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Tuesday, August 30, 2011
News The Carolina Regional Minority Partnership Coalition to monitor Democratic National Convention minority contracts
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn on Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 9:59 AM
I'm going to be shouting about this through the end of the Democratic National Committee's big party, double pinkie swear:
Don't forget that the 2012 DNC's is branding itself as "The People's Convention."
From Qcitymetro.com:
The Carolina Regional Minority Partnership Coalition, a Charlotte group formed to push for minority business participation in contracts awarded for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, has launched a new website.
...
Ferguson said the coalition would like to see the DNC adopt minority participation goals, which so far has not occurred.Read the rest of this article, by Glenn Burkins, here.
Visit the Carolina Regional Minority Partnership Coalition's website to learn more about what they're up to here.
News Sir. Richard's socially conscious condoms
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn on Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 9:58 AM
Sir. Richard's Condom Company is going on tour, though, unfortunately, they'll be on the West Coast this time. And, no, Sir. Richard's Condom Company isn't a snappy band name, it's the name of a company that offers socially conscious condoms. But, that's not all: For every condom you buy, the company will donate a condom to someone in a developing country.
Why? According to its website, where you can order some condoms for yourself, the company aims to appeal "to discerning, responsible individuals who seek to align their purchases with the change they want to see in the world."
Here's more from Good.is:
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Tuesday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 8:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, August 30, 2011 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Ayrton Senna Documentary Screening at Regal Park Terrace
• Matisyahu at Amos' Southend
• Brad Brake at The Comedy Zone Lake Norman at Galway Hooker
• Trivia Night at Mellow Mushroom
• Open Mic Poetry at Wine Up
Monday, August 29, 2011
News Photos: 2011 Pride Charlotte Fest
Posted By Kimberly Lawson on Mon, Aug 29, 2011 at 11:11 AM
The 2011 Pride Charlotte Festival took place this past Saturday, Aug. 27, in Uptown. The streets were filled with performers, festival-goers, protesters, protesters OF protesters and more. Check out photos shot by Tremaine Tillman.
Boomer with Attitude Peter Gorman's Murdoch-owned company takes big hit from New York state
Posted By John Grooms on Mon, Aug 29, 2011 at 11:03 AM
You have to wonder whether former CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman is having second thoughts about taking a job in a Rupert Murdoch company. The New York Daily News reports that the state of New York has canceled the $27 million contract between the state’s Education Department and Murdoch's Wireless Generation — a company that comprises the bulk of Murdoch-owned News Corporation's Education Division, of which Gorman is a senior vice-president. New York State Controller Thomas DiNapoli told the state Education Dept. that the contract was rejected "in light of the significant ongoing investigations and continuing revelations with respect to News Corp.” and an "incomplete record" about News Corp.'s qualifications.
Gorman’s job is "building the division's business inside public-school districts," according to News Corp. “The division’s business” so far consists entirely of one company, Wireless Generation. With this new slap in the face from one of the largest state education departments in the nation, Wireless Generation, and indeed, New Corp.’s recently launched Education Division itself, could be at risk.
Wireless Generation was set to get $27 million of New York’s $700 million in federal "Race to the Top" funds to develop software for the purpose of gathering the academic and personal information of every public school student in New York state. In view of News Corp.’s outrageous phone-hacking and police bribery scandal in Britain, it’s no surprise that parents’ and teachers’ groups raised cain about the arrangement. In addition, the U.S. Justice Dept. is reviewing claims that Murdoch’s international media octopus hacked the phones of some 9/11 victims. As the Daily News summed it up, “The controversy proved too much for the state to stomach.” It remains to be seen whether his parent company’s antics will have the same effect on Gorman. Attempts this morning to reach Gorman for comment were unsuccessful.
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Monday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, Aug 29, 2011 at 9:34 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, August 29, 2011 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Cult Movie Monday, screening The Big Lebowski at Actor's Theatre of Charlotte
• The Damned Things at The Fillmore
• Chubby's Karaoke at Dixie's Tavern
• Find Your Muse open mic at The Evening Muse
• Mic Night at Flying Saucer
Friday, August 26, 2011
Film / Film Reviews Friday's Film Reviews: The Whistleblower, Conan the Barbarian, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D
Posted By Matt Brunson on Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 5:00 PM
- Lionsgate
- Conan the Barbarian
Click on the link to be taken directly to the review.
News CMPD: We need another Taser review
Posted By Cheris Hodges on Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 3:49 PM
Following the death of a suspect after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer used a Taser to subdue him, the department has put the weapons on the shelf.
Lareko Williams died last week after being hit by a police Taser. His death came one day after the family of Darryl Turner, who was killed in 2008 following a Taser shock, received a multimillion dollar settlement from the company that makes the weapon.
At the time of Williams' death, CMPD took the Tasers off the street for a review. Today, Chief Rodney Monroe released a statement about the findings.
On July 21, 2011, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department began immediately inspecting all of our Electronic Control Devices (TASERS) to ensure they were in proper working order. To accomplish that goal, all ECDs were collected from our officers and personally tested and inspected. This inspection identified a small number ECD’s had minor defects such as batteries and date reset displays; they will be replaced or repaired.CMPD has also completed an internal review of the department’s policy on the use of ECD’s as well as the training that officers receive on their use. The CMPD continues to believe that TASERS are a valuable tool for police officers and that they ultimately enhance the safety of our citizens by giving officers a viable option to minimize injuries to themselves and others.
However, it is critical that both our officers and the public have confidence not only in the devices themselves but also in the policies and training related to their use. To that end, I have asked the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to conduct a review of the department’s policies and procedures regarding TASER deployment along with our training program. PERF specializes in identifying best practices related to law enforcement issues and is familiar with TASER deployment policies and training throughout the country. PERF’s review will give us an objective outside look at our policies and training and will help us identify any needed modifications.
I anticipate that the PERF Review will take 45 to 50 days to complete. While that will take us past our initial target of September 7 to complete the review, I believe that the extra time spent on that outside review will result in enhanced confidence in our use of TASERS, both for our officers and the public. We will keep you informed on the progress of the review.
We are also in discussions with TASER International regarding the possible replacement of our current TASERS with a newer model that has some additional safety features. I will keep you updated on the progress of those discussions.
Democratic National Convention 2012 Democratic National Convention 2012 Notebook: A command center takes shape
Posted By Mary C. Curtis on Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 1:11 PM
Early this week, the Charlotte City Council approved a request of close to $600,000 so the police department can renovate its downtown headquarters in preparation for the 2012 Democratic National Convention. On Thursday night, Rodney Monroe, Chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, gave some details on the “command center” he said, that will be “the department’s management arm for the convention.”
Monroe has been “somewhat tight-lipped” about security, he said. But, though he said, “I wish it was Sept. 8, 2012 and it would be done,” Monroe added, “2012 is going to be an exciting year for us ... it’s going to unfold, you’re going to be in the moment, you’re going to respond to things.” The command center is set to be up by the end of the year or in early January.
Speaking to a meeting of the Charlotte Area Association of Black Journalists, Monroe said the goal was “not to prevent people from coming out and exercising their First Amendment rights” nor “to shut anything down” during the convention, a fear of some businesses and city residents who are still wondering how an influx of more than 35,000 delegates and visitors will affect their lives.
Some protesters are “looking to be disruptive,” he said. “Anarchists, they’re out there; they’re here in the city. We’re just trying to gather as much information as we can.” The CMPD is, he said, working with partners — local, regional and national — that represent the Secret Service, FBI and an alphabet soup of agencies and departments. They are meeting every three to four weeks, he said. “You name it, we have a committee for it.”
Charlotte has sent police officers to help other jurisdictions for events such as the inauguration and economic summits, and departments in other cities will reciprocate, sending officers for the convention. Charlotte and Tampa, Fla., site of the Republican convention, are expecting about $50 million each from Congress for security, the policy since 9/11.
Monroe said he knows the challenges and expectations. Political conventions “determine the leaders of our country.” And Charlotte will be hosting a sitting president, one who “has probably received more threats than any president in history.”
In more than two decades of police work in Washington, D.C., Monroe oversaw arrangements for large gatherings such as the Million Man March. “Events similar to this were common occurrences in Washington, and that gave us a leg up.” As he prepares for DNC 2012, he is investigating technology and social media tools, and said he has studied “flash mobs” in cities such as Philadelphia and Chicago. “Law enforcement will have a legacy,” he said. “We want people talking about the way we were able to conduct the convention,” safely and with “as little disruption as possible.”
He said he doesn’t want residents to think the convention will be the only thing on the department’s radar during that week in September 2012. “We also have the responsibility of the rest of the city,” he said, and amid the crowds and the international attention a political convention will bring, that’s one thing he said he wants the people of Charlotte to remember.
Mary C. Curtis, an award-winning Charlotte, N.C.-based journalist, is a contributor to The Root, NPR, Creative Loafing and the Nieman Watchdog blog. Her “Keeping It Positive” segment airs Wednesdays at 7:10 on TV’s Fox News Rising Charlotte, and she was national correspondent for Politics Daily. Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mcurtisnc3.
Boomer with Attitude Rick Perry's teacher life insurance scam may win Slimiest Governor Ever award
Posted By John Grooms on Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 11:39 AM
Reporters Jason Cherkis and Zach Carter of Huffington Post have revealed an insurance scheme by Texas Gov. Rick Perry that, in a just world, would win him at least a finalist spot in the All-Time Slimiest Governor Sweepstakes. You can read all about it here, but here’s the short version:
In 2003, Perry proposed this charming idea as a money-maker for Texas’ state government — help Wall Street investors gamble on how long retired Texas teachers would live. And no, this isn’t satire, it’s straight-up news. Perry wanted retired Texas teachers to permit Swiss banking giant UBS to buy life insurance policies on them. When the retirees died, the policies would pay out benefits to Wall Street speculators who had bet on when the teachers would die, say Cherkis and Carter. Texas’s state government would get paid for arranging the bets. The families of the dead teachers would get nothing. If a teacher balked at the idea, Perry suggested offering them 50-100 bucks.
In short, “Perry was promising the state big money in exchange for helping Swiss banking giant UBS set up a business of teacher death speculation.” Words like “inappropriate” or “exploitative” or “government intrusion into citizens’ lives” seem weak in the face of such warped, callous sleaziness. Again, read the whole story for yourself and make up your own mind.
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