Friday, March 5, 2010 www.scoopusanewspaper.com FREE

Reach OneReach One, Teach One, Lets Save the Children, Teach One, Lets Save the Children

Chester Community Charter School, recently, through its “Loose Change for Change” program, presented a check for $3,420 to theAmerican Red Cross to assist in relief efforts for victims of the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The collection ini-tiative ran for a total of 10 days and encouraged the CCCS family to donate their loose pocket change to provide food, dry goods,water, and other necessities for the people of Haiti. Pictured, from left to right, back row, Joy Jones, executive director, American RedCross Chester-Wallingford Chapter; Steven Lee, CEO, Chester Community Charter School; Edith Hilton, board member, AmericanRed Cross Chester-Wallingford Chapter, Grace Lincoln, board member, American Red Cross Chester-Wallingford Chapter; Dr. AlonzoCavin, board member, American Red Cross Chester-Wallingford Chapter; Kolin Corbin, benefits & community relations manager,Charter School Management, Inc.; Lucille Turner, board member, American Red Cross Chester-Wallingford Chapter; Bryan Payne,program coordinator, American Red Cross Chester-Wallingford Chapter. Front row, Tienne Nael, student, Chester Community CharterSchool, who collected and donated $100, the single-highest donation of all CCCS students.

Dr John Short, Dean/Millersville University, Blanche Burton Lyles and MA ScholarDr. Lori Brown Mirabal at Brightside Baptist Church in Lancaster, PA. kicking offthe Marian Anderson on Tour Program, See more photos from the “MarianAnderson Tour in Lancaster,” page 8

March is Women’s History Month

Marian AndersonFoundation kicks offits Tour Programwith a visit toLancaster, PA

Coalition to erect aDr. Martin LutherKing, Jr. life-sizeBronze Sculpture atthe entrance of Dr.Martin Luther King,Jr. Drive

Have your nameengraved on themonument basesee page 3

Malcolm X got it rightwhen he said "Education isthe passport to our future." Ipersonally first learned thatshort quote by attending andor working at many a ChakaFattah event. He often holdsup the Malcolm X quote asa way of encouragement toget all the education youcan. That's why I am sovery glad that Congressman

Chaka Fattah continues to carry on one of histraditions that he started over two decades ago.I'm referring to the Fattah Conference OnHigher Education. Anyone who dares to eventhink about giving up on our African Americanand Hispanic youth -- think again and stop bythe Fattah Conference On Higher Education so

you can see for yourself. There will be upwards of1,600 college level youth, eagerly moving from work-shop to workshop, trying to soak up information like asponge. Why? Because they desire to get higher educa-tion, be successful and give back. How about that?

Congressman Chaka Fattah and lead sponsor TheNational Nuclear and Security Administration (NNSA)helped more than 1,600 high school and college stu-dents from Philadelphia and beyond, to aim higher intheir educational goals last weekend at the 24th AnnualFattah Conference on Higher Education.

The Fattah Conference on Higher Education tookplace at the Sheraton Philadelphia Center City Hotel at17th and Race Streets from Thursday, February 25th toSunday February 28, 2010.

Highlights for this year’s conference included:• Friday dinner session -- keynote speech by former

Principal – and former Conference attendee – RogerJackson.

• Saturday at 8:35 a.m. – Keynote by CongressmanChaka Fattah, conference founder.

• Saturday luncheon – Speech by Olympian BonnieSt. John, three-medal winner at the 1984 WinterParalympics, the first African American skier to com-pete in an Olympic event.

• Saturday banquet at 7 p.m.– Speech by Dr.Therman Evans, motivational speaker, medical doctor,author and pastor.

• Sunday at 8:45 a.m. – Speech by actor/televisionpersonality Hill Harper

Over the past two decades, the conference hasadvised, motivated and assisted almost 17,000 studentsfrom underserved communities to pursue and attainundergraduate, graduate and professional degrees.

Founded in 1987 by then-State Representative

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SCOOP U.S.A.Published every Friday by R.E. Driver Jr. Associates with a Controlled Circulation ofover 90,000 readership. Copies are distributed each Friday in Philadelphia, PA andsuburbs, Chester, PA, Camden, NJ and Wilmington, Delaware to people and cus-tomers in Shopping Malls, Beauty Shops, Restaurants, Night Clubs, Hotels, Theatres,Office Buildings and many other business establishments where there is a high vol-ume of people of all ages. Mail Subscription: $35.00 per year. Unsolicited manu-scripts and photos are welcomed but will not be returned unless accompanied by astamped, self-addressed envelope. SCOOP U.S.A. is a city-wide, community news-paper with a broad range of news and information. Display Advertising Deadline is5:00 p.m. Monday. Call office for rates and information. The Publisher reserves theright to refuse any advertisement or unsolicited manuscripts.

The comments made by the columnists of SCOOP U.S.A. are their own and do notnecessarily reflect the opinions of the newspaper or of its staff.

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The Bridge to carry us over“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington2 - SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010

The PhiladelphiaHousing Authorityannounced this week itwould begin acceptingapplications for theHousing Choice VoucherProgram on-line, throughits Web site, pha.phila.gov.The announcement comesas the agency opens itsvoucher program waitinglist for applications for thefirst time since 2000.

The application periodbegan Tuesday, March 2and closes Monday, March15.

PHA Executive DirectorCarl Greene said he want-ed to make the applicationprocess convenient for thethousands of peopleexpected to apply.

“There is a tremendousshortage of quality hous-ing that low-wage earners,seniors and disabled citi-zens can afford, so weanticipate receiving a rushof applications during thenext two weeks. Ratherthan having people line up

PHA to use On-line Housing Applications for first time for hours at our offices toapply in person, we devel-oped the on-line applica-tion that’s quick and sim-ple to use,” Greene said.

Understanding thatsome families don’t haveaccess to a computer, PHAhas also set up a phonecenter to take applications,staffed by employees fromacross the agency.

The Housing ChoiceVoucher Program helpsfamilies and individualspay their rent to a privatelandlord. All houses andapartments approved forthe program must pass aHousing Quality Standardsinspection and all land-lords must be licensed andparticipate in PHA’s full-day property managementcourse. These require-ments ensure good proper-ty conditions and lessencommunity concerns.

PHA affords residentsthe opportunity to enroll ineconomic self-sufficiencyprograms, so that they can

receive job and vocationaltraining and counseling.Hundreds of participantsleave the program eachyear as they gain full-timeemployment and are ableto pay their rent or buy ahome without assistance.

People leaving the pro-gram create opportunitiesfor new applicants. Nowthat the current waiting listis almost exhausted thereis room to accept newapplicants. PHA officialsestimate they will havereceived as many as40,000 applications duringthe two-week open period.With the demand so great,the wait to move to the topof the list and receive avoucher could be monthsor years.

PHA is encouragingapplicants to log ontowww.pha.phila.gov. Thereis no wait and applicationsare accepted 24 hours aday for the two-week peri-od. For those wanting tophone in their application,

the number is 215-684-1200. HCV call centeroperators will be on hand7 days a week from 8 a.m.to 6 p.m. Whether apply-ing on line or by phone,applicants will need toprovide:

• Full name• Address• Social Security num-

ber for head of household• Household incomeThe Housing Choice

Voucher Program is fund-ed by the federal govern-ment and managed byPHA. With 17,000 house-holds, it is PHA’s largestprogram. (The agency alsohouses more than 14,000households in its publichousing program.) Oncethe Housing ChoiceVoucher Program applica-tion period closes, PHAwill offer the same on-lineapplication option for itspublic housing program.

Fattah as the Graduate Opportunities Conference forstudents attending colleges and universities inPennsylvania, it now attracts students throughout thecommonwealth, Middle Atlantic states and beyond.Many of the students have connections to thePhiladelphia area and Pennsylvania schools.

The conference is underwritten by the NationalNuclear and Security Administration, an agency withinthe U. S. Department of Energy that supports leadershipin science and technology. NNSA representatives con-ducted a series of workshops for attendees sharinginsider information on careers in science and technolo-gy.

“Now 24 years into offering this conference to stu-dents who want to improve their life chances through acollege or graduate education, what I find is the morethings change, the more they stay the same,” saidCongressman Fattah. “Higher Education is critical.Being prepared for college before you go to college iscritical. Short of coming from a wealthy family, youngpeople need, in a very timely fashion to enter into theapplication process, for getting student loans, scholar-ships and grants. The Fattah Conference on HigherEducation does all of that with the students whoattend.”

In addition to the workshops sponsored by NNSA,and panel discussions throughout the weekend, univer-sity representatives from many colleges and disciplinesprovided students with information that will assist themwith the next steps they need to take in the graduateschool application process

Keynote speakers attending the Annual FattahConference over the past 24 years have included: notedcivil rights leader, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson; renownedbrain surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Carson; long-time Editor-In-Chief of Essence Magazine Susan Taylor, andOlympian Bonnie St. John.

Friday, February 26, the keynote speaker at dinnerwas former Philadelphia public high school principalRoger Jackson. Jackson, almost 20 years ago, was astudent who attended and benefitted from the FattahConference on High Education. Jackson, a publishedauthor who has earned a master’s degree and is justmonths away from attaining a doctorate degree, is aninspirational example of the success to which FattahConference alumni and alumnae can aspire.

On Saturday, Congressman Chaka Fattah deliveredthe keynote address at the breakfast gathering.Congressman Fattah is highly regarded in Americaneducation circles and among his Congressional peersfor leadership and innovation in education, especiallyfor students from low income families and underserved

communities. Nationwide, close to nine million stu-dents have benefited from educational programs initiat-ed by Congressman Fattah. Almost $6 billion has beenallocated for these programs during his 15 years inCongress.

The feel of the Winter Olympics comes toConference during the luncheon Saturday, February 27as Olympian Bonnie St. John delivered the luncheonkeynote address. St. John’s unique life experience hastaken her to world-class levels in a wide variety of are-nas: sports, academia, politics and business-despite alitany of potentially devastating obstacles. Her fieryspirit and talent took her to the 1984 ParalympicsInnsbruck, Austria. Taking home a silver and twobronze medals in downhill skiing made her the firstAfrican American ever to win medals in a WinterOlympic event. A best-selling author, St. John has pub-lished five books.

On Saturday evening, February 27, Dr. ThermanEvans, motivational speaker, medical doctor, publishedauthor and pastor delivered the keynote address.

To top the conference off, on Sunday, February 28,actor/television personality Hill Harper was the finalkeynote speaker for the 2010 conference. Hill Harperis the author of three New York Times bestsellers:Letters to a young brother, Letters to a Young Sister,and The Conversation. Hill currently stars on the hittelevision drama CSI:NY as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes.Internationally, CSI is the most successful televisionfranchise in history.

It's also important to note that Governor Ed Rendellstopped by and delivered a heavy message to the youth.Mayor Michael Nutter did the same, as did State HouseAppropriations Chairman Dwight Evans. (How aboutthat -- all three former mayoral candidates (AfricanAmericans) were over what went down in 2007). CityCouncilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown andCouncilman Curtis Jones also participated at the confer-ence as speakers.

Conference attendance is open each year,----to thosewho pre-register and are pre-selected by counselors orprofessors from their respective schools. It is free tothose students who are accepted. The conference isorganized by the Educational Advancement Alliance,(EAA), which is led by President Karen Nicholas. Formore details about EAA, see their web site atwww.eaalliance.org.

*****Listen to 900amwurd. Check out SCOOP Columnist

Thera Martin Connelly on the radio. You can also listento the show on line at www.900amwurd.com. We videoand audio stream 7a.m. – 7p.m., Mondays throughFridays. We audio stream 24/7 at WURD. Thera's pro-gram is called News Source 900 and is broadcastMondays, 10 a.m. – 11a.m. and Tuesdays-Thursdays,10 a.m. - 12noon.

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SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010 - 3

Visit SCOOP USA on the World Wide Web: SCOOPUSANEWSPAPER.COM

PLEDGE FORMPlease indicate your preliminary interest or pledge below to contribute to the Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. Monument fund. No money is required at this time. We willinclude you in the Sponsors and Supporters Preview Reception. Our Fiscal agentwill follow up for a 501c3 tax exemption for your contribution.Check box: > Donor of $1,000. / Name to be engraved on monument base as testament of sup-port,> Sponsors call for Pledge Options and Return on Investment.> General contributions of any amount are welcomed.> I want to pledge in-kind support, call for details.

Name/Title:_______________________ Organization:_____________________

Address:_________________________ City/State/Zip:____________________

Phone: __________________________ Email: _________________________

Signature:________________________ Date:_____________________

Coalition to erect a Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr. life-size Bronze Sculpture at the entranceof Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive

The Artist Sculptor Rebecca-Rose tm (RMFACStudio) Present Plans for a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.“Freedom Dream” Monument in Historic Philadelphia.The monument will be made a Gift to the City ofPhiladelphia as a Legacy and Symbol of InternationalHuman Rights and dignity for all people.

Ms. Rose, a fourth generation African-Americansculptor revealed to the public her designs for the monu-ment, as well as the Coalition’s plans to bring visibilityto the Drive, in Dr. King’s honor.

This is a history in the making tribute in Philadelphiato Americas Renown Nobel Peace Laureate. This tributehonors Dr. King, the City of Philadelphia, and R. SonnyDriver, Publisher, SCOOP, USA Incorporated. Mr.Driver spearheaded the naming of Dr. Martin LutherKing Jr. Drive, with the support of the City ofPhiladelphia and over 60,000 citizens in petition.

Philadelphia’s leaders, community organizations, cul-tural families and sponsors are being asked to supportthe Dr. King’s “Freedom’s Dream” Monument. We ask your support at this time to provide us with a

letter of interest if you are able and willing to make thistax-exempt donation. For your contribution of one thou-sand dollars ($1,000.) dollars, your name or that or yourorganization’s will be engraved on the granite base ofthe monument as a living legacy of your support.Neither deposits nor payments are required at this time.

Please forward to SCOOP USA, the enclosedExpression of Interest Pledge Form, so that we maygather and forward your letter along with others to theGreater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition who haveexpressed an interest to be our Fiscal Agent for the pro-ject.

Speak to your neighbors and spread the word.

THIS IS NO SMALL MATTER!!

POST OFFICES ARE AN IMPORTANT

PART OF THE COMMUNITY!!WE MUST TAKE ACTION NOW BEFORETHE FINAL DECISION IS MADE ANDTHE DOORS OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODPOST OFFICES ARE CLOSED FOREVER!

Call the following USPS Reps and tell them

you want your Post Office keep Open James

Gallagher, District Manager 215-863-5001

-- Megan Brennan 412-494-2510 **Call

Congressman Robert Brady 215-389-4627

and Congressman Chaka Fattah 215-387-

6404 also your City Council members

to share your concerns about these proposed

closing and how they will affect you.

Don’t CloseOur PostOffices

“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington

Rosenwald Schools: Reclaiming a Legacy’Across the

country, school-children havebeen studyingBlack HistoryMonth. But manyAmericans knowvery little about agroup of schoolsthat educated hun-dreds of thousandsof Black children

and are their own key piece of Black his-tory. From 1913 to 1932, nearly 5,000"Rosenwald schools" were built in 15states, mostly in rural Southern commu-nities. These schools were built specifi-cally to educate Black children and by1928 one in three rural Black school-children in the South attended aRosenwald school. Their history, and theremaining school buildings themselves,

are now being reclaimed and preserved.The schools were named for their primary

donor, Chicago businessman Julius Rosenwald.The son of German Jewish immigrants, Rosenwald was aclothier who became the president of Sears, Roebuck, andCompany. As a progressive philanthropist, Rosenwaldbelieved one of the country's most pressing social prob-lems was the "Negro question," and he supported theideas and self-help doctrine of Tuskegee Institute presi-dent Booker T. Washington. In 1912, Rosenwald was amember of Tuskegee's Board of Trustees whenWashington came to him to suggest donating fundsspecifically for building Black schools. Most Southernstates provided little public funding to adequately educateBlack children, and many rural communities had noschools for Black children at all. Washington believedbuilding schools that could provide traditional and voca-tional education for Black children would be a keymethod of "race uplift." After a successful test group ofsix Alabama schools, in 1917 Rosenwald established theJulius Rosenwald Foundation, and the School BuildingProgram remained one of the foundation's primary mis-sions until Rosenwald's death in 1932.

The Rosenwald Foundation provided seed grants forschool construction and required communities to supple-ment the grants with public funds and support from localcitizens. Black residents were usually the driving forcebehind bringing a Rosenwald school to a community withfundraising a community-wide undertaking. Black fami-lies gathered for fried chicken dinners, picnics, and pennydrives or put aside portions of their wages or cotton cropsto support school building efforts. Counties then had tocommit to maintaining the completed schools as part ofthe public school system. Though most communities con-tinued the practice of supplying Black schools with worn-out books and second-hand materials, the schools them-selves set a new standard in the rural South. Rosenwaldschools were built to uniform design plans that mandatedsimple, clean-lined buildings with large windows andplenty of natural light. Many counties copied some ele-ments of their designs for new White schools. Once built,the schools often became central hubs and gathering

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places for the Black community.In the second half of the twentieth century, as schools

consolidated into larger districts or students began inte-grating into previously White schools after the 1954Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision,many Rosenwald schools were abandoned or demolished.In some communities the buildings were kept up andfound new life as Head Start classrooms, senior citizencenters, or in other community uses. As recognition oftheir historic importance began to grow, the NationalTrust for Historic Preservation named the schools to itslist of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in2002. Today its Rosenwald Schools Initiative works topreserve remaining Rosenwald buildings across theSouth.

Some people have criticized the School BuildingProgram, along with many of Booker T. Washington'sideas, for accommodating the segregated status quo. Butin providing school buildings and an opportunity for edu-cation for children in places where little or none existed atall for many years, Rosenwald schools played a key role

in educating generations of Black children. In that sense,their legacy of opportunity is echoed in contemporarysupplemental education initiatives like the Children'sDefense Fund's Freedom Schools® Program, which pro-vides summer and after-school enrichment for children incommunities where the need for these kinds of qualityprograms is often greatest and public schools are failing toteach basic literacy and numeracy. Just as Rosenwaldschools played a key role in serving as safe communityhavens and bringing adults together to nurture and supportchildren's education and positive development, CDFFreedom Schools programs seek to re-engage communi-ties in the lives of their children. For the community mem-bers who worked together to fund and build Rosenwaldschools, the Black teachers who found employment inthem, and the children they served, their promise andimpact was unmistakable. As a former slave who donatedhis life savings, $38, towards building his community'sRosenwald school said, he wanted "to see the children ofmy grandchildren have a chance."

Every adult needs to step up to the plate today to seethat all of our children and grandchildren have a betterchance in our rich nation.

We welcome an opportunity to talk or meet with you regarding the details. Contacts: RebeccaRose: (215) 833-9082 (cell), e-mail: /rebeccarosermfac@yahoo.com or SCOOP 215-232-5974

Jaynee and I just watchedthe movie “An Education”.The movie has been nomi-nated for an AcademyAward; it’s certainly goodenough. “An Education”features an English highschool student who falls foran older man. She drops outof school and cancels hercollege exams. The mantakes her to fancy restau-rants, concerts, and finally

on a trip to Paris. He charms her parents and liesto them about where they are

actually going.The young woman and her par-

ents expect the man to marry her,but he finally admits he is married.The heroine walks to his house andhappens to meet his wife going outwith his toddler son. The wife isshocked that the girl is so youngand tells the girl about all the man’sprevious girlfriends. Shocked backinto sensibility, the young womanhas to reapply to her high school and take a whole yearover. “An Education” is a morality tale.

Most movies today are far from morality tales though.Most are “feel good” movies. Some help us to face a dif-ficult reality. Sitting in our seats, munching on popcorn,we travel all over the world. Most of us have seen cer-tain Paris, London, or California spots so often, wewould feel right at home there.

We know how London looked and felt in the 1890’s,Chicago in the 1920’s, and the food lines of theDepression. Movies are our eyes on the past. Watchingmovies from the 1930’s are almost history lessons. Theirsets, their philosophies, and their attitudes all show clear-ly. There is more to movies than the plots.

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Copyright 2010 by Harry Martin Polis and edited by Jaynee Levy-Polis

Harry is available for lectures and entertainment with storiesand poetry. Contact SCOOP USA, or e-mail Harry

What movies teach us

“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.”~ Father Paul M. Washington4 - SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010

‘special-issue’ securities are redeemed by the Treasury topay each year's benefits. Since there are 3.3 workers forevery beneficiary, there has been a surplus in the Fund.However, as Baby Boomers start to retire and draw downthese benefits, there will be fewer workers to support them.By 2040, the Social Security Trust Fund will be depletedand, instead of a surplus, there won't be enough revenuefrom payroll taxes to cover the benefits.” About.com: USEconomy.

Due to the economic implosion, there are now fewerworkers and much less tax revenue being collected. Notonly are federal, state and local tax revenues down, so is theSocial Security payroll tax. This means there is less moneyin the fund for Uncle Sam to pilfer and less money for ben-efits! What does it mean for an entity like the US TreasuryDepartment which is broke, to owe its citizens money? Howcan they pay the Social Security Trust Fund the money theyowe it?

Good question. They have no answer nor do they reallywant to do the right thing on this. This is why the elites aregroping for ways to gut the system so they won’t have topay out more benefits. As we have already seen, they are notgoing to cut into the profits or the warmongering agenda ofthe Military Industrial Complex nor are they going to dis-continue propping up the Wall Street swindlers, crooks andcon men. So the little guy is the one who is going to take thehit. The hit is coming in the form of Social Security cost ofliving allowance and benefit cuts, tax increases and struc-tural changes. The track the US is currently on is unsustain-able. Something’s got to give and unless we wake up andtake serious action it will be the social safety nets likeSocial Security, Medicare and government pensions.

“Cabal puppet politi-cians never mention thatthe Social Security systemhas been compiling a hugesurplus since it was creat-ed. Why? Because they'vebeen using (stealing) thatsurplus for years to hide thereal size of the current fed-eral budget deficit, allow-ing them to spend more andjustify tax cuts for thewealthy. US Office ofManagement and Budget(OMB) data show that

while government’s reported deficit averaged about$300 billion a year from 2002 to 2006, the real cur-rent deficit was actually more than 50 per cent larg-

er. The government just ‘borrows’ about $160-$200 billionfrom the Social Security Trust Fund every year--under thetable. In 2007, the real deficit was $449 billion according tothe OMB. However, the ‘official’ deficit widely reportedwas only $257 billion, because it's government policy to addthe borrowed Social Security Trust Fund surplus ($192 bil-lion in 2007) to revenues before calculating the ‘official’deficit.” The Cabal Is Increasing Its Attack on SocialSecurity http://www.hermes-press.com/sss1.htm

In his first State of The Union address Barack Obamamentioned among other things, he wanted to appoint a “bi-partisan commission” to examine ways to reduce the esca-lating federal deficit. As soon as he said it I thought tomyself, “Uh oh, Obama is going to gut New Deal programsunder the guise of fiscal responsibility and austerity.”Obama seems to have taken the baton from the Bush regimeto continue the fascist policies of the ruling elites. Doing sowill ensure the destruction of the US economy, exacerbatethe demise of the middle class and reduce the masses towage serfs, debt peons and tax slaves. Make no mistake,once the commission or if Obama has his way, hisExecutive Orders are issued; it will be the people who haveneither the political clout nor the funds to bribe theCongress critters to fight for our interests who will sufferthe most.

The federal government is broke, and it went into evendeeper debt bailing out the large banks and hedge fundswhose recklessness, greed and hubris, on top of the fiscalirresponsibility already engaged in by previous administra-tions, created the current economic depression. The federaldeficit is skyrocketing into the trillions with no end in sight.“The U.S. debt is over $12 trillion, and is the sum of all out-standing debt owed by the Federal Government. Nearlytwo-thirds is the public debt, which is owed to the people,businesses and foreign governments who bought TreasuryBills, Notes and Bonds. The rest is owed by the governmentto itself, and is held as Government Account securities.

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Most of this is owed to Social Security and other trustfunds, which were running surpluses. These securities are apromise to repay these funds when Baby Boomers retireover the next 20 years. (Source: U.S. Treasury, Debt to thePenny; Debt FAQ)” About.com:US Economy. (My empha-sis)

There is no way the average person can fathom the totalamount of money the US owes. We certainly have no ideahow Uncle Sam can/will ever pay off his creditors. The totalpublic debt as of December 31, 2009 was:$12,311,349,677,512.03. That’s a lot of money. Mountingdebt such as that is unsustainable. At some point the debtbecomes unpayable; meaning folks will work just to pay theinterest on the public debt. It will be like share cropping ordebt peonage all over again; only this time every manwoman and child in the US will be impacted; unless you areone of the elites. Being in the “in crowd” has its perks.

Most people don’t realize that in addition to creditors likeChina, Japan and a few rich Persian Gulf nations, the USgovernment also owes the people, us, huge sums of moneybecause they’ve “borrowed” billions from the SocialSecurity Trust Fund to “balance” the budget or in mostcases reduce the deficit. “The Social Security Trust Fund isactually a combination of two funds: the Old-Age andSurvivors Insurance (OASI) and the Disability Insurance(DI) Trust Funds, managed by the Department of theTreasury. The Fund provides an accounting mechanism fortracking all income, which comes primarily from payrolltaxes and disbursements, and holds the assets. Payroll taxincome is exchanged for ‘special-issue’ securities, whichare like Treasury bonds, which are held in the Fund. Thepayroll tax income itself goes into the General Fund. The

This week’s rap from theMayor of Girard Avenue,Toby Rich is called“Snowed In.” Yes, Phillywas snowed in and I mustsay our Mayor and all ofhis staff handled their busi-ness. Now this may soundcorny, but it’s great too seethat our city can be in a

struggle with the weather – meaning that trashmight get picked up late and children cannot go toschool along with our bus company not being able togo up or down certain streets, roads or Avenues, andwe still make it through the day, afternoon and night.

Now the city did close down but it was closed toremove the snow and all I will say when it comes tothe cost is what could the city do, not take care ofbusiness? Whatever the snow removal cost, it’ssomething that one just has to grin and bear. We allhave to just roll with the punches and make it throughthe day and night.

Now I know the snow has been a real pain, howev-er compared to Haiti and Chile with the earthquakesthey both suffered, we are lucky. We know that sometrash has not been picked up but that is only becausethe snow emergency pushed things back. Things willbe back to normal real soon.

Now on a different note, I went to a school calledYoung Scholars at Marshall and Poplar Sts. This is aCharter School with some very good ideas on helpingyoung people keep focused on going to college. First,they have many college pennants all over the school

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Snowed in and each class is named after a college or universitylike Georgetown, Penn or Princeton. They talk every-day about what went on in school at a communitymeeting. Young folks and teachers give each othershout-outs to keep up morale. The parents are calledoften and given a report of their child’s paycheck,which in reality is their report card. It’s a new way fora new day of learning, which to me is very needed. Aslong as you can see young people learning and earn-ing honor and self-respect along with good grades,you cannot ask for more. I will write more about thisschool and others. If you know of a school that youfeel deserves a good shout-out give me a call.

Speaking of shout-outs, how about DoubleConnections, a phone store right at Broad and Girard.Folks like Sam, Karate and Mark work good with thecommunity, not just helping with phones but beinginvolved with the basketball teams in Francesville andGirard Ave. They help people for real and do a goodjob. God bless them.

Also, our Mayor has opened up a new appoint-ment of an Executive Director of the Office ofEconomic Opportunity, which will help our city verywell. We are lucky to have a Mayor that looks out forminority businesses that include the handicapped,women, ex-offenders and everybody else that at onetime could not get a business because of who heywere. This is great. The director’s name is Ms.Dowd-Burton and every Councilperson and staffmember had nothing but good things to say about her.At one time she worked in Mayor Wilson Goode’sadministration so she knows her way around CityHall. This too is something that I will be writing moreabout in the future.

With love, honor and respect from your Mayor ofGirard Avenue, Toby Rich. Peace.

Philadelphia will hosttheir second Black TravelExpo from March 19-20,2010 at the First DistrictPlaza - 3801 Market Street- Philadelphia PA. TheBlack Travel Expo is aone stop vacation shop-ping event for all yourtravel need and more, with100’s of destinations tochoose from.

We currently seekingnominations to honorwomen in the tourism andhospitality industry. Theselected group of honoreeswill be recognized fortheir contribution to thecommunity and the suc-cess they have achieved intheir businesses and pro-fessional careers. Selectedcandidates will be honoredat the Black Travel Expo

VIP Reception on March19, 2010

The awards are open towomen who are travelagents, travel writers,event planners, agencyowners, meeting planners,or senior executives in thehospitality and or tourismindustry. We are seekingapplicants with a proventrack record, as well asexceptional individualswho are up and coming intheir field. The ideal can-didate will be an accom-plished professional with acommitment to excellenceand their community.

Women who wish to beconsidered for the 2010BTE AWARDS, maynominate themselves or benominated by others. Thedeadline for submission is

March 12, 2010. The nomination form is

attached for your comple-tion. If you should haveany questions, please con-tact Alice Harris at 267-290-0779 or email her ataliceharrisnaacp@aol.com.

Black Travel Expo(BTE) Founded in 2005.The Black Travel Expo isa non-profit organizationwhose goals are:

* to strengthen tiesamong Black in theHospitality and TourismIndustry

* to sensitize all media

to the importance of fair-ness for Black in Tourismand Hospitality

* to increase the numberof Blacks in managementpositions and encouragethem to become entrepre-neurs

* to work with highschool students to identifyand encourage them toobtain a career in Tourismor Hospitality

* to provide informationand training services aboutthe Tourism andHospitality to the generalpublic

Black Travel Expo seeks Nominees for Women inHospitality and Tourism, 2010 BTE Awards

March is Women’sMarch is Women’sHistory MonthHistory Month

SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010 - 5 “If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington

“Rashied Ali is especially interested in immediateimprovisation. He can let himself go and be continuallyinventive.”

…. Jackie McLean

Rashied Ali, The Legendary Hassan Ali and The JazzRevolution in Philadelphia In The Days and Nights

B.M. [Before Monk]Jazz musicians from North Philly have many twisted

tales about how they came to consciousness with TheMusic and how it helped to shape the very contours oftheir lives and their aesthetics. One evening while sit-ting down talking with Rashied Ali, we asked him whathe remembered about The Legendary Hassan Ali whowas playing like Monk ten years before Monk playedthat way. Son was on the outer ends of The Music,breaking new grounds, hearing new sounds and being inthe streets of Philly on his own terms. Rashied begins,“Hassan Ibn Ali…. Hassan man, was something else. Icould never figure him out. I played with him a coupleof times. I knew what he was doing musically… I meanHassan would do weird kinda stuff. It didn’t bother mebecause when it came to the piano he was incredible.You know they said when Hassan was younger they usedto call him, ‘Little Count.’ Yeah man! They said when hewas younger he was so much like Count that they usedto call him Little Count Basie. I mean, you could tellHassan had all of that. He got all of that stuff man. Hegot Thelonius Monk. Everybody knew about Monk . Butnobody knew about Hassan. That’s how that goes.”

Plays With Hassan at 21st and Market StreetsRashied was deeply saturated and situated in the rich

cultural history of African Americans in Philadelphialong before he left for New York or Paris. That was thegroundation to which he could look upon with tremen-dous pride. And there is something else about Rashied,Boy had this incredible memory and like so many of hisNP confreres he was a remarkable narrator and chroni-cler of jazz history. Warming up to his subject, Shiedexplained: “I played with Hassan at a place inPhiladelphia. It wasn’t a club. It was a Beatnik House onMarket Street, between 21st and 22nd on Market Street.There was a Coffee House near the XX Rated moviehouse on Market Street. Yeah, just ask anyone. Thereused to be a Coffee House right there. That’s where Iplayed with Hassan. And not only that, that is where Ifirst saw Cecil Taylor play for the first time. In thatCoffee Shoppe. Sunny Murray was playing with him.This was in the 60’s. I’m talking about the early 60’s----1960, ’61 or even 1959. That little coffee place wasthere. We played in there a lot.”

Played Philly Avante Garde in 50’sand 60’s BeforeGoing to New York Two Drummers in

Group Before Catching The TraneAli continues, “ And we were playing avant garde.

That New Type of Music!!! We weren’t trying to playBird and Trane. We were trying to play that New Musicright in Philly. We had already double drum-sets.Sometimes. Some places. Two trios and stuff like that.Yeah!!! I played with another drummer prior to doing itwith Elvin Jones. Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I did that inPhilly in the late 1950’s. The first time I did that was inPhilly. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. My brother Muhammad andI used to do it.” Yo, I can’t wait for Rashied Ali’s biog-raphy to come out. He’s going to set a lot of jazz histori-ans and cultural critics straight! WHAT???? I’m talkingabout The Legendary Rashied Ali from NP, sir!!!!

Wayblackmemories: “ I was really young when I firstwent to France. It was in 1968 or 1969. Actually, I wentthere when John [Coltrane] passed. A year after Johnpassed, I figured I was going to get off the scene for awhile. So I went to Europe and stayed there for months.I went to Paris and played some things. I did not becomean expatriate because the music is here. We could do itand go over to France and play it but in order to absorbit and actually be in it, you had to be here in the UnitedStates. It’s all from here and it’s all stimulated from here.The music we play is all about what’s going on here.That’s what we speak about in our music. Although Iknew a lot of musicians who did go to France andstayed. My brother, Muhammad Ali, went to Paris andstayed eighteen years. He was there a long, long time,man. He stayed because he played all over Europe andAfrica as well. He wasn’t just idol, sitting around inParis. He was working all the time. He traveled thewhole world from over in Paris.”

Establishes Important Jazz Club in New YorkRashied Ali was not only a major contributor to the

inventiveness of modern and postmodern jazz, he alsodemonstrated his entrepreneurial acumen by establishing

Black History focus on Jazz

Copyright James G. Spady 2010

Rashied Ali and The Inventive Contributionsof Philly Musicians to Jazz Music, Part I of II

Dedicated to Philly Joe Jones, Larry Neal, JohnColtrane, Amin Ali, Muhammad Ali, JamaaladeenTacuma, James ‘Blood ‘ Ulmer and Jimmy Stewart

a jazz club. Fully cognizant of the challenges innovativemusicians in the jazz genre faced, Ali established avenue where they could experiment, earn a living and beaccorded a level of respect not available in so manyother N.Y. clubs. In an exclusive interview with Rashied,he provided the following insight: “It was out of frustra-tion, man, that I established a place where musicianscould play. We were called the so-called avante gardemusicians. We did not get a shot at many of the majorclubs. Coltrane did. But when Coltrane cut out and thewhole music turned and went in another direction, wewere kinda kicked out of clubs. So we had like a littlething down here. “

Ali’s Alley Was A Beacon of Light in Some Dark Spaces

Turning to a specific discussion on the loft scene andthe development of his own night club, Rashied states,“Ali’s Alley was one of many place that was happening.Studio RivBea, Studio Oui, … a lot of other places.There were a lot of different things happening Ali’sAlley was a little different because I stepped up to a fullfledge bar with a kitchen and the whole works. So Icame up with a club out of it which really did it for mebecause that sort of took it to another whole level. I wasable to do quite a few things . I stayed open for fiveyears… I just stopped with the club because it was stop-ping me from doing what I was doing---playing music! Iwasn’t even playing my drum set. I was working behindthe bar to try to keep everything cool because the waitersand the bartenders were stealing all of the money andselling all the drinks. We would have been out of busi-ness if that had kept on. So I had to stop playing drumsand get behind the bar. And I learned that business. Istayed behind the bar for almost two years. During thattime I was just hiring bands and bringing them in andstuff like that.”

“I Had to Bring Philly Joe Jones In To Ali’s Alley, Hewas My Teacher”

Anyone who knew Rashied Ali knew how much headmired the artistry and humanity of Philly Joe Jones,his mentor and friend from back in the day. When I toldhim what Philly Joe told me about the level of respectAli showed him, Rashied laughed and explained: “ I hadto bring Philly Joe in the club. He was my teacher, mymotivator. Philly Joe is everything to me. Joe was myteacher. Joe was my mentor. Joe was my Guru! I thinkthe first time I heard the drum set and really went ‘damn,what the hell is that’ was when I heard Philly Joe Jones.Now this is after I had heard Max Roach, Art Blakey andall those drummers. Philly Joe Jones blew me away,man, cause he just was so slick. He just had that real hipsound to what he was doing. So I immediately wentthere! And so being from Philly, too, I knew people whohung with him like Charlie Rice (who is my secondcousin). He put me on drums in the first place. There isanother cat there in Philly called Bubbles Ross.Woeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Bubbles,mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! Bubbles was HIP and he andJoe used to hang tough. Those cats, man. Boy look!Lots of cats, when you say Bubbles Ross, they don’t’know him. {Rashied reaches over and shakes my handbecause I knew who Bubbles was and his significance].But man, this cat and Joe used to hang tough. That’swhen I really started to listen to some different shit onthe drums.”

Studying With Philly Joe While Playing with John Coltrane

Shied: “Then, it was ok. I studied with Philly Joe rightup until I was with Coltrane. I was still playing withTrane and studying with Philly Joe. I just admired theman so much. I asked him questions about playing. Iplayed with him. You know, Joe played piano as well. Afew times I played drums with Joe while he was playingthe piano. I mean, after Trane died, I still played with

See “Focus on Jazz” page

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Rashied Ali

PhillyCounts 2010reaches out toCollege campuses

Like the best pho-tographs that capture theessence of a subject andhave long-lasting mean-ing, the 2010 U.S. Censuswill provide a snapshot ofthe entire nation as ofApril 1 and will haveimplications far into thefuture.

That is whyPhillyCounts 2010, theCity of Philadelphia’seffort to raise participationin the Census, is reachingout to college students inthe city, through CampusPhilly, to make sure everystudent knows how impor-tant it is to be counted onApril 1.

The Census count isused by government agen-cies, private businessesand non-profit organiza-tions to determine whereto locate their operationsand how to allocate ser-vices and resources. Thehigher the count, the morea city or neighborhood islikely to get.

Many college studentsassume that they should becounted at their parents’homes and do not fill outthe forms that would cor-rectly have them living inoff-campus or on-campushousing on April 1. Thus,neighborhoods in andaround Philadelphia’s col-leges and universities areroutinely under-counted,and those neighborhoodsget fewer services thanthey should.

Similarly, when privatebusinesses seek to comeinto an area or to expand,they look at Census datato see where they’re mostlikely to find potentialcustomers. If studentsdon’t fill out the Censusforms at their collegeaddresses, they may well

find that they don’t haveaccess to enough restau-rants, shops, banks orother businesses wherethey need them most.

Further, sincePhiladelphia has one ofthe highest concentrationsof college students in thecountry, it is important forthe city as a whole to getan accurate count of whoreally lives in the city.Many federal or statefunding sources depend ontotal population figures,and PhillyCounts 2010,along with its partner,Campus Philly, wants tomake sure the city gets itsdue.

Census forms are sched-uled to be mailed directlyto each address, withreturn envelopes, betweenMarch 15 and March 17.The forms are easy tocomplete and can be doneby one person in eachcampus residence. Thereare some general ques-tions: whether the resi-dence is owned or rented;what the phone number is;how many people wouldbe living there on April 1.Then there are a few ques-tions about personal data –including name, age andgender – for each personliving in the residence. Inall, there are 10 questions,and it should all take only10 minutes to complete.

From April 1 to May 14,census takers will visit on-campus college and uni-versity residence halls,dorms, fraternities andsororities, often calledgroup quarters by the U.S.Census. Students living ingroup quarters will beresponsible for filling outan “Individual Census

See “Phillycounts” page 13

After holding the #2slot at radio for the last 6weeks, Earnest Pughemerges to the #1 spotthis week according toBillboard/BDS Reports.Earnest Pugh Live: “RainOn Us,” featuringVanessa Bell Armstrongand Richard Smallwood,debuted #2 on theBillboard Gospel Chartand has remained on thecharts for over 32 weeks.Recorded live inWashington, DC, the CDwas produced by Michael

Bereal and co-produced by the artist himself.“Blacksmoke Music is ecstatic about Earnest’s progres-

sion to the top. He has been on the grind since day one andthis comes to me as no surprise at all”, says Kerry Douglas(CEO of Blacksmoke Music Worldwide).

According to Keith Williams, (SR VP of EPM MusicGroup), “Having our first #1 single is awesome and is atrue testament that a small label with a big vision can dogreat things for the Kingdom. We are optimistic about ourfuture in the industry and believe that our best days areahead of us. Again, congrats to Elder Pugh for the welldeserved recognition.”

Washington, DC based Gospel Recording Artist-EarnestPugh was mesmerized by the news and says, “God is soawesome to me in this moment. It’s one thing to followyour heart or obey instructions given by God, but it’sanother thing to walk in the reality of a manifestedpromise. This is so surreal to me as I reflect on a 7 a.m.phone conversation with Kerry Douglas about 8 months

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1. Melanie Fiona ................... “The Bridge” ........... (Uni)2. Alicia Keys ... The Element of Freedom ... (J. Records)3. Trey Songz ........................... “Ready” ................ (Atlantic)4. Drake ........................... “So Far Gone” .................... (YM)5. Mary J. Blige ........ “Stronger With Each Tear ... (Geffen)6. K’Jon .............. “I Get Around” ................ (Up & Up)7. Maxwell ....... “Black Summer’s Night” ... (Columbia)8. R. Kelly ............................. Untitled .......................... (Jive)9. Michael Jackson ............ “This Is It” ............... (Epic)10. Robin Thicke ........... “Sex Therapy” ........ (Star Trak)11. Jay-Z .................. “Blue Print 3” ............. (Roc Nation)12. Mariah Carey ... “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel”

(Island)13. Wale .................. Attention Deficit ............... (All I Do)14. Maze .. “All-Star Tribute to Frankie Beverly” ... (IND)15. Roy C. ....“Don’t Let Our Love Die” .... (Three Gems)16. 50 Cent ............ “Before I Self Destruct” ........ (Shady)17. Ginnuwine ....... “A Man’s Thoughts”............ (Asylum)18. Whitney Houston ......... “I Look To You” ........ (Arista)19. Leona Lewis ...................... “Echo” .................... (Syco)20. Eminem .......... “Rxelapse:Rxefill .......... (Aftermath)21. Young Money ....... “We Are Young Money” ...... (Uni)22. Raphel Saadig ...... “The Way I See You” .......... (Sony)23. Lil’ Wayne ...................... “Rebirth” .................... (Uni)24. Sade ................... “Soulder Love” ..................... (Sony)25. Rihanna .................. “Rater R” ...................... (DefJam)

CD SpotlightCD Spotlight“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington6 - SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010

Ernest Pugh rises to #1 at Radio this week!ago. It was the week that he released “Rain On Us” toradio. His exact words were “Pugh we have a #1 hit on ourhands.” To be honest, I was half asleep and totally uninter-ested, however, I remember the sense of urgency in hisvoice and over time I saw the passion in the work of hishands which has brought me to this place and time. I couldnot ask for a better business partner and mentor than KerryDouglas.

Elroy Smith (Operations Manager for Radio One inPhiladelphia, PA) says, “It’s a joy to see people like Earnestget such well deserved recognition.” Pugh would like tothank all of the Radio Program/Music Directors and all ourFans and Supporters across the globe, Kerry Douglas andthe Douglas Boyz Radio Promotions Team, EPM MusicGroup (Keith, Zaunder and Troy), Family & Friends andespecially my covering, Rev. Drs. Grainger & Jo AnnBrowning and Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington,MD.

Look out for the soon coming “Meet and Greet Tour”with Earnest Pugh and James Fortune in various cities. Formore info, contact Kerry Douglas at 713.245.6204 or emailkdouglas@gtmmedia.com. To book Earnest Pugh, contactEPM Music Group at 301.526.3003, Email:earnest-pugh@gmail.com or visit www.earnestpugh.com for tourdates, etc.

Special thanks to the Belle Report for the update! If youwant to be featured on TV then join Urban X-pressions asit presents "Generation Next." It's the talk show for teensto address hard social issues while providing real solutions.It all kicks off 5pm on March 3, 2010 at The Ark located3759 Main Street in Manayunk. The taping is free and itwill be worth you and your child's time to participate. Formore information call 215.843.1984. If you would like tocontact us, please call 866.659.8132 or email us atpromo@supremegospel.org. Until the next column,remain encouraged!

1. Brian Courney Wilson ... “Just Love” ... (Music World)2. Clarence Fountain, Sam Butler & The Boys ... “Stepping

Up & Stepping Out .... Word3. J. Moss ............. “Just James” ............. (PAJAM)4. Donnie McClurkin ... “Live Detroit” “We All Are One”

(Verity)5. Fred Hammond ........... “Love Unstoppable” .... (Verity) 6. Bunny Sigler ...... “The Lord’s Prayer” ..... (Bun-Z)7. Bebe & Cece Winans ... “Bebe & Cece Winans” ... (B & C)8. WOW ............. “Gospel 2009 Top 30” ............... (Verity)9. Hezekiah Walker & LFC ......... “Souled Out” ....... (Verity)10. Greg O’Quinn .......... “After the Storm” ....... (Pendulum)11. Sharon Baptist Church, Project ............ “Sing Unto

The Lord a New Song” ... (Soul Searchers)12. The Whispers ....................... “Thankful” ............. (KR)13. Lee William/Spiritual QC’s ........ “Fall On Me” .... (MGC)14. Israel & New Breed .... “Power of One” .... (Zomba)15. Donald Lawrence & Co. ... “The Law of Confession,

Part I” ... (QW)16. WOW ...................... “Hits 2010” ...................... (Verity)17. Shirley Ceasar .... “A City Called Heaven” .... (E1)18. Byron Cage ................ “Faithful to Believe” ............ (Verity)19. The Savettes/The Victory Choral Ensemble ............. “A New

Chapter” ...... (SV)20. The Mighty Clouds of Joy ....... “At The Revival” ....... (EMI)

Hair CareHair is like the frame of a

beautiful picture. It brings outthe shape, angles and lines ofthe face and upper body. It isalso an extension of awoman’s inner being and agood hair cut brings out thebest in a man. One’s hair saysmuch about what a man orwomen thinks their self worth.

The objective is to bring outthe true beauty and vitalitythat are hiding somewhereinside each person to, translatethese qualities into a pleasing

external image. First consider what is wrong with a cer-tain look maybe out dated or doesn’t bring out the best

germ

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e p

aris

for a certain personality. Improper Style-Hair styles trendchange to harmonize with current fashions in dressing.

The idea is to ensure that the feeling expressed by theclothes is carried through in the hair. A finished and totallook is the goal. Many men and women stay with a hair-style long after it has ceased to be fashionable. Theybecome accustomed to the way they look and avoidchange.

Unfortunately, this habit diminishes the positive effectof any new look in clothing for both men and women andupdated make up for women. One must compromise.There are subtle variations of the current style which canbe adapted to more closely fit your individual looks pref-erence, and personality, keep to the current trend but donot follow the latest style blindly. A good hair out or agood hairstyle is so vital image to ones image. Good haircare it’s probably the last area in which you shouldattempt to save money. You’ll be able to tell when you’vegotten a good haircut or hair will look good, feel good.Keep its shape longer, look neat and be easy to care for.

Joining the ranksof the film industriesmost heralded thes-piennes (MerylStreep and HelenMirren), who couldhave ever predictedthe cosmic uprisingof ComedienneMonique Imes – bet-ter known asMo’Nique, a ‘biggirl’ from a middle

class Maryland family (her father – a DrugCounselor and her mother an Engineer).

She first came to my attention via ShowtimeAt The Apollo back in the 90’s. And while therest of the world may not have been familiar with

the “Mo’Nique” we all knew from the late 90’s, she haswell earned her current recognition for her outstandingperformance in the Lee Daniels indie feature filmPrecious, as Mary the grotesquely disturbed and abusivemother of a teenaged girl. While Precious has as wellskyrocketed the lovely unknown Brooklynite GaboureySidibe into overnight stardom (as the lead – “Precious”) ,the industry spotlight, concluding with Academy AwardNominations, remains tightly focused on the sparks leftby MoNique Ime’s performance. What sparks? Well wecan start with The Grand Jury Prize at The Sundance FilmFestival, the Time Magazine honor of Best FemalePerformance of 2009 – dethroning Meryl Streep, SandraBullock and Marion Cottillard, and the coveted GoldenGlobe for Best Supporting Actress. While in between -the list of Best Supporting Actress nods go on and on:Stockholm International Film Festival, Washington DCarea Film Critics Association, Los Angeles Film CriticsAssociation, Boston Society of Film Critics, New YorkFilm Critics Online, New York Film Critics Circle,Southeastern Film Critics Association, San FranciscoFilm Critics Circle, Dallas- Fort Worth Film CriticsAssociation, Los Vegas Film Critics Society, Utah FilmCritics Association, Detroit Film Critics Society, IndianaFilm Critics Association, Online Film Critics Society,

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Countdown to Oscar… The Rise of Monique ImesNational Society of Film Critics Award, Alliance ofWomen Film Journalists, and The Critics Choice Award.If these sparks don’t yield an 82nd Annual AcademyAward honor for Best Supporting Actress come Sunday,March 7th, 2010… then surely all of these adoring FilmCritics must have, in some way, been sorely remiss. Yetpolitics does always have a way of rearing its ugly headin the film industry… not unlike any other industry.

Mo’Niques Imes’ fellow nominees are: Penelope Cruzfor Nine (Nice Job.. put pales in comparison to Precious’“Mary”).

Vera Farmiga for Up In The Air (…uhm.. No.) MaggieGyllenhaal for Crazy Heart (Once again, Nice Job… butthis is no “Mary” performance). Anna Kendrick for UpIn The Air (Cute.. but hardly Oscar worthy). Mo’NiqueImes is without question, the favorite in this category oflightweight performances. I can even think of a fewActresses who were sorely neglected for nomination. Inparticular, Melanie Laurent comes to mind for her perfor-mance as Shosanna in Quentin Tarantino’s IngloriousBasterds. Passed over for the likes of Anna Kendrick. Atleast Laurent’s performance would have been a categori-cal equal with Imes.

Imes has risen from the mediocrity of her Baltimoredays at The Comedy Factory Outlet, on to the stage of theworld famous Apollo Theater, to co-starring in televisionand films, to hosting her own late night talk show, to anAcademy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actressin a feature film. Unlike Gabourey Sidibe, this is noovernight success story… yet steady, slow and sure...MoNique Imes; “The Big Girl “ - has reached the filmindustries pinnacle of success and celebrity. A red carpetfavorite, who – standing next to the so-called “beautiful”Nicole Kidman – renders Kidman pasty and drab. Whosays Black women aren’t beautiful – including the bigones... a picture speaks a thousand words.

March 7, 2010 tune in to the 82nd Annual AcademyAwards where Mo’Nique Imes is nominated for BestSupporting Actress. Gabourey Sidibe is nominated forBest Actress. Philadelphia’s Lee Daniels is nominated forBest Director, and Precious is nominated for Best Picture.It’s not your Grandmothers Oscars anymore.

Scoopjwl@aol.com

Some 70 women in businessrecently came out for The DelawareCounty Chamber of Commerce(DCCC) Women in BusinessNetworking Session at PNP FamilyPlay Center, 53 N. Union Ave.,Lansdowne, PA

The DCCC Networking Session isan event for women to exchangebusiness cards with other women tobuild business. According to PatScarano, Co-chair of the committee.“These sessions are held every fourto five weeks at a different location.The Chamber looks for sites to hostthe event and because this is awoman owned business and its loca-tion in the Lansdowne/Upper Darbycommunity. We want to do morebusiness in this area.

Scarano continued, “We thoughtPNP would be a great spot for thesession. Ms. Norma Davis (the owner of PNP) has some-thing good going on here on Union Avenue and we wantto spread the word about her business.”

Located on Union Avenue, between Baltimore Avenueand Penbrook Avenues, PNP is located in a shoppingcenter right next to the Lansdowne Post Office, FamilyDollar Store and Save A Lot. “People are finding outabout my PNP and are booking parties, and just comingthrough to enjoy the fun.” said Davis.

“I found there was a need for such an establishment inthis area – where parent can bring their kids and sit backand watch them have fun, learn new games, and get

SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010 - 7“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington

The time has come.... Let's Celebrate!!!!It is with the greatest pleasure that we celebrate

National Women's History Month. March 2010 marksthe 30th anniversary of the national recognition ofWomen's History Week, which later became Women'sHistory Month. This year is also the 30th anniversaryof the National Women's History Project. We havemuch to celebrate!

March Highlights in US Women's History* March 1, 1978 - Women's History Week is first

observed in Sonoma County , California* March 1, 1987 - A Congressional resolution des-

ignating March as Women's History Month is passed* March 4, 1917 - Jeannette Rankin (R-MT) took

her seat as the first female member of Congress* March 8 - International Women's Day; its origins

trace back to protests in US and Europe to honor andfight for the political rights for working women

* March 11, 1993 - Janet Reno is confirmed as thefirst woman U.S. Attorney General

* March 12, 1912 - Juliette Gordon Low assembled18 girls together in Savannah , Georgia for the first-ever Girl Scout meeting

* March 13, 1986 - Susan Butcher won the first of3 straight and 4 total Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Races inAlaska

* March 17, 1910 - Camp Fire Girls is establishedas the first American interracial, non-sectarian organi-zation for girls

* March 20, 1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel,"Uncle Tom's Cabin," is published and becomes thebest-selling book of the 19 th century

* March 21, 1986 - Debi Thomas becomes firstAfrican American woman to win the World FigureSkating Championship

* March 23, 1917 - Virginia Woolf establishes theHogarth Press with her husband, Leonard Woolf

* March 31, 1888 - The National Council ofWomen of the U.S. is organized by Susan B. Anthony,Clara Barton, Julia Ward Howe, and Sojourner Truth,among others; it is the oldest non-sectarian women'sorganization in U.S.

* March 31, 1776 - Abigail Adams writes to herhusband John who is helping to frame the Declarationof Independence: "Remember the ladies..."

March Birthdays* March 3, 1962 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee, considered

the world's greatest female athlete; holds the record inthe long jump (1988) and the heptathlon (1986); win-ner of 3 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals in 4Olympic games

* March 5, 1931 - Geraldyn (Jerrie) Cobb, record-setting aviator; first woman to pass qualifying examsfor astronaut training, in 1959, but not allowed to trainbecause of her gender

* March 7, 1938 - Janet Guthrie, pioneering womanauto racer; first woman to compete in Indianapolis500 (1977) and Daytona 500 (1977)

* March 9, 1928 (1987) - Graciela Olivarez,Chicana activist; first woman and Latina law graduatefrom Notre Dame Law School; one of first twowomen on the board of Mexican American LegalDefense and Education Fund (MALDEF)

* March 15, 1933 - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, secondfemale U.S. Supreme Court justice (1993)

* March 18, 1964 - Bonnie Blair, speed skater; oneof the most successful Winter Olympian in U.S. his-tory and 5 time gold medalist

* March 23, 1857 (1915) - Fannie Farmer, authoredfamous cookbook, "The Boston Cooking-SchoolCookbook", and included specific ingredient mea-surements for the first time which would becomestandardized cooking measurements

* March 23, 1924 (1980) - Bette Nesmith Graham,invented Liquid Paper correction fluid which becamean office staple; created 2 foundations to supportwomen's business and art

* March 24, 1826 (1898) - Matilda Joslyn Gage,suffragist, women's rights and Native American rightsactivist, historian, founding member of the NationalWoman Suffrage Association

* March 24, 1912 - Dorothy Height, served over 40years as President of the National Council of NegroWomen

* March 25, 1934 - Gloria Steinem, women's rightsactivist and journalist; founding editor of Ms.Magazine; helped found National Women's PoliticalCaucus, the Women's Action Alliance, and theCoalition of Labor Union Women

* March 26, 1930 - Sandra Day O'Connor, firstwoman U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1981)

* March 27, 1924 (1990) - Sarah Vaughan, worldrenown jazz singer and pianist known as the "DivineOne"

* March 31, 1889 (1975) - Muriel Wright, ChoctawIndian, teacher, historian, author, and editor

March Highlights, Birthdaysand U.S. Women’s History

Over 700 Women attend Business NetworkSession at PNP Family Play Center

exercise,” Davis added. PNP is equipped with moonbounce games, an 18 Ft slide, WII games and XBOXgames plus interactive games. She adds, “I have workedwith local camps, schools, day cares, YMCA, and sportsteams over the past year and now this network session.”

But the fun isn’t just for the kid -- the adults join in aswell. At the network session, women were quick to take offtheir shoes and ride the rides and play some games. “This iswhy we have our meeting sessions between 11 a.m. and 1p.m. because women who work from home can get out forlunch, even if they have children. It’s easier to get thewomen to come out at that time, compared to having it afterwork when they would have to pick up their children orprepare their family dinner,” said Scarano.

Those who attended the session represented: Women’sYellow Page; McNitt Marketing; Mary Kay; DelawareCounty SPCA; Comfort Keepers; My Body Is My Temp;Milnusky Family Dentistry; Portraits By Kellie; PartyFavors Ink; Nikken Products; The Barker Lounge; RadioOne; Franklin Mint; O’Shay Butter; and Not Just Nailsjust to name a few.

The next Delaware County Chamber of Commerce(DCCC) Women in Business Networking Session will beheld on March 5th at Barker Lounge.

State Rep. VanessaLowery Brown, D-Phila.,said people who haveapplied for an energyassistance cash grantunder the Low IncomeHome Energy AssistanceProgram but have failed tofile supporting documentsand meet the state-imposed deadline to pro-vide them can still submitthe paperwork to reacti-vate their application.

Lowery Brown said res-idents can send theirpaperwork for cash grantsto the Cash AssistanceOffice at the LIHEAPProgram Office, 1348Sedgley Ave.,Philadelphia, or drop theirdocuments off at anyPhiladelphia CountyAssistance Office. Shesaid the office will acceptthe paperwork and reacti-vate the application.

Cash grants are expect-ed to average $326 thiswinter. The cash grant pro-gram runs through April 2.The federally funded pro-gram helps income-eligi-ble households pay forheat during the wintermonths and is adminis-tered by the stateDepartment of PublicWelfare. A family of fourwith an annual income ofup to $33,075 can qualifyfor this assistance.

Lowery Brown also saidresidents who alreadyreceived a cash grant buthave received a termina-tion of service notice orare out of fuel can apply

Lowery Brown: There’s still time tosubmit LIHEAP documentation

for a crisis grant by callingthe Cash Assistance Officeat 215-560-1583.

A space this A space this little can bringlittle can bringbig $$$$ resultsbig $$$$ resultsto your businessto your business

Yanina Carter, SCOOP Entertainment Editor does a little networking atthe Women’s Business Network Session where some 70 women came outto meet other professionial women. Norma Carter photo

5 Penn Plaza • 21st Fl • New York, NY • 10001212.819.8120

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STARTS FRIDAY, MARCH 5TH AT THEATRES EVERYWHERENO PASSES ACCEPTED

“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the Streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington8 - SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010

SCOOPUSA

Marian Anderson onTour in Lancaster, PA

Dr. Rita Smith El-Wade, Blanche Burton Lyles, Rev.Louis Butcher, Pastor, Brightside Baptist Church andDr. Lori Brown Mirabal following concert. Shownbelow Phyllis Sims, Blanche Burton Lyles and LoriBrown Mirabal at Millersville in McCoskey Hall.

Black HistoryMarch 5-6

1997-Desi Giles, a black man, receives death threatsafter portraying Jesus in the annual Passion play inUnion City, N.J.

1985-The Mary McLeod Bethune commemorativestamp is issued by the U.S. Postal Service as the eighthstamp in its Black Heritage USA series.

1981-U.S. government granted Atlanta some $1 mil-lion to finance mental health and social programs in thewake of a mysterious series of abductions and slayingsinvolving at least twenty two Black youths.

1939-Playwright Charles Fuller was born inPhiladelphia March 5, 1939. Fuller co-founded the Afro-American Arts Theatre in Philadelphia, his hometown, in1967. The Perfect Party (1969) was the first of Fuller'splays to receive critical acclaim. Zooman and the Signwon an Obie Award in 1980. A Soldier's Play, about amurder on a Louisiana military base, won the 1982Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was adapted into a film, ASoldier's Story, in 1984.

1920-Leontine T.C. Kelly, the first African-Americanwoman to become a bishop within the Methodist denom-ination.

1897-American Negro Academy founded.1845-President John Tyler signed the joint resolution

of Congress to admit Texas as a slave state.1770-On this day, Crispus Attucks, an escaped slave

became the first man killed in the cause of America's

freedom. This event is better known as the 'BostonMassacre'.

March 6thIndependence Day, Ghana1981-Dr. Bernard Harleston, former dean of arts and

sciences at Tufts University, appointed president of NewYork's City College.

1957-March 6th, 1957, the Gold Coast gained it'sindependence from Great Britain. Independence Squarecelebrations - Accra, Ghana

1901-Virginia State University is founded.1857-On March 6, 1857, the Dred Scott decision of

the Supreme Court denied Blacks U.S. citizenship anddenied the power of Congress to restrict slavery in anyfederal territory.

1775-Prince Hall and fourteen other Blacks were initi-ated into British Military Lodge No. 441 of the Masonsat Fort Independence, Massachusetts. Hall was a leather-dresser and caterer. On July 3, 1775, African Lodge No.1was organized in Boston by a group of Black Masons.

State Rep. JamesRoebuck, D-Phila., chair-man of the HouseEducation Committee, willsponsor a workshop withthe College AccessProgram-West to helplocal students and theirfamilies complete the FreeApplication for FederalStudent Aid.

Roebuck will attend theworkshop, which will beheld from 3:30 p.m. to5:30 p.m. Thursday, March11 at the College AccessProgram-West, located inthe Enterprise Center, firstfloor, 4548 Market St.Free food will be provid-ed. Advance registration isrequested – call 215-476-2227.

"As chairman of theHouse EducationCommittee, I want to

make sure that studentsand their families do notmiss out on free money orreduced-rate loans forschool. Completing thisform can be easier thanyou think, and it's free.For the Pennsylvania StateGrant, the FAFSA dead-line is May 1 for degreeprograms," Roebuck said.

To complete theFAFSA, participants willneed to bring the follow-ing:

• Social Security num-ber for student and parentsor legal guardians, or alienregistration number fornon-U.S. citizens

• Driver’s license num-ber, if applicable

• 2009 federal incometax returns for student andparents or legal guardians

• 2009 W-2 forms for

student and parents orlegal guardians

• Records or documen-tation of untaxed incomereceived, such asTemporary Aid to NeedyFamilies (TANF), SocialSecurity, military or clergyallowances, welfare orveterans' benefits

• Business records, ifapplicable

Roebuck said free infor-mation about the FAFSAand financial aid for high-er education also is avail-able by visitingwww.pheaa.org or his Website atwww.pahouse.com/Roebuck (click on "Resourcesfor AdvancingEducation").

Roebuck co-sponsors Collegefinancial aid workshop

SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010 - 9“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington

Philly Joe.”Muhammad Ali, (a younger brother of Rashied and

also a powerful drummer with an international reputa-tion), provides deep insight into the cultural and reli-gious developments in the Ali family. In a rare inter-view, Muhammad Ali states: “My mother and my auntswere all musicians. They played piano and sang. It was achurch family. My grandmother was an ordained minis-ter. Her church was on Wood Street , down around 9thand Wood. We were raised down there when we werevery young. My Aunt Esther was an accomplishedpianist and singer. She was the youngest. Queen Esther.We called her Queen Esther. Then there was our AuntMamie and my mother. They all sang in churches. Theywere protestants---Baptists. We grew up under that. Webecame Muslims as we grew older. When we were kidswe went to my grandmother’s Protestant church. I wasn’tno religion. I was just growing up under all of thesereligion. When I chose a religion basically for me, wewent into Islam, you know. All of the family was intoIslam at that point. I took my Shahada out I West Philly.The whole family came into it together. And we werebringing the ones that weren’t in it, in it. We brought allof the youngsters into Islam. It just came from one stepto the next. After that, everything was good. The Imamwas Brother Faruk. And he and Khadija, Steve and Saudand them. McCoy Tyner and us were under Imam Faruk.There were the brothers out West Philly… Mustafa andSalahuddin. Then there was the Brother out on GirardAvenue. You know, the brother who played trumpet---Talib Dawud. He was married to Dakota Staton. He wasliving right around the corner between 52nd and 53rd onGirard Avenue. All of the communities of Muslims weretogether at that time.” This is the community ofMuslims in Philadelphia in which Rashied Ali and hisfamily came to consciousness as Muslims in the West.At that time there were a lot of Jazz artists who becameMuslims.

Gregg Murphy Discusses Rashied Ali as BandleaderThe more you understand the life of this extraordinary

artist, the more it becomes apparent that many of theattributes he demonstrated as a band leader, were learnedduring his youth and early adult life in the City ofPhiladelphia. In order to learn more about Rashied thebandleader, we spoke to a band member who workedwith him for more than two decades---Gregg Murphy. Inan exclusive interview, Murphy provides the followinginsight: “I first met Rashied in Chicago, Illinois in thelate 70’s or early 80’s. A friend of mine, a bass player,introduced me. He was playing with Sun Ra at the time.I’m from Chicago. As soon as I came to New York in1987, Tyler Mitchell brought me over to Rashied ‘shouse. I played with him from 1987 until a couplemonths ago [July, 2009]. I played in a lot of his mainbands over the next twenty years, as well as a lot ofsmaller things. Rashied played some gigs with meUptown: 22 West and a place called Garvin’s. Me andhim were tight. We would hang out and we’d play. He

Focus on JazzContinued from page 5

See “Focus on Jazz” part 2 in next week’s issue

NEW DATES due to weather comditions

MARCH 13 & 14 -- 11am - 7 pm Due to overwhelming support from the local Philadelphia commu-nity, Shoot For A Cause, a Philadelphia-based non-profit, hostedtheir second Shoot For Haiti benefit on February 27th, 2010 to helpraise money for the earthquake victims of Haiti. More than $1,000was raised during the event, and all proceeds will be given to theAmerican Red Cross for Haiti relief.

“We want to thank all of our participants, volunteers and spon-sors for making this event such a huge success,” said Darrick J.Pemberton, co-founder of Shoot For A Cause. “Through our events,we use our skills to provide support to those affected by natural dis-aster tragedies while reinstating the importance of what it means tolend a helping hand any way you can.”

For more information, please visit www.shootforacause.org.

Shoot for a Cause, Haiti shoot a success!!

was very warm and very generous band leader. He wasvery free and open, ya know? He knew what he wantedbut he didn’t tell you exactly how to get there. Most ofthe time we would play tunes written by other bandmembers or tunes written by Coltrane or Eric Dolphy.Rashied would just bring the music and tell us to play itand he would arrange it. He would say how he wanted itto be played basically. There were the compositions thathe had a grant perform at the Brecht forum. They wantedall of his compositions and he had tunes that he recordedback in the early 1970’s. I’d play things like, ‘CuttingCorners’ and things like that.

Gregg continues the narrative: “He asked me to put itdown on paper. So I transcribed them from the cassettetape and added some arrangements because it was withthree horns. Once I made arrangement there would besomething he didn’t like. He was the ultimate arrangerfor his band. Musically, he taught me how to make itwork, how to make it fit his vision.

Rashied Becomes Second Drummer with Coltrane in 60’sWhen asked about times when Rashied reflected on

his extraordinary experiences with Coltrane playing intandem and often not in tandem with Elvin Jones at timeColtrane needed two drummers to execute his musicalvision. Murphy states the evolutionary process: “Fromwhat I remember Rashied telling me, in the beginning hedid not want to play with two drummers. He just figuredhe wanted to play drums by himself in Coltrane’s group.Just like rhythm section cats, it’s kinda rare for me tohave another piano player. It’s a little weird. Yeah,Rashied felt a little weird. That is why he turned downthat first recording date. Then he realized, man, that’sdumb. Because it was TRANE… I think they did a gigwith the two drummers (Rashied and Elvin) before theydid a recording session. He said he loved it. Rashied

Aissia Richardson ofPhiladelphia has beenelected as Chair of theDelaware Valley RegionalPlanning Commission’s(DVRPC) Regional CitizensCommittee (RCC). TheRCC is the primary forumfor Delaware Valley resi-dents and interested stake-holders to actively partici-pate in the regional plan-ning and decision-makingprocess. It provides anopen avenue of communi-cation between the publicand DVRPC, the metropol-itan planning organization

for the Greater Philadelphia region.“DVRPC is proud to have Ms. Richardson lead the

RCC, and we look forward to continuing our outreach tothe region’s citizens about planning issues,” said BarrySeymour, DVRPC Executive Director. “This Committeegives planners and decision makers the chance to hear thepublic's voice, ideas, and concerns on major decisions thataffect the way that residents live, work, and travel.”

As Vice President of Operations at the UptownEntertainment and Development Corporation, Ms.Richardson is responsible for creating and implementingthe organization’s Fund Development Plan. Her mostrecent accomplishment was helping to secure over $1.5

DVRPC announces New Chairof Regional Citizens Committee

Aissia Richardson

million in public and private funding for the renovation ofthe Uptown Theatre in Philadelphia.

In addition, Ms. Richardson has been the President ofthe African American United Fund since 2006. She isresponsible for creating the organization’s fund develop-ment plan and organizing special events to raise funds andawareness about its mission and goals.

Highly active in her community, Ms. Richardson is aboard member of Bread and Roses Community Fund; wasappointed by City Councilman Wilson Goode as anAdvisory Committee member for the Digital InclusionGroup; and was appointed by Mayor Michael Nutter toserve on the SEPTA Citizens Advisory Committee repre-senting Philadelphia.

“It is a great honor to serve as the Chair of DVRPC’sRegional Citizens Committee and represent the diversepopulation of the Delaware Valley,” said Ms. Richardson.“I am looking forward to creating more opportunities forthe citizens of our region to become active participants inplanning for the future of our neighborhoods, towns, andcities.”

March isMarch isWomen’s HistoryWomen’s History

MonthMonth

ReFlexx

Classic business philos-ophy teaches that a greatpart of survival and subse-quent success lies in anoperation's ability toreduce mistakes. The costor repairing the mistakes isinversely proportional tothe amount of profit poten-tial of the operation. Inother words..."MistakesKill the Profit Margin!!!!!"

As landlord's, we don'twant to do damage to the precious profit marginwe fought so hard to nurture. A landlord's profit

margin struggles every day to survive, grow and flourishin a sea of predators, competitors and government regu-lators. Below are the top 10 threats to you thriving profitmargin.

1-Poor ScreeningThe costliest mistake is accepting a new tenant with-

out properly screening. An undesirable tenant will oftenhave a poor rental and financial histories. Landlordsshould review previous landlord relations, credit reports,courthouse records and income. It is probable that if theyhave not met their obligations with previous landlords,then chances are that they will repeat their behavior withnew landlords. Many landlords have faced horrific situa-tions where tenants have stopped paying rent whileemploying legal maneuvering to avoid eviction. Othershave faced tenants who moved in and initiated criminalactivity, which adversely affected other tenants andneighbors. Either of these scenarios translates intoexpensive ordeals where the measures of rectifying thesituation can threaten the financial stability of the land-lord.

A thorough screening also involves verifying that theperson who is applying is the same person that submitscredit/criminal info for screening. A picture I.D. shouldbe cross-referenced with the application. Landlords mustmake sure that there are no omissions, inaccuracies orinconsistency in the actual application. Due diligencewill certainly save landlords much money and stress.

2-Lease PreparationHaving a poorly prepared lease is very costly because

it is the document that legally binds the landlord to thetenant. It is the rules of the relationship that dictate con-flict resolution, financial responsibility and terms of exe-cution. With out a professionally prepared lease the land-lord stands to forfeit many of the rights afforded to theowners of the property. Landlords need to employ leasesthat are designed to protect them and their property andnot the other way around. Many generic leases do nottake into account the values of the landlord. Therefore, acustom lease would assure the landlord that their inter-ests are protected.

Many times landlords receive requests for agreementsafter the lease has been signed. Landlords will use theirbest judgment when deciding to agree to a proposal butmust never neglect to put the agreement on paper. A ver-bal agreement is always vulnerable to a false interpreta-tion by the tenant.

3-Rent CollectionsLandlords must always enforce the terms of rent pay-

ment as it is written in the lease including late paymentsand fees. If not enforced, the landlord runs the risk ofcreating a dangerous precedent that will certainly costthe landlord dearly. If a tenant fails to pay rent for twoweeks, then legal notices and actions must be initiated assoon as the law allows. Landlords should not accept par-tial payments. The courts interpret receiving partial pay-ments from tenants as an acceptance of terms by thelandlord. The eviction process is subsequently terminat-ed for that rental period while landlord's costs increase.

If a tenant has had a poor history of paying rent ontime, a landlord should consider not renewing the lease.Being late consistently is a sign of financial trouble andfuture uncertainty for the landlord. Poor payment habitscan be a precursor to bankruptcy or evictions.

4-Law and Regulation IgnoranceMany landlords get into rental business with out learn-

ing the rules of the game. To get a perspective of thefolly of not knowing the rule, Imagine trying to playbasketball with out knowledge of the rules. You wouldbecome paralyzed from the constant rule infractions. Itwould be impossible to win. Translated to the rentalbusiness: Knowledge of the Laws and regulations canmake the difference between a profitable venture and aloser.

Landlords must familiarize themselves with the states'Landlord/Tenant Act. Every state has different laws,therefore due diligence must be taken by landlords toeducate themselves. Landlords must also take the initia-tive to draw upon with the experiences of other land-lords. Many landlord advocacy groups exist in mostcommunities and the Internet.

Finally, it encouraged for landlords to develop a rela-tionship with a real estate attorney that specializes in therental industry. Having a knowledgeable supporter onyour side can relieve a lot of uncertainty. A landlord

10 - SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010 “If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington

kevi

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The 10 Costliest Landlord Mistakesmust never wait to the last minute to develop a relation-ship with an attorney because the requirement of imme-diate response will prove to be costly.

5-Poor Response to Service RequestsThe number one reason that tenants do not renew their

leases is poor response and execution for servicerequests from the landlord. Tenants expect a constantinspection, repair, and preservation of the general condi-tions of their rental home. This also includes a timelyrepair or replacement of parts for appliances. Everythinghas to be in working order and problems must beaddressed quickly and courteously. Everything has to bein working order and problems must be addressed quick-ly and courteously. To facilitate an efficient delivery ofmaintenance requests, the property manager's bestmethod of receiving these requests is actually answeringthe telephone. When the manager is too busy to actuallyanswer the phone or the request comes at an odd hour,many properties utilize apartment call centers. Thisresource allows properties to always have a humanresponding to the needs of their tenants. The apartmentcall centers are industry specific and have a direct, opencommunication with the maintenance and property man-agement. Maintenance requests should be supported by ashared calendar that documents the request cycle: cre-ation, delivery, execution, completion and follow-up.Maintenance requests, if implemented properly, shouldbe a team effort that will lessen and distribute workloadthrough the property staff.

6-Not Employing Good Customer ServiceRunning a rental business is just like any other busi-

ness in the sense with respect to employing good cus-tomer service. Many landlords forget that they would notbe in business if it weren't for the customer. Practicinggood customer service not only reduces tenant turnover,it also is one of the primary forms of marketing. Word ofmouth advertising is the time tested, most effective wayto promote any business. In the long run, a positiveapproach to communicating with your tenants willreflect in the profitability and value of a property. On theother hand, poor customer service will take a toll on thegeneral conditions of the property. Tenants will notrespect the property by not cleaning up after themselvesor not following the property's rules and regulations.Therefore, poor customer service may result in highturnover, high vacancies, higher operational costs andlower profits.

7-Not paying taxesMany landlords do not have their rental income as

their primary source of income and neglect to reporttheir income to the government. Others fail to pay prop-erty taxes because they don't reside in the property.Failing to declare income and ignoring property taxescan cause very expensive recovery efforts. The govern-ment will assess taxes, add fees, add penalties and assigninterest. Other costs will come from attorney fees, addedaccountant charges and personal time. In extreme cases,landlords may get their property confiscated.

8-Not waiting for the funds to clearIn a rush to fill the occupancy, many landlords make

the mistake of allowing the tenants to move in before thefunds are cleared. The scenario of tenants moving into aproperty too soon has caused numerous headaches forlandlords having to initiate eviction procedures withoutever collecting any rent or deposit. Always ask formoney orders and certified checks or simply wait for thefunds to clear the bank.

9-Not conducting a detailed premove-in inspectionNeglecting to have the tenants complete a premove-in

inspection can result in damages to a property that can-not be documented by the landlord. Payment for rentmust not be accepted until this inspection is completed.

10-Not keeping a professional landlord/tenant relationship

Landlords must always uphold a professional relation-ship with tenants to avoid the pitfalls of not employingthe codes of conduct that are based on the stipulationsoutlined in the lease. The professional relationship isbased on the landlord realizing profits from the rentalbusiness. Changing the nature of the business relation-ship threatens the ability for the landlord to collect rent.

For further information regarding this and other realestate related matters, please contact Darlene at 215-439-5626 or Kevin at 215-439-5625. You can email us atkdj@KevinandDarleneJamison.com. Please visit ourwebsite at KevinandDarleneJamison.com

Health NewsFDA MedWatch Alerts:Learning about the Sideeffects (Part 2 of 2)

Tylenol Arthritis PainCaplet, 100 count bottles:Recall of all lots January 15,2010

Audience: Consumers, Phar-macists. [UPDATE 01/15/2010]McNeil and FDA notifiedhealthcare professionals of anexpansion of the December2009 recall. McNeil Consu-mer Healthcare has nowapplied broader criteria to

identify and remove all product lots that it believesmay have the potential to be affected, even if they

have not been the subject of consumer complaints.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare Over-The-CounterProducts: Recall January 15, 2010

Audience: Consumers, Pharmacists. McNeil and FDAnotified healthcare professionals of an expansion of theDecember 2009 recall. McNeil Consumer Healthcare hasnow applied broader criteria to identify and remove all prod-uct lots that it believes may have the potential to be affected,even if they have not been the subject of consumer com-plaints.

Rapamune (sirolimus): Drug Monitoring Recommen-dations January 11, 2010

Audience: Transplantation and nephrology healthcare pro-fessionals, hospital laboratory directors. Wyeth notifiedhealthcare professionals of changes to the RapamunePrescribing Information regarding changes in the perfor-mance of an immunoassay used for therapeutic drug moni-toring (TDM) of sirolimus. The TDM results reported fromthe assay are both assay and laboratory-dependent.

Nzu, Traditional Remedy for Morning Sickness December31, 2009

Audience: Consumers, Obstetrical healthcare profession-als. The Texas Department of State Health Services and FDAnotified healthcare professionals and consumers, especiallypregnant or breastfeeding women, to avoid consuming aproduct called Nzu taken as a traditional remedy for morningsickness, because of the potential health risks from high levelsof lead and arsenic.

Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet, 100 count bottles: Recall ofall lots December 28, 2009

Audience: Consumers, pharmacists. McNeil ConsumerHealthcare and FDA notified consumers that it isexpanding a voluntary recall to include all availableproduct lots of TYLENOL Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 countbottles, with the distinctive red EZ-OPEN CAP.

Cleviprex (clevidipine butyrate): Recall December 17,2009

Audience: Pharmacists, risk managers. The MedicinesCompany and FDA notified healthcare professionals of anationwide recall of eleven lots of Cleviprex (clevidipinebutyrate) injectable emulsion, indicated for treatment ofhypertension, due to the potential presence of particulatematter found to be inert stainless steel particles.

Atlas Operations, Inc.: Recall of Sexual EnhancementProducts December 15, 2009

Audience: Consumers. Atlas Operations, Inc. and FDAnotified consumers of a nationwide recall of the company'sdietary supplements for sexual enhancement. These productsare currently being sold as dietary supplements throughoutthe United States. FDA lab analyses found that the productstested from certain batches contain Sulfoaildenafil, an ana-logue of Sildenafil.

Alka-Seltzer Plus Day & Night Cold Formula Liquid Gels- Incorrect Packaging December 9, 2009

Audience: Consumers. [Posted 12/09/2009] BayerConsumer Care and FDA notified Consumers of a recall of asingle product lot of the combination package of Alka-Seltzer Plus Day & Night Cold Formula Liquid Gels.The labeling on the foil blister card of certain packages with-in the lot were printed with the label reversed.

Voltaren Gel (diclofenac sodium topical gel) 1% - HepaticEffects Labeling Changes December 4, 2009

Audience: Rheumatological healthcare professionals,pharmacists. Endo, Novartis and FDA notified healthcareprofessionals of revisions to the Hepatic Effects section ofthe prescribing information to add new warnings and precau-tions about the potential for elevation in liver function testsduring treatment with all products containing diclofenacsodium.

Lexiva (fosamprenavir calcium) - Dear Healthcare

cla

udelle

evans

See “MedWatch” page 12

You can’t give Radio listeners or TV viewers a map to your Business

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SCOOP USA - Friday, March 5, 2010 - 11“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington

eligible to receive Social Security retirement benefitswithout a reduction in your benefits. If you were bornbefore 1938, your full retirement age is 65. If you wereborn in 1938 or after, your full retirement age will behigher, depending on the year you were born. You canfind your full retirement age at www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/retirechart.htm. If you decide to apply for retire-ment benefits before your full retirement age (as early asage 62), your benefits will be reduced. For example,here's how it would work if your full retirement age is66. If you start your retirement benefits at age 62, yourmonthly benefit amount is reduced by about 25 percent.The reduction for starting benefits at age: 63 is about 20percent; 64 is about 13.3 percent; and 65 is about 6.7percent.

Question: I am nearing my full retirement age, but Iplan to keep working after I apply for Social Securitybenefits. Will my benefits be reduced because of myincome?

Answer: No. If you apply for benefits once you’vereached your full retirement age, you can work whileyou receive Social Security and your current benefit willnot be reduced because of the earned income. If youkeep working, it could mean a higher benefit for you inthe future. Higher benefits can be important to you laterin life and increase the future benefit amounts your sur-vivors could receive. If you receive benefits before yourfull retirement age, your earnings could reduce yourmonthly benefit amount. After you reach full retirementage, we recalculate your benefit amount to leave out themonths when we reduced or withheld benefits due toyour excess earnings.

Morning, noon or night dancingor exercising. The Exercise Curlslook good water proofing for allseasons. Get it at Donn’s DooShoppe. Curls, Care Free Wraps,Waves, New Press & Curls, SoftWaves, Hard Waves, Wet Set. Weaccept all Major Credit Cards,Money Grams

Donn’s Doo Shoppe2200 N. 15th St.

(15th & Susquehanna Ave)

(215) 978-4060

CARTER’SBeauty Salon5346 Spruce St.Open Wed. to Sat.

9 am to 5 pm

215-472-9745

JOHN’SJOHN’S

Beauty Salon2526 W. Allegheny

215-225-9700

MATTHEWSMATTHEWSBeautyrama

5406 Spruce St.748-1906

Ms. Rachel MatthewsHairstylist

EDDiE’SBARBER

SHOP

1900 Medary AvenueOGONTZ AND MEDARY

(215) 276-1215

AL-jAy insurance Agency, inc.

q Complete Tag Serviceq Driver’s Licensesq Fire and Theftq Collisionq Homeq Motor Cycles

OFFiCE HOURS: 10:00 A.M. TO 7:00 P.M. Daily ∞ 10:00 A.M. TO 3 P.M.

Henry jacksonGeneral Manager

WEST PHiLA. OFFiCE

5236 Walnut St.

(215) 476-7590

q Learner’s Permitsq Registration Renewalsq Businessq Notary Public

We will be happy to advise you aboutthe new auto insurance rules. Stop in!

“We Insure Your Need, Without the Greed”

* 763-0286 *763-0287 FAX 763-5958LOTTERY 236-8281

GIRARD AVENUE CHECK CASHING

1356 W. Girard Ave. Phila. PA 19123Checks Cashed - Money Orders - Direct DepositUtility Bills Paid - Septa Passes - Septa Tokens

Photostat Copies - Money Access - Rapid RefundsFax Service - Notary Public - Mail Boxes -

Money Gram

OPEN: Mon. Tues. Wed. 8 am- 5 pmThurs. & Fri. 8 am - 6 pmSat. 8 am - 2 pm

WEAVE SPECIAL ~ BRING OWN HAIRTARA WEAVE, LONG LAYER, SHORT LAYERMOIK/HULD w/ TARA HAIR, PONY TAILS

WRAP Special2 LAYER BRAIDS SPECIAL

BRING OWN HAIRSEWING WEAVE - WALYAH, Stylist

ACTION SCOOP’S RECOMMENDEDACTION SCOOP’S RECOMMENDEDBUSINESSES - THEY CAREBUSINESSES - THEY CARE

SPECiAL - HALF PRiCE ON yOUR BiRTHDAy

5805 germantown AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19144

(215) 842-0550

Philadelphia Hair Co.

2719 W. Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130215-236-3400 - Fax 215-236-0920

Monday - Saturday - 10:30 am - 7 pm

DESigNER FASHiONSDESigNER FASHiONS

CLOSE-OUT SALECLOSE-OUT SALECall to See

Clothing Line267-808-4537267-628-9637

(Because of privacy I willnot use the names of the citi-zens who called or wrote ask-ing the questions)

Question: I recentlyapplied for a replacementSocial Security card, but Imight be moving before itarrives in the mail. What doI do if I move before I get it?

Answer: Once we have ver-ified all your documents and

processed your application, it takes approximately10 to 14 days to receive your replacement SocialSecurity card. If you move after applying foryour new card, notify the post office of yourchange of address and the post office will forward

your card to your new address. If you do not receiveyour card, please contact your local Social Securityoffice. To get another replacement, you will have toresubmit your evidence of identity and U.S. citizenship,or your lawful immigration status and authority to work.You can learn more at www.socialsecurity.gov.

Question: What's the average monthly SocialSecurity benefit for a retired worker?

Answer: The current average monthly Social Securitybenefit for a retired worker is about $1,164. SocialSecurity benefits are based on earnings averaged overmost of a worker's lifetime.

Question: What is “full retirement age” and whathappens if I apply for Social Security benefits beforethen?

Answer: Full retirement age is the age when you are

patri

ck l

. rob

inso

n, s

r. Ask Mr. Robinson your Social Security question

Bruce’s Barber Shop4312 Lancaster Ave.

Open Tues. to Fri. 12 to 6 p.m.Sat. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Haircuts $9.00Children Under 12 yrs. $8.00Hustlers $8.00

Call (215) 222-9912

Question: How does Social Security decide if I amdisabled?

Answer: For an adult to be considered disabled,Social Security must determine that you are unable to dothe work you did before and unable to adjust to anyother work which exists in significant numbers in thenational economy. Also, your disability must last or beexpected to last for at least one year or to result in death.Social Security pays only for total disability. No bene-fits are payable for partial disability or short-term dis-ability (less than a year). For more information, we rec-ommend you read Disability Benefits (SSA PublicationNo. 05-10029), available online at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10029.html.

See “Ask Social security” next page

“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington12 -SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010

SHARON HILLSHARON HILL

Col. Charles YoungPost 682

159 E. Sharpnack St.Phila. 215-844-9894

Maurice B. Williams, Commander

1st Sunday Breakfast8 am ‘til noon - $2.99

Monday Nite - Big Screen Night “All Sports”

Wednesday Nite ~ Happy Hour 7 to 9 pmMusic by Joe Bones

Every other Thursday ~ Line Dance ~ 7:30 - 9:30

Friday Happy Hour ~ 6 to 8 pm

Saturday Happy Hour 5 to 7 pm

DIXON’S LOUNGE1401 Hook Road

Sharon Hill, PA 610-461-2462Jesse, Manager

Closed Sunday & Monday Open Tuesday - Friday 9 -5 Barber: Tuesday - Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Call for Appointment

CAMDEN, N.J.CAMDEN, N.J.

ENJOY GOODEATING

215-438-6793

The Rib Crib

PUNCHEY’SSEAFOOD

258 South 52nd St.(215) 747-9948FRESH from the SEA to the FRYING PAN!!

We are back and CookingThursday, Friday and SaturdaysNote New Hours - 11 am to 11 pm

6333 Germantown Ave. Phila.

As little as thisAs little as thisspace bringsspace bringsbig $$$$$$$$big $$$$$$$$

results to yourresults to yourbusinessbusiness

UPtownBarber Shop

801 Fairview St.Camden, N.J.

TOM at your service(856) 576- 0914-

For the Natural, Suave

CDS * TAPES * MOviES * KANgOL HATS

Marlton Records & Electronics286 Marlton AvenueCamden, N.j. 08105

(856) 541-1818. Rap & Reggae Music. gifts and Novelties

NELLIE’S BEAUTYRAMA4913 WESTFIELD AVE., PENNSAUKEN, NJ

(856) 663-9400Shampoo, press & curl, perms,

waves, ponytails & more.

SHARON BARSHARON BARBIGJIM’SHome of the Thunder Guards M.C. Club

820 Sharon Ave. Sharon Hill610-534-8499

Come and Do your

thing Monday

KARAOKE ~ 9 p.m. until 1 a.m.

Prizes & Coors

Always a PARTy on the hill

Yes! we areopen duringour remodlingto make a newlook for you

Come out and get your thing on

with D.j. ACE

BOOgiE & THE gANg Friday 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Sunday 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Thursday & Saturday 9 p.m. until

For Rent or LeaseEntire Building or Floors

4 floors over 8,000 square feet on each floor

First Floor Auditorium - Elevators

Fouth Floor-Roof Gardenand Office Spaces

Prime Location on Avenue of the Arts NorthCall for tour appointment

(215) 232-5974 ask for Sonny

Home Buyers use the $8,000 Federal Tax Credit or Get $5,000 in Advance Call Kevin and Darlene Jamison of

RE/MAX First

Serving Philadelphia, Montgomery & Delaware Counties

www.KevinandDarleneJamison.com

Direct 215-439-5626 * Office 215-248-6200

View SCOOP on the web

www.scoopusanewspaper.com

THRIFT STORE4942 N. Broad St. Phila. 215-455-3978

OPEN Monday - Saturday 10 am - 6 pm

TiLLMAN’S BOUTiQUE

NEW & USED

Professional Letter December 3, 2009

Audience: HIV/Infectious Disease healthcare profession-als, cardiovascular healthcare professionals.GlaxoSmithKline and FDA notified healthcare professionalsof a potential association between Lexiva and myocardialinfarction and dyslipidemia in HIV infected adults.

Valproate Sodium and related products (valproic acid anddivalproex sodium): Risk of Birth Defects December 3, 2009

Audience: Neurological and Obstetrical healthcare profes-sionals. The FDA notified health care professionals andpatients about the increased risk of neural tube defects andother major birth defects, such as craniofacial defects andcardiovascular malformations, in babies exposed to valproatesodium and related products (valproic acid and divalproexsodium) during pregnancy.

Here’s to the best interest in your health. Learn more @drugs.com/fda_alerts.html

Continued from page 10

MedWatch

Ask Social SecurityQuestion: What is the earliest age that I can receive

Social Security disability benefits?Answer: There is no minimum age as long as you

meet the strict Social Security definition of disability.To qualify for disability benefits, you must have workedlong enough under Social Security to earn the requirednumber of work credits and some of the work must berecent. You can earn up to a maximum of four workcredits each year. The amount of earnings required for acredit increases each year as general wage levels go upand is currently $1,120. The number of work creditsyou need for disability benefits depends on your agewhen you become disabled. For example, if you areunder age 24, you may qualify with as little as six cred-its of coverage. But people disabled at age 31 or oldergenerally need between 20 and 40 credits, and some ofthe work must have been recent. For example, you mayneed to have worked five out of the past 10 years.

Question: I get Supplemental Security Income (SSI)because I am elderly and have no income. My sisterrecently died and left me the money she had in a savingsaccount. Will this extra money affect my SSI benefits?

Answer: The money inherited from your sister is con-sidered income for the month you receive it and couldmake you ineligible for that month, depending on the

Continued from previious page

amount of the inheritance. If you keep the money intothe next month, it then becomes a part of your resources.You cannot have more than $2,000 in resources toremain eligible for SSI benefits. Call Social Security at1-800-772-1213 (TTY, 1-800-325-0778) to report theinheritance. A representative will tell you how your eli-gibility and payment amount might be affected. Learnmore by visiting us online at www.socialsecurity.gov.

Question: My parents recently moved into a retire-ment community and they are signing their house overto me. Can I still get Supplemental Security Income(SSI) or will home ownership make me ineligible?

Answer: You can own a home and still receive SSI aslong as you live in the home you own. In most cases,when determining SSI eligibility we don’t count asresources the home you own and live in or the car youuse. For more information about SSI and SocialSecurity, visit Social Security’s website at www.socialse-curity.gov, or call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

Question: What’s this I hear about a new “twist” inthe law?

Answer: You may have seen our new public servicecampaign featuring Grammy winner and rock and rolllegend Chubby Checker — best known for his enduringhit, “the Twist.” He’s volunteering his time to help usspread the word about a new “twist” in the law thathelps more people qualify for extra help with their pre-scription drug costs. If you have limited income andresources and have Medicare, you might be able to qual-ify for extra help with your prescription drug costs.Thanks to changes in the law, more people than everbefore can qualify. To learn more, visit www.socialsecu-rity.gov/extrahelp. While you’re at the website, be sureto check out Chubby Checker’s public service announce-ment. He’s still twisting!

Opportunities of a lifetime must be seized during thelifetime of the Opportunity

OCEANOCEANBEvERAgE4142 LANCASTER

AvE.

222-3332COLD BEER

Service with Smile forBAR & HOMEPiCK-UP &DELivERy iKE

Chester CommunityCharter School (CCCS) todayannounced that its students,staff and administrators, in aneffort to give back to thoseaffected by the earthquake inPort Au Prince, Haiti onJanuary 12, 2010, has takenup a collection for donationto the American Red Cross ofChester, PA, through its“Loose Change for Change”program. The collection ini-tiative, which ran for a totalof 10 days and garnered$3,420, encouraged theCCCS family to donate theirloose pocket change to assistin providing food, dry goods,water, and other necessitiesfor the people of Haiti.

Steven Lee, CEO, ChesterCommunity Charter School,commenting on the program,said: “Time and time again,the students and staff of thisschool surprise me by show-ing their desire to make a dif-ference and opening theirhearts to serve those in need.I am so proud to be a part ofthis team of dedicated indi-viduals, teaching the childrenthe importance of socialresponsibility and what itmeans to take a vested inter-est in the lives of others.”

As a reward for their efforts, the classroom and build-ing that raised the most money will be treated to a softpretzel party. About Chester Community Charter School

Chester Community Charter School opened its doorson September 9, 1998, serving 97 students from its mod-

SCOOP USA - Friday,March 5, 2010 - 13“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington

B & E’s Tavern3rd & Highland 610 497-525

SCOOPUSA

Chester Businesses Willing to Serve you

BOOTS & BONNETSI-95 & Concord Rd - Chester, PA -(610) 485-4111

Book your next party here Call 610-485-4111 for more information

Our Kitchen open daily with its good southern cooked, delicious foods for lunch and dinnersuch as ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers and fish sandwiches. Weekly specials that include

mac and cheese, fresh cooked cabbage, greens and our deliciousfried, baked and rotisserie chicken ... and now we have CAJUN CRABSCAJUN CRABS!!!

KITCHEN OPEN Mon. - Wed. 4 pm to midnite: Thurs. - Sun. 4 pm to 2 a.m.

302 W. 5th St. Chester, PA5th Street Bar

Friday Nite ~ 9 p.m. until ~ TRiPLE PLAy gRADUATiON PARTyFriday Nite ~ 9 p.m. until ~ TRiPLE PLAy gRADUATiON PARTy-for- -for- MALLORy, TiFFANy -and- ZAKiAMALLORy, TiFFANy -and- ZAKiA

EvERy WEDNESDAy ~ 7 to 10 p.m. POOL PLAyERS’ NiTE

FREE POOL Hosted by gege ~ Light Refreshments

KARAOKE EvERy THURSDAy NiTE ~ 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.FRiDAy NiTE ~ HAPPy HOUR ~ 6 to 10 p.m.

LivE ENTERTAiNMENT SUNDAy ~ 8 p.m. until

501 E. 7th St.Chester, PA

610- 872-4230501Bar

WWEE NNEvEREvER

SSTOPTOP

WWORkINGORkING!!Your Ad --Your Ad --

2 for 2 for the Price the Price

of 1--of 1--in Printin Print

and on the and on the webb

scoopusanewspaper.com

215-232-5974

Saturday ~ 9 p.m. until ~ DOUBLE BUBBLESaturday ~ 9 p.m. until ~ DOUBLE BUBBLEBiRTHDAy BASH -for- jASMyN -and- QUiANABiRTHDAy BASH -for- jASMyN -and- QUiANA

Come One ~ Come All

COOK WANTED ~ MUST BE SERiOUS!COOK WANTED ~ MUST BE SERiOUS!

FRiDAy ~ 6 to 9 p.m.LATiNO NiTE

FOOD & MiXED DRiNKSPECiALS

MORIANNI’SThe Original -- Bar-Hotel-Sandwich Shop

Open Monday thru Saturday 7 a.m. ~ 2 a.m. w Sunday noon to 2 a.m.

484-490-5531

301 W. 3rd St. (3rd & Concord Ave.) ~ Chester, PA

SMOKING PERMITTED!!

We now accept vISA, MasterCard and Debit Cardsfor your convenience! ~ ATM ON PREMISES

Saturday, March 20th ~ 9 p.m. until

gala BiRTHDAy PARTy -for- “vANESSA”

Tuesday, March 30th ~ 3 to 9 p.m.

BiRTHDAy BASH for our own “BECKy”

WEDNESDAy ~ 6 to 9 p.m. LADiES NiTE with 2-B Productions

Dj MiXSTRO SiDDEEN

HOAgiE SHOP OPEN DAiLyHOAgiE SHOP OPEN DAiLy

Thirsty Thursdays ~ 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.HAPPy HOUR with vAL Monday through Friday 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

$2.00 bottom shelf ~ $1.00 off top shelf

BOOK yOUR NEXT PARTy WiTH US!!Don’t Worry, Be

Happy and Let

the Good Times

Roll ... Rain,

Snow or Shine.

Always aRollingOut GoodTimeAdult Style

MADISON GRILL301 E. 12th Street

Chester, PA 610-874-7662Open 7 am Mon.- Sat. / Sunday 11am

HAPPY HOUR MONDAY

& THURSDAY5 pm to 7 pm

Special Discounts

GAME TIME is PARTY TIME Watch your team win or lose

SMOKING PERMITTED

CCCS Loose Change for Change Programraises more than $3,400 for Haiti Relief

est four meeting rooms, in the lobby of the HowardJohnson Hotel. Chester Community Charter School,since, has steadily increased to over 2500 students in tenstate-of-the-art buildings. Recently, Chester CommunityCharter School provided personal laptop computers,through the One Laptop per Child program, to 1400 oftheir students in grades 3 through 8.

Steven Lee, CEO, Chester Community Charter School (CCCS) standswith one of his sixth grade students, Tienne Nael, at the American RedCross Chester-Wallingford Chapter, as the school presented a checkfor $3,420 for assistance in Haiti earthquake relief efforts, as part of its“Loose Change for Change” program. The program encouraged theCCCS students and faculty to donate their loose pocket change, over aten day period, to provide food, dry goods, water, and other necessitiesfor the people of Haiti. Tienne Nael, collected and donated $100, thesingle-highest donation of all CCCS students.

Report.” They are notresponsible for filling outinformation for room-mates.

Federal law requireseveryone to answer theCensus, and it is easy forcollege students to com-ply. The law also assurescollege students – andeveryone else who partici-pates – that individualcensus records cannot beshared with anyone,including governmentagencies, and that the datais only for collective use.

That collective usecould influence whether anew restaurant will openits doors near a campus orwhether an abandoned lotmight become a new gymor what streets arerepaired first. The worstthing for a campus neigh-borhood is for college stu-dents not to fill out the

PhillyCountsContinued from page 5

HAPPy HOURMONDAy ~ THURSDAy

Census form, suggestingthat no one lives in ahome or apartment.

Campus Philly will beusing several taglinesselected by local collegestudents in its efforts tomotivate students toanswer the Census: “Urfriends know U count. LetPhilly know U count.”“Ur family knows Ucount. Let Philly know Ucount.” “Ur school knowsU count. Let Philly knowU count.”

PhillyCounts 2010 andCampus Philly urge allPhiladelphia college stu-dents to watch for theCensus forms and to fillthem out. Students whodo not receive a form byMarch 17 should call 311or go to phillycounts.orgto find out one of the sev-eral hundred places aroundPhiladelphia where formsmay be obtained.

WWEE NNEvEREvER SSTOPTOP!!WWORkINGORkING FFOROR YYOUOU!!view SCOOP on the web

www.scoopusanewspaper.com

14 -SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010 “If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington

AMERICAN LEGION

Charles Horsey Post 3001101 W. 7th Street Chester, 610-872-2751

KAROAKE every THURSDAY 6-9Every FRIDAY, After Work Party 5-9

NOW OPEN ON MONDAYS NOW OPEN ON MONDAYS

OPEN: Mon., Tues., Wed. 3 to 11 p.m.Thurs. 12 noon to 12 midnite w Friday 12 noon to 2 a.m.

Sat. 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. w Sun. 8 a.m. to midnite

Members must have membershipcard with them all the time to drink.

Everyone must be 30 years old

Chester, PA

SPORTY’SWESTEND COCKTAIL LOUNGE

2701 W. 3rd St. Chester - 610-497-9037

Roger’s RAiNBOW iNNRAiNBOW iNN6th & Kerlin Sts. Chester, PA (610) 874 - 1777

ARLENE IS BACKCooking Your Choice

GINN’SCorner of Rt. 291 & Kerlin Street

700 W. 2nd Street, Chester, PA

Restaurant& Bar

610-876-5448

WE HAVE An ATM INSIDE BAR

Manager Blinky

Our Staff Serving: Bebe, Bernard, Julie, Jaime, Debbie,

Larry, Karen, Katrice, Rose, Sue, Sheedah, Yolonda, Yvonne

House DJ. Dr. Boogie & Crew

Kitchen Staff Darlene, Monte & Juice

Security Staff -Dayton, Jack, Nodie, Steve & Devin

PEOPLE’S CHOICE531 Avenue of the StatesChester, PA 610-872-0789

All Styles & FashionsCLOTHiNg & FOOTWEAR

610-872-0789

PEOPLES “CHAMP”PEOPLES “CHAMP”CLOTHING STORECLOTHING STORE4 East 21st Street, Chester PA

610-499-3023 610-202-0316

BENNIE’S TAvERN8 West 9th Street Chester, PA

(610) 874 - 8454

Turkey BurgersClub Sandwiches

Mac & Cheese

Collard Greens

MONDAYS ~ GOOD TIMESTheThe WEST ENDWEST ENDNITE OF BARSNITE OF BARS

Sporty’s, Rico’s, Bennie’s, MetroWEDNESDAY - Ladies Nite

Sporty’s, Rico’s & Bennie’s

FRIDAY FRIDAY SPECIALSPECIAL

HAPPY HOURHAPPY HOURDiscount Drinks

Monday Days with “KATRiCE” - Happy DayMonday Nites with “DEBBiE” - Happy Nite

Tuesday and Wednesdays with “BEBE”Tuesday Nite with ‘KATRiCE” ~ Men’s Nite

Wednesday Nights with “yOLANDA” 1 + 1 shotand Special Mixed Drinks

Thursday Nights with SHEEDAH” ~ 2 + 1 NiTE

“Welcome to Our Staff “DEBBIE”“Welcome to Our Staff “DEBBIE”

Saturday, March 13 ~ 3 to 9 p.m.CLUB SWEET REvENgE MATiNEE

BIG

SALE

Black-eyed Peas

with Rice & more

KiTCHEN Open Daily until 1:30 a.m.We Make Our Own Crab Cakes

SHRiMP ~ FLOUNDER ~ TALAPiAWings & Things

BiRTHDAy PARTiEScan now be scheduled

on FRiDAy NigHTS ~ See Blinky ~

HAPPy HOUR HAPPy HOUR MondayMonday

and Thursdayand Thursday9 to 11 p.m.9 to 11 p.m.$1.00 NiTE $1.00 NiTE

Big BiRTHDAy PARTy -for- “DORiNE”Saturday, March 27 ~ noon to 6 p.m.

Open at 4:00 p.m. ~ SENiOR DiSCOUNT

HAPPy HOUR ~ 5 to 7 p.m. MONDAy - WEDNESDAy - FRiDAy

FRiDAy NiTE with Dj BANg9 p.m. until

OLDiES BUT gOODiES EvERy THURSDAy NiTE9 p.m. until with ‘THE g-MAN”

~ Book your Party for Saturday Nites ~

Big BiRTHDAy PARTy -for- ‘DEvA”Saturday, March 6 ~ 9 p.m. until

Big BiRTHDAy PARTy -for- “KiTA”Saturday, March 20 ~ 9 p.m. until

All Star Barber ShopTattoo Palon & Spar ( hands &

Feet) - Open 7 days

The greatest gift Godgave to man was His Son,our Lord and Savior, JesusChrist and the secondgreatest gift he gave waswoman. You see, whenGod created man, Helooked around and noticedthat man would be lonelywithout a mate, especiallywhen all the other inhabi-tants on earth had one. SoGod with Divine Love

created woman from the rib of man.Brothers, if God had taken the bone out of the

man’s head, He would have meant for the womanto rule. If God had taken the bone out of the man’s

rev.

dr. w

m. r

ocky

bro

wn,

3rd

God’s Second greatest giftfoot, He would have meant for the woman to dominateand rule. God could have made the woman out of thebackbone, but then the woman would have been behindthe man. But no, God Almighty, full of wisdom, tookthe bone out of man’s side. So that puts the womanbeside the man to be a helpmate who receives love,respect, honor and guiding protection.

Now through the years this role model of women,whom God created, has been changed in such a mannerthat many men feel that a woman is less than inferior toa man. But this is wrong because a man and woman areequal, especially in the eyes of God, who created eachand every one of us in His image. This type of preju-dice and injustice has caused the cry for an Equal RightsAmendment and the Women’s Liberation Movement.In reality, this is a push for the complete freedom of thefemale race. That is freedom of choice, freedom fromabuse, freedom of equal pay and opportunity as well asmany others. Now, if we as mature and responsive menloved cherished and protected our women there wouldbe no need for movements like this. But instead, we useand abuse them. Yes, they have come a long way, butthey still have a long way to go.

We need our women just as they need us. In fact, if

it wasn’t for the Black Woman, there would be no BlackFamily, no Black Church nor a Black Movement forComplete Liberation. Truly, she has been our strengthin the time of trouble. God knew what He was doing,when He created women and I thank him for them.

So Brothers, let us go forth into the future with love,respect and devotion for women no matter what race,color, creed or national origin they are.

Let us Protect them and not reject them. Let us Liftthem and not Whip them. Let us Defend them and notbeat them. (If you want to beat on something, beat on abag or yourself!) Moreover, let us Heal them and notKill them. We cannot make it by ourselves, we needthem with us. For, “Beside every successful hardwork-ing, ambitious man is a woman who is dedicated to thatman and with her love, devotion and support came hissuccess”.

But most of all let us remember that God gave us Hisonly begotten Son, the greatest gift to mankind. Thenout of love, He gave to man, His 2nd greatest gift, theWoman! Think About It!!!

This is Rev. Dr. Wm. Rocky Brown, 3rd Letting the women of the world know

I Love You, I Appreciate You andI Want For you

The Goodness That I Want For Myself! God Bless Ya!!!!

Chester EventsTTalenTalenT SSHowCaSeHowCaSe

WDNR Record Company Talent Search Representativesin Association with Master Blaster and Ma’ja LeagueEntertainment present Chester’s 1st Talent Showcase of2010 on Friday, March 12, 6 p.m. at Widner UniversityAuditorium. Donation: $10.00 at the door.To sign up or get more information contact MasterBlaster at 610-499-4440 Monday through Friday from10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

********"P"PennieSennieS FroMFroM PPaTronSaTronS" P" Pennyenny DDriverive

UUnDerwaynDerway aTaT CCrozerrozer llibraryibrary

The J. Lewis Crozer Library wants your two cents'worth – or actually, as many cents as you can spare. TheJ. Lewis Crozer Library asks Chester residents young andold to contribute to their "Pennies from Patrons" pennydrive. The penny drive will extend through the end ofMarch, with the goal of raising $500 for Chester's onlypublic library. If you don't have many pennies to con-tribute, library staff will gladly convert donations of dif-ferent denominations for you. Donations will be acceptedduring normal library hours. If you have any penny drivequestions, please contact Kim Braun at (610) 494-3454,x204. Crozer Library is located at 620 Engle Street inChester.

********oolDlD SSCHoolCHool FFriDaySriDayS

every First Friday, Network and Dance ... Old School

Music by DJ Cory AK. A Cabaret-style event from 8 p.m.until 1 a.m. hoste by Councilwoman Marrea at Chester’sCity Hall, 1 Fourth Street in Chester. For information call610-447-7728.

********J. LJ. LEWISEWIS CCROZERROZER LLIBRARYIBRARY

YYOUTHOUTH SSERVICESERVICES SSCHEDULECHEDULE

Weekly ProgramsTuesdays: “Math Tutoring” from 6 to 7 p.m. (ages 12 and

up only). To register visit, or leave phone message at 610-494-3454 ext. 203 or email crcsd@delco.lib.pa.us. Space is limited.

Wednesdays: “Little People Storytimes” 10 - 10:30 a.m.(Ages 3-5 only). Interactive stoirytime with songs, stories andfun activities. Register your child or group now during libraryvisit, leave phone message at 610-494-3454 ext. 203 or emailcrcsd@delco.lib.pa.us.

Tuesdays and Thursdays: Violence Prevention for TeenGirls: “Enhancing Self-Esteem” from 6 to 7 p.m. (Ages 13 andup only). For information contact Ms. Logan at 610-494-3454ext. 203 or email crcsd@delco.lib.pa.us.

The J. Lewsis Crozer Library is located at 620 Engle Streetin Chester, PA.

Reach One, Teach OneSCOOP in print and

on the webGet 2 for the price of 1

www.scoopusanewspaper.com

Friday, March 26 ~ 9 p.m. until ~ BigBiRTHDAy PARTy FOR TWO ARiES

“CLAyTESHiN” -and- “DENiSE”

SCOOP USA - Friday, March 5, 2010 - 15“If I cry tonight, understand that my cries are those of our children dying in the streets.” ~ Father Paul M. Washington

A space this A space this little can bringlittle can bring

big big $$$$$ $$$$$ results to your businessresults to your businessCall SCOOPCall SCOOP215-232-5974215-232-5974

SCOOP USA COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

WednesdayFeb. 24

DAY PA NJ DELAWAREDATE

194 724 452 233 603 173 200

ThursdayFeb. 25 326 578 189 060

655 196 821 686 809 865 594

SaturdayFeb. 27 167 415 031 790 357

SundayFeb. 28 137 349 310 195

MondayMarch 1 712 088 032 934 305 053 416

TuesdayMarch 2

449 859 601 268 311

SCOOP PICK HITSSCOOP PICK HITSAppears

Every Friday

341 392

FridayFeb. 26

Bold Red face indicates Hits picked by SCOOP U.S.A

186 394 642 179 720 912

336 584308

333 600

Down Memory Lane

FFOSTEROSTER FFAMILIESAMILIES NNEEDEDEEDED

Can you make a place in your family for a foster child?Thousands of children need the love and support of a fosterfamily. Catholic Social Services is looking for single or mar-ried adults to become foster parents to children of all ages,denominations and races. Homes are also needed for sib-lings who wish to live together. For informaiton about fosterfamily care please call: 215-587-3690.

******** CCOMMUNITYOMMUNITY LLEADERSHIPEADERSHIP TTRAININGRAINING

Are you a block captain, home and school associationmember, orcommunity leader or organizer interested in con-necting with organizations in your neighborhood? Are seek-ing collaborations and new resources? Do you need help indeveloping a plan to recruit people toyour organization?

The Department of Human Services, Community BasedPrevention Services Division, along with the Equal PartnersIn Change Community Stakeholder Groups are sponsoring"The EPIC Leadership Initiative," a series of capacity build-ing workshopsfocusing on individual and organizationalskill building. The workshops include EPIC LeadershipOrientation, Best Practices in Community Engagement andEffective Meeting Facilitation.

These one day interactive trainings are taught byprofessionalfacilitators experienced in both government, corporate andcom-munity relations. For more details, 215-683-4026/86/27.

********MMENTORSENTORS SSOUGHTOUGHT FORFOR TTEENSEENS ININ FFOSTEROSTER CCAREARE

The Achieving Independence Center, established to sup-port adolescents aging out of the foster care system, is look-ing for caring and supportive adults willing to build a friend-ship with a foster care youth. Mentors can be that big broth-er or sister a youth in foster care needs by sharing your lifeexperiences, time, and friendship. Having a shoulder to leanon when times get tough helps young people stay focusedand not lose hope.

Whether it is providing them with caring support, friendship,or helping them with their aspirations (personal and profession-al), the AIC Mentoring Program can match you with a youngperson between the ages of 16-21 who could benefit from yourknowledge and experience.

The AIC is a "one-stop" center designed to assist youngpeople ages 16-21 achieve their future goals of self-sufficiency.

For more information, call 215-574-9194.********

MMINISTERSINISTERS ANDAND WWORKERSORKERS WWINTERINTER CCONFERENCEONFERENCE

Moriah Ministries is hosting their Ministers and WorkersWinter Conference, at The Sheraton Suites at thePhiladelphia Airport, 4101 Island Ave. Complimentary park-ing for each service. Friday, March 5, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday,March 6, 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Sunday, March 7, 7:00

p.m. Hour Prayer preceeds each meeting. For informationcontact 215-365-6600 or email moriahmin@msn.com

********BBENEFITENEFIT FORFOR HHAITIAITI

The LaRose Social Club, 5531 Germantown Ave. willhold a Benefit for Haiti on Sunday, March 14, featuringRon henderson’s Trio and other guests. Tickets are $25.00and include dinner. Dr. LaRose, the owner of LaRose SocialClub is from Haiti and sadly had family members lost in theearthquake. For information call 215-248-4415.

******** TTHOMASHOMAS JJOBOB FFAIRAIR RRESCHEDULEDESCHEDULED FORFOR MMARCHARCH 1818

State Rep. W. Curtis Thomas' Public Sector Job Fair,which was originally scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25, willbe held on Thursday, March 18. The job fair is rescheduledfor 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 18 at the William H.Gray Youth Center, 1601 N. 12th St. in Philadelphia.

******** · WWOMENOMEN’’SS SSELFELF DDEFENSEEFENSE SSEMINAREMINAR

The Sister’s of Masjid Al Mu’id along with Muhammad’sMartial Arts Academy, 4517 Wayne Ave, Phila, Pa. 19144present Sister’s United, Women’s Self-Defense Seminar

(Part II), Saturday, March 20 from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30p.m. Cost $25.00 per sister (four sisters pay and the fifth isfree!) Work out clothing a must. For information call: 215-849-2325

********BBLACKLACK CCOLLEGEOLLEGE TTOUROUR

Attention High School Seniors and Juniors – it’s time forJanes Memorial United Methodist Church’s Annual BlackCollege Tours. This year’s first trip will take place onFriday, March 26th. We’ll travel to the University ofMaryland, Eastern Shore. This fully chaperoned trip bychartered bus is free to students, leaving Janes Church at7:30 am and returning at 4:30 pm. We’ll tour the campus,meet students and faculty, and receive application and finan-cial aid information. Seating is limited! To find out more orto sign up please call the church office at 215 844 9564.

******** JJOBOB FFAIRAIR

Women’s Expansion Center of Philadelpjoa hosts a JobFair, Tuesday, March 30, from 10 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at1646 Ridge Ave., Phila., PA. For more information contactJoyce Alexander at 215-787-0857.

Jessie’s Herb Center& Herbs Massage Salon

4 Better Health

Monthly Health Seminars

LatestFashions

Independent DistributorNSP

1537 South StreetPhila., PA 19146(215) 735-0458

Those wonderful years of Memories give us this scene taken at Junus

Brown’s Tamarra’s Lounge in West Philly. Jack Franklin photo / scoop files

xxx 369

Where are you going

without more education?

Now is the time to choose a new career! Training andJob Placement assistance available in the followingfields:Culinary Arts (16 weeks); Housekeeping (9 weeks)and Front Office (16 weeks). Free Training with no TuitionCost to You! Class Date and Times: Classes begin March22, 2010. Classes are held Monday through Friday, 8:30am until 2:45pm. Classes are held at the Philadelphia OIC(Opportunities Industrialization Center), 1231 N. BroadStreet, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19122.

For information contact: contact: Sophia Scott,Recruiter/ Counselor at (215) 236-7700 ext. 323

is your current path a dead-end, because youlack a high school diploma or college degree?

The Salvation Army Learning Zone1340 Brown St., Phila., PA 19123

is offering two educational opportunities

Classes for an Associates Degree in Leadership fromHarcum College is available. Help to apply for finan-cial aid to pay tuition cost is available. Deadline forfinancial aid applications is April 29th so apply now.Classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to9:30 p.m.

Call 215-787-2962 or 215- 825-4636 toenroll and begin a new path.

“www.scoopusanewspaper.com 16 -SCOOP U.S.A. - Friday, March 5, 2010

www.mybravohealth.com

Call Bravo Health at 1-800-839-1085 to speak with a Sales Representative.(TTY 1-800-964-2561 for the hearing impaired.)

Medicare open enrollment runs

January 1st – March 31st!

Bravo Health plans are offered by subsidiaries of Bravo Health, Inc., Medicare Advantage Organizations with Medicare contracts. The benefi t information provided herein is a brief summary, but not a comprehensive description of available benefi ts. Additional information about benefi ts is available to assist you in making a decision about your coverage. This is an advertisement; for more information contact the plan. For more information, contact Bravo Health Member Services at 1-800-291-0396, seven days a week from 8 am to 8 pm.

M0017_10_1125

If your Medicare Advantage plan has reduced your benefi ts or become more expensive, Bravo Health can help. Offering Medicare Advantage plans is our main focus, and that’s what allows us to do it well. See how we can help you save and get the benefits you need.

Are you unhappy with recent changes to your Medicare Advantage plan?

Here are just a few of our benefi ts:

$0 premium plans$0 copay for primary care provider visits$0 copay for generic prescription drugs

SilverSneakers® membership at participating fi tness centers

No referrals for most services

March 8 • 11:00 amMercy Ministries of Phila.1939 W. Venango St., Phila.

March 8 • 11:00 amPhila. Free LibraryLovett Memorial Branch6945 Germantown Ave., Phila.

March 9 • 11:00 amManayunk Diner3722 Main St., Phila.

March 9 • 1:30 pmPhila. Free LibraryFalls of Schuykill Branch3501 Midvale Ave., Phila.

March 10 • 11:00 amPhila. Free Library - Widener Branch2808 W. Lehigh Ave., Phila.

March 10 • 12:00 noonVenuto’s Old World265 East Township Line Rd., Upper Darby

March 11 • 1:00 pmPhila. Free Library - Lawncrest Branch6098 Rising Sun Ave., Phila.

March 12 • 11:30 amCasa Caribe173 W. Allegheny Ave., Phila.

March 12 • 1:00 pmPhila. Free LibraryWyoming Branch231 E. Wyoming Ave., Phila.

March 15 • 10:00 amRed Robin Diner6330 Frankford Ave., Phila.

March 16 • 10:00 amStrawberry Mansion Health Center2840 W. Dauphin St., Phila.

March 17 • 10:00 amHealth Center #44400 Haverford Ave., Phila.

March 17 • 12:00 noonPhila. Free LibraryOverbrook Park Branch7422 Haverford Ave., Phila.

March 18 • 9:30 amTaylor Church (Fellowship Hall)3819 Germantown Ave., Phila.

March 19 • 1:00 pmPhila. Free LibraryRamonita de Rodriguez Branch600 W. Girard Ave., Phila.

March 23 • 10:30 amIHOP Restaurant3400 Aramingo Ave., Phila.

March 24 • 10:00 amHealth Center #21720 S. Broad St., Phila.

Register for a sales seminar (listed below) or schedule your one-on-one Plan Check-Up today!

A Sales Representative will be present with information and applications to discuss all the Bravo Health Medicare Advantage plans (HMO, PPO, PFFS, SNP) available in your service area. For accommodations of persons with special needs, call the toll-free number on this ad.