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Cljarlotte BosJt
http://www.thepost.mindspring.com
THE VOICE OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
THE WEEK OF MARCH 26, 1998
VOLUME 23 NO. 28
75 CENTS
ALSO SERVING CABARRUS, CHESTER, ROWAN AND YORK COUNTIES
Hunt
2 plans for
children’s
insurance
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
As expected, the N.C. Senate
voted to create a $107 mUlionor
yearhealthccaeprogramfifrpoor
children.
Getting the House of
Bepresentatives to go along is no
sure thing,
however.
House
Republicans
have their own
plan, which dif-
fers marhedly
from the
Senate version
endorsed by
Gov. Jim Hunt.
The
Republican
program would (rffer more limited
benefits to more fiunilies as well
as provide tax crethts. The cost to
taxpayers is unclear.
“Everybody agrees that children
need health care,” Democratic
Rep. Beverly Earle of Charlotte
said. “But when you get down to
fine lines, therdll be some dis
agreements.”
The competing plans highSghl
the opening afa special session of
the General Assembly to debate
healthcareinsurancefitr children
of the working poor. Because
Democrats control the Senate emd
Republicans the House, it may
take days to resolve the issue.
See HEALTH on page 6A
Bill would
aid black
farmers
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rep. Eva Clayton, D-NjC, has
introduced l^isladon that would
ease the governments rules for
making agricutturcd loans and
give farmers with pxist financial
problems another chance to
obtain federal credits.
Sen. Charles
Robb, D-Va,
introduced
companion l^-
islation in the
US. Senate
last week.
“There
shouldrit be a
revolving door
for pieople to
have ddjts con
tinually fitrgiv-
en and receive additioncd loans,”
said Agriculture Secretary Dan
Glickman, who joined Clayton
Robb and other lawmakers at a
news conference last Thursday.
“But denying thousands of
firrmas and ranchers from ever
receiving USDAlocm assistance if
they ever received debt forgive
ness at any time for cmy reason-
including disaster or family
tragedy -goes too far,” GGckman
send.
Clayton send the bill would be
especially helpful for black and
other minority ftmners, hundreds
of whom hteve filed complaints
accusing the Agriculture
Depxertment of rcuial (bscrinnna-
don in the distribution of loans.
In a class-cwtionlcuvsuit against
the government, hundreds of
minority farmers say they were
denied loans unfairly - some
times becenise of premature fore
closures on earlier credits. Past
foreclosures or loan fixrgiveness
are often used to reject subse
quent credit ajpUcations.
Clayton
Welcome from the Motherland
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO/GREG GIBSON
Ghana President Jerry Rawlings, left, U.S. President Clinton, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, both wearing the Kente traditional
Ghanaian dress, and Ghana’s first lady Nana Rawlings, right, greet a crowd of over 200,000 people assembled in Independence
Square in Accra, Ghana, Monday. Clinton is^ouring six African countries over 11 days.
Clinton: tJ.S. will aid Africa
By Sonya Ross
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KIGALI, Rwanda - Stunned
by thetragic stories of genocide
survivors. President
Clinton said Wednesday the
world did not act quickly
enough when the horrors of the
1994 massacre in Rwanda
emerged.
“Never again must we be shy
in the face of the evidence,”
Clinton vowed.
Clinton recounted the days of
bloodletting as fiunilies were
murdered in their homes, peo
ple hunted down like animals,
youngandold,wcsnenandchil-
dren, slaughtered in the sanc
tuary of churches and hospi
tals.
“AUover the uxnldthere were
people like me sitting in offices
whodidnot fully appreciate the
depth and the speed with
which you were being engulfed
by this unimaginable terror”
Clinton told the audience of
several hundred assembled at
the airport here, including
rtumy survivors of the genocide.
The eSnion administration
has scad die international com
munity failed to slop the Hutu
extremists from killing up to 1
million minority-group Ddsis
and Hutu moderates. It was
the worst genocide since the
Nazis killed 6 milium Jews in
Tour points to improved business ties
between American companies and Africa
By Martha M. Hamilton and Lynne Duke
THE WASHINGTON POST
IrwestinginacontinentasvastasAfricasome-
timesmeans thinking small,evenfi)ragiant cor
poration like Coca-Cola
In 1990, Rubi Hasson eperated a handrccut,
selling candy and an occasioned Coca-Cola,
chilled on a block cfice, to students at a nearby
school in Nairobi, Kenya.
‘T started with no money cd all,” said Hasson,
who now earns enough along with her husbemd
to put all her children through high school, to
buy a second-hand car and to invest in a second
business.
Coca-Cola Co, seeking to boost sedes, had pro
vided Hasson with the trolley. As business
inqjroved, the conqxmy added a kiosk, a double
door electric cooler, tables and umbrellas, a tele-
vision and a picket ^nce. The tiny business now
has transfbrmedintoRubls, a comer stare emd
sidewalk cafe, which Hassem scad serves 300
customers and, not incidentally, now sells as
many as 20 crates ofCoca-Coh. productsaday.
Hassaris story is just one sign of the growing
corporede interest in the continent described
alternately as the poor black neighborhood in
the global village, the final frontier and the last
emerging market.
President Clinton, who started the most
extensive tour of Africa by an American
president Morulay, plans to use the 11-day trip
to erwourage Afrieds slow emergence in the
globaleconorr^.Africdspotendalasbothatrad-
ing partner emd an investment
opportunity is hugely untapped, administra
tion officials say, and in recent months the
CHnton administration has created an Africa
trade office andbackedatradeinitiative, which
See ECONOMIC on page 2A
World Warn.
Clinton noted the fine line
between preace and war else
where in the world: between
Muslims and Serbs in Bosnia,
between Arabs and Jewsinthe
Mideast, between Catholics
emd Protestants in Northern
IrekuuL
Even as he spxrke, ethnic vio-
lertce flared anew in
Yugoslavia.Serbianpx)lice fired
See DON’T on page 2A
AP PHOTO/STEVE JAFFEA
Paa Solo of Accra, Ghana
painted his face to commemo
rate President Clinton’s tour of
Africa.
Westside theatre hinges on road construction vote
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Construction of a black-owned,
$22 million nurvie theater off
Freedom Drive moved a step clos
er to reality Wednesday.
Charlotte City Councils
Ecorurmic Development
Committee voted 4-0 in favor of
construction of an access road to
the site. A final couneil vote is set
fitr April 13.
The city irwestmerrt would cost
about $400,000, or 80 prercent, of
the construction. The develcper,
Norcom Develcpment, is kicking
in the egher 20 prercent. That cost
is down from earlier estimates of
about $750,000.
Council member Patrick
Canrron, whose district includes
the site, cctmprared city involve
ment to the caristmetion of roads
and other emrenities near
Ericsson Stadium downtown.
‘The city will build the infra
structure,” Cemtton said. ‘Thats
been done before. The stadium is
cm excellent example. Weicentin
with (Carolina Pemthers owner)
Jerry Richardson curd the
Panthersandsaidweuillprrovide
infrastructwre. We now have a
stadium downtown that has prro-
videdjobs emd increased our tax
base.Ifeelthiscineplexccmmake
the scarte thing hvqjpren on the
westside of town as in uptaum.”
Chicago-based InnerCity
Entertainment ivanted to have
the multiscreen theater opren by
Ihanksgiving, but InnerCity offi
cials said Wednesday that rttay
not beprossible.Ihe complex, with
arerta seating and 14-16 screerts,
ivould be culjacent to Cityview
Slumping Center on about 273
cures of tancL
Norcom, which develcped the
shopping center, is handbng the
land sale to ICE, owned by ABsa
and Donzell Starks. Donzell
Starks is a former investment
bemker.
The Starks claims tabe the first
btack owned theater chain in the
Business
owners
file HUD
complaint
By John Minter ;
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Nearly a dozenFirstWardbusii
nesses says they cue being hurt or
forced to close by the redevelcpi.
ment of downtown. i
The businesses have filed a race
cUscriminationconqilaintwiththe
US. Depxcrtment of Housing caul
Urbem Develcpment alleging d
violation cf Title VI of the CUil^
RightsAct. i
The cwt seeks to insure thatfedP,
ered monies are not used to dis-‘^
criminate against minority busi^
Robert Lunn is one of the busi-i
nesses owners making the comi
plaint. His First Ward Grocery &
Discount Beverage closed after 17,
yecers.
“After they moved the pjeople.
out, we did not have anything ta.
feed off off’said Lunn. 'We eouUh,
lit ecxnpcay the rent.”
First Ward redevelopment
includes the complete removed of
the Earle Village pHtbUc housing
project, which is beingreplacedby
cqisccde and middle-income hous
ing and a 68-unit eldaiy housing
conqdex.
Ihe Earle Village pircject is pxirt
ofa$41.7 million HOPE VIgrant
to the Charlotte Housing
Authority. The housing authority \
and NationsBank Community
Develcpment Ccrp.aremanaging
theprcject.
Supporters caUitasoHcdeiqier-
iment to put middle-income and
pmbHc housing residents in the
scone neighborhood So fiw, 22
apxultnents have been renocxded
cmdreepened
Attorney BcAert Sink, counsel
to the housing authority, said
those involved in the pircject don’t
think they have violated Title VI,
but are syrrpathetic about the
businesses.
Iherehcul been some discussion
cdxmt helping them. Sink said
The complaint “is not conducive
to any fwrdia-dialogue cdxmt it,”
he said ‘To have this kind of an
attitude is really disappointing',
Tm not trying to minimize the,
impact.”
Ihe cxcmplaint, which seeks aH
on-site review of the prejedand'a
halt to federal spending, list the
city of Charlotte, Charlotte
Hemsing Authority, NatiansBank,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Ptanning
See FIRST on page 3A
country. Former pro basketball
player Magic Johnson has cdso
devekped a chain of inner city
theaters and is cdso repxsiedly
interested in expxmding into the
Charlotte menket.
ICE is pmrtnered with
Cicamdan-ownedCineplexOdeon
Theatres in three $40 million
multiplexes in Chicago.
InnerCity wants to epen similar
centers in Charlotte, Gary Ind,
Baltimore, Md, and Cleveland,
Ohio.
ICE was founded in 1993 with
the aim of building stoteof-the-
art theaters and entertainment
centers showing first-run feature
See THEATRE on page 3A
Inside
Editorials 4A-i
Strictly Busin
Sports 11A
Weddings 1B
Health 7B
Region 8B
A&E 10B
Travel 4B
Classified J 26
Auto Showcase 14B
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