
Planners say they expect
the project to be completed by
the end of 2010.
Striking writers OK a waiver for
upcoming NAACP Image Awards
Strike has already
caused changes to
several awards shows
7 ? r ? '
BY OLU ALEMORU
LOS ANGELES WAVE
?
LOS ANGELES (NNPA)
- The 39th NAACP Image ?
Awards are scheduled to go
ahead as planned Feb. 14,
after the show was given" a
waiver last week by the West
Coast board of the Writers
Guild of America. The guild is
in the midst of a months-long
strike which has already crip
pled the Golden Globe Awards
and the People's Choice
Awards.
lhe guild examines each
request like this individually
and no decision is easy," said
WGA West President Patrick
M. Verrone, whose union is
now in the tenth week of a
crippling strike against major
movie and television produc
ers. "Our ultimate goal is to
resolve this strike by achiev
ing a good contract. Because
of the historic role the
NAACP has played in strug
gles like ours, we think this
decision is appropriate to
jointly achieve our goals."
In recent days, the union
made headlines by refusing to
grant a similar waiver to the
Academy Awards - scheduled"
for FebT 24"- In~tRe wake of
the cancellation of the tradi
tional Golden Globes ceremo
ny.
The Image Awards cele
brate the achievements and
performances of people of
color in the arts and individu
als and groups who promote
social justice.
The announcement of the
waiver was made at a press
conference held at WGA head
quarters in the Fairfax
District. Among those/) in
attendance were Image
Awards ? Committee Chair
Clayola Brown, executive pro
ducer Vicangelo Bullock, and
WGA writers Mara Brock Akil
("Girlfriends") and Robert
Eisele ("The Great Debaters").
Akil praised both parties
involved.
"The NAACP and the
Guild have been at the fore
front of hiring diverse writers
Mara Brock Akil
and fighting for what is right,"
she said.
The interim agreement
with the Image Awards, sched
uled Feb. 14 at the Shrine
Auditorium, will allow the
hiring of WGA writers to
script the show and means
there will be no picketing of
the event by striking writers.
? In addition, the Guild granted
a waiver permitting the use of
clips from motion pictures and
television programs.
According to a report by
NBC News, the strike,
prompted by guild members'
desire for a greater share of
revenue for work streamed
over the Internet, is estimated
to have cost the local enter
tainment industry more than
$1 billion. This takes into con
sideration a combination of
lost wages to cast and crew
members of television and
film productions and pay
ments for services provided by
caterers, prop and costume
rental companies.
*?*!?
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Auto Service Center
Discount Auto Service & Repairs
i
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Major & Minor Repairs
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMEIbff Fg?US GROUPS
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth Housing Consortium will hold focus group sessions to obtain views
on housing and community development needs and strategies. Input will be used in development
of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Consolidated Housing and Community Development Plan
for 2009-2013 and for the program year beginning July 1, 2008. Staff also will report on five
year and current year program performance. Representatives from neighborhood organizations,
service providers and any other interested individuals are invited to attend.
Focus Group Topic
# Affordable Housing
# Homeless & Special Needs Housing
# Community Revitalization
# Community Revitalization
(repeat of afternoon session)
Dale
Feb. 5,2008
Feb. 5. 2008
Feb 7. 2008
Feb 7.2008
Tim*
8:30-10:30 AM
2:00-4:00 PM
2rOO-4:OOPM
7:00 9:00 PM
Sessions will be held in the Winston Room of the LJVM Coliseum. For more information or
appropriate and necessary auxiliary aids and services, contact Manna Dinkins at 727-8597.
Persons requiring TDD service may call 727-8319.
Tht City of Winston-Salem does not discriminate on the basis of net, sex, color, age, national origin,
religion , or disability in to employment opportunities, program t, service, or adiritiet.
I