November 2008 - Spectacular Magazine

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Page Four The most important thing any of us can do is try to make life better for our children and the others who come behind us. That’s part of the reason our state and our communities invest so much in education, health care and creating economic opportunity. Much of that effort helps build a better future for our young people. Those of us in the General Assembly also put a great deal of effort into protecting our children from abuse and neglect while they are young. During this past term, we as legislators approved a number of new laws intended to keep our children safe. In this time of great excitement about the future and great concern about the current state of the economy I wanted to let you know about these changes. From our discussions and requests for information and assistance to my office, I know that all of you want the best for your children, just as I do for mine. CHILD ABUSE _ The Jessica Lunsford Act (HB 933) strengthened laws for crimes against children, made it unlawful for registered sex offenders to be on or near certain premises, and made changes to the sex offender registry. Rape or sexual offense of a child less than 13 years old is now punishable by a minimum of up to 25 years in prison and up to a life sentence. After release from prison, the parolee will be subject to lifetime monitoring. The TALKBACK 2 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FROM THE OFFICE OF NC REPRESENTATIVE LARRY D. HALL (D-29) law also increases the penalties for sexual exploitation or prostitution of a child. It is now a felony for a registered sex offender to be on premises primarily intended for the use, care, or supervision of minors. _ Revised reporting requirements now require hospital physi- SPECTACULAR November 2008 coverage by adding benefits for over-thecounter medicines and setting the maximum annual cost-sharing limit at 5 percent of family income. STUDIES _ The General Assembly has created the Poverty Reduction and Economic Recovery Legislative Study Commission to study a coordinated and integrated approach to reducing poverty. The commission will have 20 members and its final report will be due by the start of the 2010 session. _ The Legislative Research Commission has been directed to study the possibility of prohibiting smoking in foster care homes and whether such a ban would reduce the number of available foster care homes. _ The law allowing children to ride in the back of pickup trucks was amended last year to raise the minimum age from 12 to 16. The law (HB2340) also removed the exemption from the law for 32 smaller counties in the state. Vehicles being operated as part of an agricultural enterprise remain exempt from the law. Thank you as always for allowing me to communicate with you. Please contact me if I can be of any service. Larry D. Hall hall@ncleg.net Please remember that you can listen to each day’s committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website at http://www.ncleg.net. Once on the Larry D. Hall cians, administrators or others involved in the health care of a child to tell law enforcement officials about any cases involving recurrent illness or serious injury that appear to have been caused by “non-accidental” trauma. The law (HB 2338) applies only to people 18 and younger. The law already requires physicians to report such cases to the director of the county department of social services. HEALTH CARE _ The legislature allowed up to 6 percent enrollment growth in the state’s insurance plan for children as we try to expand health care coverage to more young people. The budget provision (HB 2436) also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to report: the number of children enrolled in the program during the first week of January 2009; the projected enrollment and program costs, by month, for the remainder of the 2008-09 fiscal year; and the status of current expenditures and availability of state and federal funds for the remainder of the fiscal year. A separate provision in the budget strengthens the MISCELLANEOUS _ A new law creates an exception to the public records law so that identifying information of minors participating in local park and recreation programs is not required to be publicly available. The law (SB 212) allows the county, municipality, and zip code of a participant to remain public, but all identifying information is redacted. The information is not considered confidential and can be disclosed by local governments if they choose, but they are not required to do so. _ North Carolina has joined the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The compact was created to make changing schools easier for children of military families by creating consistent enrollment, record transfer, student placement, extracurricular activity guidelines. The new law (SB 1541) allows for the enforcement of administrative rules and uniform collection and sharing of information. It also promotes flexibility and cooperation between the schools, parents and students as these families are transferred to new posts. site, select “audio,” and then make your selection – Appropriations Committee Room or Press Conference Room. You can also use the website to look up bills, view lawmaker biographies and access other information. IN THIS ISSUE Another Perspective 25 Business & Finance 34 Features - Diondre Cooper 17 Amanda DeVoe 15 Jabari Foust 16 Miranda Patterson 13 Tameika Ramseur 9 Myca Townes 11 Maurice Troy 19 From The Publisher’s Desk 5 FYI 22 Granville County 34 Health 35 In The Spotlight 7 Legal Eagle Advisor 27 Lifestyles 37 Living Your Faith 26 News Briefs 30 Not Just Your Business 34 Orange County 33 Political Affairs 27 Religion 23 Rightchus Truth 6 Talkback, Too 4 SPECIAL TRIBUTE - ALEX RIVERA 20 COVER PHOTO BY MAURICE NOBLE
November 2008 SPECTACULAR Page Five From The Publisher’s Desk... SPECTACULAR MAGAZINE www.spectacularmag.com EACH ONE,TEACH ONE As we witness the passing of another great legend sometimes we need to pause not just to honor his accomplishments but also his influence on the lives around him. In this case, I am referring to Alexander M. “Alex “ Rivera, Jr. Although he was a nationally know photojournalist and a fixture in the civil rights movement, he was much more a quiet man of care and inspiration. He really embodied the mantra “each one teach one.” I can recall early in my career when he quietly took me aside and after reading several of my publications said he wanted to help me make the publication look better and more appealing through better photo quality and placement. Boy, was I amazed and shocked. I didn’t even know he read my publication. What an honor to have him take an interest in me, unsolicited. But that was the kind of giant he was. He did not seek acclaim and seemed almost uncomfortable with it. I remember when he was honored by the Durham Committee on a summer’s night in late August 2000. There were photo displays spread across one wall of the room showing great historic moments he recorded from Thurgood Marshall covening the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to a meeting between him self and then Vice Pres. Richard Nixon. And yet this great man stopped to offer his help to me. What an example for all of us to follow when it comes to our youth. No matter your station in life you can make a difference in another’s life with your experience and time. This is a message we need to appreciate and emulate for today’s times. As we think about today’s times, a historic election and serious issues our most precious resource continues to be our youth. As you see throughout this issue we have extremely talented youth. The question for us to ask and the call for us to answer is whether they will receive encouragement and guidance in applying that talent and knowledge. It is a generational observation that each one has more knowledge that the previous. But the question arises, how will it be applied. What will the priorities for that talent to be directed toward and focused upon? Many times you have read my concerns about doing the right thing for our youth and this is an extension of that plea. With all of the excitement there has been some effort to minimalize the American experience. As the saying Phyllis D. Coley, Publisher goes, “Martin marched, so Jessie could run, so that Barack could win” or “hands that once picked cotton now can pick a president.” This really describes the continuing effort of black people in America but there was always the concern of preparing coming generations. It was seen in the fight for education, the fight for healthcare, the fight for decent housing, etc. Our generation and those in power now must not lose consciousness of this responsibility. Some times people ignore their responsibilities to leave things better than they found them. It is often said that “service is the rent we pay for the time we are here on earth” when talking about our respective duties to humanity and our immediate communities. The easiest and most needed efforts are those to support our youth. There many volunteer programs such as the Rights of Passage, Durham Companions for Youth, the Young Marines, the Boy Scouts, The Girl Scouts, Men of Integrity, John Avery Boy’s Club, The Salvation Army Boy’s Club and the list goes on. What they all need are volunteers and mentors. And here is the unmet duty, or challenge or need. It is one that just takes time, no special skill or qualification. This is where concern meets need and service is the outcome. So again I call on you to reach back from what ever station in life you occupy…reach back to our youth. TO GOD BE THE GLORY! Phyllis D. Coley pcoley@spectacularmag.com PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PHYLLIS COLEY FEATURES EDITOR GRACE GRAHAM HEALTH EDITOR DR. SHARON ELLIOTT-BYNUM COLUMNISTS STELLA J.ADAMS GENEVIA GEE FULBRIGHT, CPA LARRY HALL, ESQ. LAMONT LILLY IRVING JOYNER, ESQ. DR. ARCHIE D. LOGAN DEL MATTIOLI CONTRIBUTING WRITERS MAXINE GARLAND KATINA RANKIN KIMBERLE WALKER VALERIE WHITTED PHOTOGRAPHERS ROBERT LAWSON MAURICE NOBLE LAYOUT/DESIGN PHYLLIS COLEY LAWRENCE DAVIS III MAURICE NOBLE DISTRIBUTION LAWRENCE DAVIS III LELIA ROYSTER CHARLES STREET Spectacular Magazine enlightens, empowers and entertains African Americans in Durham, Wake Orange, Granville, Vance and Person counties with features, columns, commentaries and calendars. Spectacular Magazine is published monthly and distributed free in Durham, Wake, Orange, Granville, Vance and Person counties. Deadline for all submissions is the 22nd of each month. Contact us at: info@spectacularmag.com or by mail at: Post Office 361 Durham, NC 27702 919-680-0465 Mail subscriptions are available for $25.00 per year. Second class postage is paid in Durham, N. C.
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November 2008 - Spectacular Magazine

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