http:/AAAWw.thecharlottepost.com
8C
Death of
a black
business
By Christian Morrow
niE PITTSBURGH COURIER
PITTSBURGH - Tredessa
Dalton is a case study - liter
ally - in what should not hap
pen to a business. When
M.B.A. candidates fi'om the
Univei’sity of Pittsburgh stud
ied her BP gas station at the
intersection of Frankstown
Road and Robinson
Boulevard in Penn Hills, they
pointed to four things busi
nesses need to avoid, Dalton
could not avoid any
“They said; you can’t lose
youi' customer base-East
Hills (housing community left
duiing renovation); you can’t
impede customer access-they
begin mad consti’uction right
in fix)nt of the station,” she
said. “Don’t lose exti*a income-
Penn Hills teUs all the ven
dor, artists, shoe, shirt and
hat vendors they have to .
leave the lot, and then compe
tition-two Get Gos open with
in a mile.”
Tlie station, one of the most
visible Black-owned business
es in the ai^a, closed June 13.
Even in the face of a colossal
coUapse after only 18 months
of ownership, Dalton, a
Pittsbui’^ native who owns a
highly successful janitorial
business in New York City
can still laugh.
“It wasn’t anybody’s fault, I
guess. But I’m not dead yet,”
she said. “Whatever you do,
keep going. People in busi
ness have to know that.”
Dalton said the six months
of repair’s to Frankstown
Road and ' Robinson
Boulevai’d, which blocked
both entrances to the station
and forced motorists to avoid
the intei’section, began almost
inmiediately aftei’ she pur
chased the business and con
sumed all her capital.
The loss of vendors, howev
er, was the bi^est blow.
“I kind of feel I let the com
munity down,” she said,
“They attracted people. It was
a gathering place; it was
unique with books, paintings,
incense, and clothes unique to
Afiican Americans. The com
munity needs something
there.”
In a move bom fifoni desper
ation, Dalton sold gas at cost
to try to generate customers
for the convenience shop. Not
only did it not work, it dam
aged her ability to purchase
additional fuel.
She was put on pre-pay sta
tus with BP, but could not
generate the $40,0001’equired
to purchase two weekly
tanker loads. Sherecdvedhei'
last fuel in Apiil. Fix)m then
on, it was a spii’al of diminish
ing I'etums. The state lottery
shut her oflf for non-payment,
cigarette and snack vendors
went unpaid, and customei's
vanished.
Jim Tarply who worked at
the station for 10 years, said
the selling of gas at cost was
the station’s swan song.
“It was too much Mother
Hubbai’d, one week we’re out
of milk, the next week there’s
no regular gas, or maybe no
piemium.” he said. “But
(Dalton) didn’t really imder-
stand the business. You only
make $800 on every $20,000
you spend in fuel. You need
$35,000 in store sales.”
Nancy Mai’icondi, executive,
dii'ector of the Petroleum
Retailers and Auto Repair
Associaticxi, said it can be a
vicious circle.
“At best there’s a five-cent
margin on a gallon of gas and
credit cards can eat that up.”
she said. “You need the store
sales, but if they don’t come in
for gas, they don’t buy at the
store.”
Dalton said she is not dead
yet. She has a group of young
Aftican-American men will-
See DEATH7C
Cliarlotte $0!gt
BUSINESS
THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2005
Sports 1C
HEARTSTRINGS UNIVERSITY
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Wialillian Howard teaches informal and part-time wedding planners the keys to business success at Heartstrings
Wedding University. Graduates of the 55-hour program earn are certification as professionals.
Wedding bells always
ring at planner school
By Janell J. Lewis
THE CHARLOTTE POTT
SO THE QUESTION HAS
been popped and a little blii^
is on her finger. Now what to
do about planning the wed
ding? You could strug^e and
put a lot of stress on yourself,
ask a creative fiiend to help
you out, or you can hire a certi
fied wedding consultant who’s
actually had formal training.
Wialillian Howard, president
of Walillian & Company, hdps
teach the art of wedding plan
ning thi’ough Wialillian’s
Heartstrings Wedding
Univei’sity certificate program.
For three years, Howard has
offered an intense course of
classes for those interested in
mastering the logistics of tire
wedding ceremony business.
“This is a business. This is
not a hobby,” Howard said.
“Folks tend to look at the cere
monial side as opposed to the
business side.”
W^th the average wedding
averaging $40,000, prepara
tion for weddings can sweep
couples and families hke a tor
nado without prcper consulta
tion. Howard ti-ains students
to provide some ease to couples
in need within a program
that’s a part of only seven such
in the country
“The wedding planner has to
be a liaison that keeps the
peace,” Howard said.
“Everybody wants that week
end to be perfect.”
ReNee Troy-Mebane, a
Heartstrings graduate, stum
bled upon the university when
she heard two former students
introduce themselves at an
entrepreneurs meeting. She
wanted to know how she too
could become certified in some
thing she enjoyed doing.
“The levd of information I
gained as well as the outside
class project...was really
intense,” she said. “W^th 53
hours of class, that definitely
makes you credible.”
When TVoy-Mebane complet
ed the course, she was
equipped with l^e necessary
tools to begin her own wedding
consulting business,
Blueprints for Successful
Events. Like many infoimal
planners, she had put together
parts of weddings for family’^
and fiiends before completing
Heartstrings.
Howard’s program provides
training for planners as well as
developing a wedding busi
ness. Howard said the pro
gram also aims to reeducate
people who never thought
planning weddings could be
SeeWEDDING/7C
‘The
wedding
planner
has to
be a
liaison
that
keeps
the
peace.”
Heartstrings
President
Wialillian
Howard
Nigeria challenges major oil companies
By Stefania Bianch
ISTERSAVO.KAL PRESS SERVICE
BRUSSELS - Ethnic com
munities Irom Nigeria’s
Niger Delta are challenging
the Nigerian government and
some of the world’s biggest oil
companies over the level of
greenhouse gases emitted
during oil production.
Communities in the oil-rich
Niger Delta region of the
country filed a legal action
tagainst the Nigerian govern
ment, the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation and
the Shell, Exxon, CTievron,
Tbtal and Agip oil companies
June 20 to stop gas flaring in
the area, saying it violates
their human rights.
Flarii^ is the process of
burning off surplus com
bustible vapors fium a well,
either as a means of disposal
or as a safety measure to
relieve well pressure, and is
the biggest source of air emis
sions fiom offshore oil and
gas installations.
Flaring has been prohibited
in Nigeria since 1984 under
the Associated Gas
Reinjection Act. This act only
allows companies to flare if
they have field-specific, law
fully issued ministerial cer
tificates. Despite requests.
Friends of the Earth which is
supporting the Nigerian com
munities in their legal battle
says none of these have ever
been made pubHc.
The environmental group
says more gas is flared in
Nigeria than anywjiere else
in the world.
The flares contain a cocktail
of toxins that affect the
health and livelihood of local
communities. This has
exposed Niger Delta resi
dents to an increased risk of
premature deaths, child res
piratory illnesses, asthma
and cancer over the past 40
years, environmentalists and
local people say
The Nigerian arm of
Friends of the Earth says the
emission of these toxins vio
lates the Delta residents’
rights guaranteed under
Nigerian law, such as the
right to live in dignity, and to
enjoy health and a satisfacto
ry environment.
Reverend Nnjmmo Bassey
executive director of Friends
of the Eaith Nigeria, says the
filing of tile legal case is ‘’a
major step in our collective
effoi’t as citizens of Nigeria” to
make oil and gas corporations
and the government behave
responsibly
‘Tor too ior^ we have wit
nessed the atrocious flaring
of associated gas by profiteer
ing oil corporations that hold
the people in utmost con
tempt. We are calling on the
law to defend our impover
ished citizens,” he said in a
statement.
In a report ‘Gas Flaring in
Nigeria: A human rights,
environmental and economic
monstrosity’ . launched
Monday (Jun. 20) to coincide
with the legal case, the
See NIGERIA/7C
Lawsuit
alleges
Ford bias
By Bankole Thompson
THE MICHIGAN CHTTEN
DETROIT - Racism is stUl
ahve and it is reaiing its
ugly head at Ford Motor
Company, according to a
claim bmught against the
automaker by a citizens
gix)up called the Coalition for
Corporate Justice and Equal
Opportunity
The group is chaiging Ford
of disci’iminatory practices
against African American
workerc at several of the
automaker’s plants and
within its staff functions.
“If \\niiam Clay Ford Jr. is
a man of integrity and hon
esty as he said he is, I don’t
think he will want a nega
tive rating on his leader
ship,” said the Rev. Kenneth
Flowers who heads the
group. “We want to find out
which supei’visors are acting
in a racist manner against
black workem.”
Flowers said employment
data are “distorted and
altered,” on a regular basis
to disadvantage Blacks even
if such measure violates
accountii^ rules.*
“White employees with
fewer credentials earn more
pay than Afiican-Americans
with credentials doing the
same job,” Flowers said.
“High achieving Afiican-
Americans receive low per
formance reviews while less
achieving whites receive top
achiever status.”
Jackie Gilchiist, a black
woman who works for the
automaker as a customs spe
cialist said despite earning a
degree in engineering, an
MBA and a law degree, it
took 12 years before she was
promoted. At that same
time, Gilchrist said two
white workers with only
hi^ school diplomas were
promoted before she was
considered.
“Names of black workerc
ai’e missing fix)m the list of
pi^omotions,” Gilchrist said."
Sometimes subordinates
who openly criticize and
refuse to follow instructions
fi’om Black supervisors are
oft:en rewarded by promo-
tion, the gi'oup charged.
“When you look at the
papers, you see a parade of
Afiican-American execu
tives. They do not represent
Afiican-Americans within
the ranks,” Gilchrist said.
Tracy Flaggs, Marilyn
Patterson, \lnnie Newson,
all Afiican-American women
working for the automaker,
also ai’e suffering a similar
fate according to Flowers.
“I’ve got involved in this
because of (Flaggs),” Flowers
said. “This is nothing person
al. It is about racism and
inequality”
“The steel walls of racial
discrimination are still
solid,” Rev. Charles G.
Adams, pastor of Hartford
Memorial Baptist Church,
said durii^ a recent rally to
galvanize petition signers.
TECH
Processor change will make Macs faster
Apple’s iMac desktop com
puter is powered by IBM’s
PowerPC. Next spring, Intel
takes over as the comput
er’s brain.
By Winfred Cross
IHECHARLOTTE POST
But it is. Jobs,' CEO of the
spunky computer company,
made the annoimcement at
Apple’s Worldwide
Developer Conference June
6. Tbngues have been a wag-
gin’ ever since.
There was some specula
tion days before the confer
ence but it was just that.
Most were still surprised
when Jobs made the
announcement - especially
IBM, which had reportedly
tried to contact him weeks
before the conference, which
was also broadcast on Apple’s
web site.
Developers were even more
surprised to see Apple’s new
operating system Mac OS X
Tiger up and running on an
Intel powered Mac, which
meant this deal must have
been in the works for a long
time.
Jobs said the OS X was
designed fix>m its inception to
work with an Intel chip. He
also said the company had
gone as far as possible with
the IBM-based PowerPC
chip.
‘Tt’s been 10 years sinc« our
transition to the PowerPC
and we think Intel’s technol
ogy will help us create the
best personal computers for
the next 10 years,” Jobs said.
“As we look ahead we can
envision some amazing prod
ucts we want to build for you
and we don’t know how to
build them with the future
PowerPC roadmap.”
See INTEL7C