Norfolk Celebrates 3rd Annual Bike Month

Sean Milcetich at City Hall, does  deliveries on bike for Carry Norfolk.
photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©


(BMLTV) May 13, 2013, Norfolk, VA - The City of Norfolk is hosting the 3rd Annual Bike Month celebration throughout the month of May to include free family bicycling events; the launch of the We Roll Together share the road campaign; and the start of an official city employee bike share program.

The Department of Recreation, Parks & Open Space will host four free biking events throughout the month to include three community bicycle rides and a bike safety rodeo. First 500 registrants receive a free Norfolk Bike Month t-shirt. Event details are listed below and can also be found at www.NorfolkBikeMonth.com.

• Saturday, May 4th: Adult Bike Ride began at 9:00 a.m., departed from the Norfolk Fitness & Wellness Center, 7300 Newport Avenue, Norfolk, VA.

• Saturday, May 11th: Family Bike Ride  began at 9:00 a.m.  and departed from the Norview Community Center, 6380 Sewells Point Road, Norfolk, VA

• Saturday, May 18th: Bike Safety Rodeo will be 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Tarrallton Community Park, 2100 Tarrallton Drive, Norfolk, VA.

 Event includes: music, free bike helmets, bicycle tune-ups, children's bike safety course led by the Norfolk Police Department, local bicycle vendors, BMX demonstrations, guest appearances, raffles, bike giveaways, and more.

 • Thursday, May 30th: Family Bike Ride  begins at 6:00 p.m., departs from Poplar Hall Park, 101 N. Military Highway.
Also in May, Norfolk will launch the We Roll Together share the road campaign. The campaign is about making Norfolk a bike-friendly city. Through education and planning, the campaign aims to change the way all users of the road relate to one another.

Various outreach and advertising vehicles such as billboards, HRT bus ads, public service announcements, and a new webpage will remind motorists and bicyclists to Slow Your Roll, Know Your Role, and Roll Together to make Norfolk a safer city. Additional campaign details can be found at www.Norfolk.gov/RollTogether.

 Norfolk employees will also receive an easier way to get around with the launch of the Norfolk Employee Bike Share program. The program will make bicycles available for city employees to borrow on a short-term basis. The program is intended to encourage fun, physical activity and alternate modes of transportation among employees. In celebration of National Bike to Work Week, the program will kick-off with a lunchtime bike ride on May 16th at 1:30 p.m. Established in 2011, Norfolk Bike Month is a local celebration of National Bike Month.

It is a community celebration of biking as an economical and environmentally friendly form of recreation that enhances productivity and overall health. In 2012, more than 700 bicyclists of all ages rolled through Norfolk during Bike Month events. The Norfolk Bike month events, We Roll Together campaign, and Employee Bike Share Program all support the Healthy Norfolk Initiative, that aims to create a citywide culture of health and wellness. 


Sean Milcetich's bike sits outside City Hall while he is making a lunch delivery.
photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV© 


Sean Milcetich leaves City Hall and on to his next pick up.
photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©

Local says his Mobile Detailing is a struggle but he manages to raise 5 kids on the income

Business Owner M.D. Francis seen detailing truck in Chesapeake.
photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©


(BMLTV) CHESAPEAKE VA, April 12, 2013 – Norfolk resident M.D. Francis says says that he started this Mobil Detailing business “Buds Suds” 2 years ago with the intentions of generating enough income to raise 5 kids as a single parent. M.D. spoke about how he was looking to expand the business after first year, “but that hasn’t happened quite that way he explains”. 

While it is a struggle I am making money and there should be no reason for me to complain. “I’ve got the freedom to take this business anywhere. The United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) compiles occupational projections data on many occupations. The agency does not maintain a dedicated category for auto detailers though, instead lumping these workers in with "cleaners of vehicles and equipment."

This broad and somewhat nebulous category, cleaners of vehicles and equipment, accounted for nearly 350,000 US jobs in 2008. The occupational outlook anticipates a modest one percent growth over the decade from 2008 - 2018. BLS reports that median annual wages in this occupation are "very low" at $19,450. 6.5 percent of vehicle and equipment cleaners are self-employed. 

 by abhi ahmadadeen

The 2nd Annual Attucks Theatre Honors Saturday, April 13

Young performer looking up to the balcony of the Attucks Theatre. 
photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV© 


Director Gail Easley backstage during dress rehearsal at the Attacks Theatre.
photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV© 

(BMLTV) NORFOLK VA, April 11, 2013 - This year, the Crispus Attucks Cultural Center (CACC) celebrates its 23rd anniversary by recognizing ten extraordinary individuals for their
philanthropy, leadership, and outstanding contribution to the arts in
Hampton Roads.

In a celebration on the Attucks Theatre stage, produced by the CACC, the
2013 Honorees will be saluted by performances and will accept the thanks
of their peers and fans through heartfelt video tributes. Recipients to
be honored at the 2nd annual celebration are Andrew Fine, Lorraine Graves,
Charlie Henderson, Dr. Adolphus Hailstork, Bishop B. Courtney McBath, Hon.
Daun S. Hester, and The Livas Group Architects, P.C.

For more info: please call (757) 622-4763

The Crispus Attucks Cultural Center  is located at, 1010 Church St  Norfolk, VA 23510.

Niger seeks to end cycle of hunger

Agricultural transformation is part of Niger’s bid to end chronic food scarcity.

Otto Bakano/IRIN©

(IRIN) NIAMEY, April 5, 2013  - Niger is seeking to end its chronic food shortages through an ambitious agricultural transformation plan - but the plan will have to meet the demands of a fast-growing population living in a mostly desert country that also faces threats to its security.

When he came to power in 2011, President Issoufou Mahamadou said: “As evidenced in the last election, our people have gained political freedom; now it remains to attain freedom from hunger.” Some 6.4 million Nigeriens faced hunger during the 2011-2012 Sahel food crisis.

A year later, Mahamdou’s government launched the so-called 3N Initiative - Les Nigériens Nourissent les Nigériens [Nigeriens Feeding Nigeriens] - a broad strategy touching on food, the environment, energy and industrial transformation, estimated to cost $2 billion in the initial 2012-2015 phase of the project.

Humanitarian groups active in Niger point out the proactive approach taken by the new administration aims to combat both food insecurity and malnutrition, heralding it as an example to other crisis-prone Sahel countries.

Mahamadou’s predecessor, Mamadou Tandja, who was ousted in a February 2010 coup, had come under intense criticism over his handling of food crises in the 2000s. Some critics said he refused to accept that there were serious food shortages due to pride and a deep mistrust of NGOs.

“Niger faces drought once in every two years. Even in a good year, there is a part of the population that still remains vulnerable. Drought is the main threat to agriculture in our country. It’s responsible for 80 percent of losses in terms of agricultural output,” said Amadou Allahoury Diallo, the high commissioner of the 3N Initiative.

A tall order

Only 12 percent of Niger’s territory can sustain farming. But with a growth rate of 3.3 percent, it has one of the world’s fastest growing populations. The population doubled between 1988 and 2010, rising from around seven million to some 15 million, according to official statistics. Just 1 percent of the territory - in the extreme west - receives more than 600mm of rain per year.

“The output from the 3-4 months of the rainy season is what feeds the population for the 12 months of the year. This should change,” Diallo told IRIN. “Eighty percent of the population depends on agriculture. We have no choice but to develop agriculture.”

Some observers say it will be impossible for Niger to attain food security given the harsh climate, poverty and population pressure. The 3N Initiative’s to-do list ranges from introducing modern technology and equipping farmers with better seeds and implements to improving agricultural financing and market management.

The latest scheme is hardly unprecedented; previous Nigerien governments initiated self-sustenance strategies. However, Diallo argued that strong political will by Mahamadou’s administration and better government coordination set the 3N initiative apart from its precursors.

“In the past, food security was spearheaded by development partners rather than the ruling party, and each ministry worked with different partners. There was no centralized leadership,” he noted.

Niger fell from growing enough food, and even being an exporter of cereals, in the 1960s, to a state of chronic shortages due to recurrent droughts that became more frequent in the last decade.

Locust invasions, unstable food prices and political instability have also gnawed away at the country’s food security. In Niger - and across much of the Sahel - staple cereal prices are above the five-year average. Prices of millet, the staple for Nigerien households, is at 30 percent above the five-year average, said the Famine Early Warning System Network, attributing the rise to strong demand by institutions and other private buyers.

“Good harvests do not necessarily mean food security. There is the question of accessibility. Poor families spend much of their income on buying food, and when the prices go up they suffer a huge impact,” said Wim Fransen, the Niger head of office for the European Commission’s humanitarian aid arm (ECHO).

“There should be a diversification and improvement of food production, management of natural resources, especially water, and an improvement the market system for better food distribution,” said Vincenzo Galastro, the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s programme manager for West and Central Africa.

“The Niger government has made food security a priority. We think it’s a very positive step,” he added.

Durability

But Niger has also had to respond to the crisis in neighbouring Mali, sending troops there as part of a West African stabilization force and stepping up internal security - moves with budgetary repercussions on its food security strategy.

“The government had pledged to use most of the resources from uranium and oil [receipts] to finance the agricultural sector. Unfortunately, Niger also faces insecurity problems owing to the Mali crisis, which diverted some of the resources to security,” said Diallo. “Insecurity and food security are the government’s main priorities.”

As with Niger’s previous strategies, the 3N Initiative could last only as long as the regime that created it, but Diallo said the government was working on legislation to ensure the self-sustenance aims are spared the vagaries of politics.

“We are going to develop an agriculture policy to be adopted as a law that would be enforceable even after this government,” he said.

The Food and Agriculture Organization representative in Niger, Aboubakar Doualé Waïss, argued that food security is an unavoidable issue for any government in the Sahel, meaning Mahamdaou’s involvement in the 3N Initiative would not have to limit the programme to the duration of his administration.

“There must be a strong engagement at the highest level of government. Moreover, it’s one of the policies for which the president was elected. It’s natural that he be at the heart of his strategy,” Waïss told IRIN.

“We are convinced that this programme will continue under whatever name it will be given. In any Sahel country, food security is vital. Whoever comes to power, food and nutritional security will remain part of their problem.”

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Crispus Attucks Cultural Center is awarded $25,000 grant from The Dominion Foundation to expand acclaimed After School Programming

Crispus Attucks Cultural Center, Norfolk. photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV© 


(BMLTV) NORFOLK VA, March 21, 2013 - Crispus Attucks Cultural Center recently received a $25,000 grant from The Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Virginia Power. 

The grant will help in continuing the mission and development of Crispus Attucks Cultural Center by expanding its award-winning RISE! program to provide comprehensive tutoring to help disadvantaged students master Virginia's standardized tests in reading/language arts and mathematics. 

The grant enables RISE is to reinstitute an academic enrichment program that had been suspended for lack of funds. This is one of seven Virginia organizations that received grants from The Dominion Foundation in February, totaling $400,000, to support historical programs and expand programs that better prepare minority students for success.

 “Dominion is pleased to support these programs because they are of tremendous benefit to their local communities,” said Paul D. Koonce, chief executive officer of Dominion Virginia Power. “Black History Month is a particularly noteworthy time to honor and support the contributions these organizations make to the cultural and educational life of Virginia.” Starting March 7, the first phase of the RISE tutoring program will serve sixty students at P.B. Young Sr. Elementary School in Norfolk. 

Upon successful completion of twenty tutoring hours in the program, each student will receive a NOOK Simple Touch e-reader. The tutoring program aims to encourage reading by using the new technology. 

 Each week, students will be able to download a free e-book. “It is a valuable tool to motivate students to read and reduce the achievement gap between our students and their counterparts in the 21st century.” says Tonya Evans, P.B. Young Sr. guidance counselor. The RISE! program was created to engage and expose young people to creative learning as a way to develop skills they need to be successful at work, home, and school; better preparing them to make positive contributions to the world. Since its founding in 2005, the program has engaged more than 2,200 young people in dance, music, creative writing, media and visual arts, theatre and technology. 

According to Gail Easley, CACC Executive Director, “Improving educational outcomes for all students is an important issue for parents, educators and policymakers. Expanding our education initiatives with tutoring and technology increases the academic and social competence of students which are essential investments not just in the lives of our young people, but in our greater community. 

“The powerful impact of the program is illustrated by the fact that ninety percent of its high school participants graduate on time, compared to seventy-six percent of their peers. Chosen from a pool of more than 350 nominations and 50 finalists, RISE! was one of 12 after-school and out-of-school programs across the country to receive the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, which is the highest honor such programs can receive in the United States. 

The awards are administered by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH), in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). 

The award honors community-based arts and humanities programs that make a marked difference in the lives of their participants by improving academic scores and graduation rates, enhancing life skills, developing positive relationships with peers and adults, and expressing themselves creatively. Great thanks go to Dominion Virginia Power and The Dominion Foundation for this generous grant. 

Charitable giving and volunteerism are an integral part of Dominion Virginia Power’s commitment to the communities it serves. Principally through The Dominion Foundation, Dominion contributes more than $20 million annually to non-profit organizations and schools in the states where it operates. . Foundation grants are funded by shareholder dollars and are not borne by customers. 

For more info: regarding the Crispus Attucks Cultural Center, visit:

www.attuckstheatre.org

 

Immigrant Youth activist family faces deportation

Maria Arreola and Dream Activist Erika Andiola

(BMLTV) Phoenix, AZ, January 11, 2013 - According to Dream Activist Erika Andiola, during the evening of January 10, immigration (ICE) knocked on her door and her mother and brother, Maria and Heriberto Andiola Arreola were immediately apprehended because according to immigration (ICE), the mother and brother were illegally in the United Stated and they both needed to go. Ms. Andiola claims her older brother was outside with a neighbor when the raid occurred.

Last year President Obama and ICE announced they would not deport individuals without a criminal record, but Ms. Andiola says that families are torn apart every day and this type of raiding needs to stop.

Ms. Andiola is expected to be at the immigration office along with a group of supporters to try to delay or stop the deportation of her mother.

Ms. Andiola says that she will be holding a press conference at ICE and ask Obama and the administration to help get her family back without further delay.

by abhi ahmadadeen

PHILIPPINES: Typhoon Bopha survivors face bleak holiday season

Family seen living under tarp at the side of the road. photo: ana santos/IRIN

(IRIN) BAGANGA, December 21, 2012  -  Survivors of Typhoon Bopha  which struck the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on 4 December face a bleak Christmas more than two weeks on.   

“My parents and my one-year-old baby died when our house collapsed on them and they were buried under the debris,” Richee Antulan said outside the remains of her home in Banganga, a municipality now viewed by many as “ground zero”.

She is among 6.2 million people affected by the typhoon, the most powerful to hit the country in 2012. On 7 December President Benigno Aquino declared a state of national calamity.
 
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction andManagement Council (NDRRMC), 1,050 people were killed, over 2,000 were injured, and more than 800 are missing.

Of the 168,227 homes damaged, over 65,500 were totally destroyed. The estimated value of property damage is over US$839 million.

Close to 12,000 people are still in 43 evacuation centres.

“The devastation was total,” NDRRMC head Benito Ramos told IRIN.

Many public buildings which were designated areas for evacuation centres were severely damaged, mostly with roofs blown away.


Richee Antulan (blue shirt) just buried her family. photo: ana santos/IRIN

“We urgently need tents and tarpaulins. We have gone as far as gathering tarpaulins from old advertising billboards in Manila to bring down to the affected areas. We want the survivors to have some kind of shelter before Christmas,” said Ramos.

In Baganga, where the storm first made landfall, not a single public building is usable.
“We have no evacuation centres. In Baganga, all 31 schools were damaged, all the churches, too. We estimate that 95 percent of the 18 villages [in this municipality] have been totally destroyed,” said Rowena Abayon, a second lieutenant in the Philippine Army who was manning the incident command post in Baganga.

“The most immediate need now is shelter. The people need tarpaulins to at least give them shade or protect them from the rain,” said Wilson Mondal, a field delegate from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“[Without temporary shelter], the food distributions they receive will get wet. Tarps will also keep their kids from getting wet and getting sick,” Mondal said.

ICRC has started distributing two tarpaulins (measuring 4 x 6 feet) as well as food and non-food items to each family in the three most affected municipalities of Baganga, Cateel and Boston. An estimated 90 percent of affected people in the area are in need of additional assistance, he said.

“The people here are resilient, but will require support for quite some time to get back on their feet,” David Carden, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said from the affected area.

On 10 December, the government and the UN Humanitarian Country Team launched the six-month Bopha Action Plan for Response and Recovery, requesting $65 million to assist nearly 500,000 of the most affected people.

“Emergency shelter support is a priority, as is water and hygiene kits, along with debris removal,” Carden said.

Meanwhile, the local Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) says it has begun the first phase of establishing temporary shelters for 3-6 months for those in the worst affected area. 

Sixty bunkhouses are now slated to be built in the three worst affected municipalities (20 in each). Another 21 bunkhouses will be constructed in the other affected areas of eastern Mindanao, in Compostella Valley.

“Each bunkhouse structure, which measures about 178 square metres, will have 10 rooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a washroom. One room, can fit one family,” said DSWD coordinator Varnell Dagansan.

The target date for completion of the bunkhouses is 30 December, though Dagansan doubts this deadline will be met: The nearest source of construction materials is the city of Davao, which is a 5-8 hour drive away.

Nearly half of the 225m-long Manorigao Bridge, one of area's main bridges, was damaged, hampering road transport in the Baganga-Cateel-Boston area.

“The hardest part is getting construction materials to the construction sites. It takes 2-3 days for them to get here,” said Dagansan.

The government reports at least nine bridges and one road remain impassable in the region as of 21 December, with many areas still experiencing power outages.
 

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There is a pending Inspector General investigation involving Undersecretary Vickers

(BMLTV) WASHINGTON, December 19, 2012 - Pentagon Press Secretary George Little released a statement yesterday stating that there is a pending Inspector General investigation involving Undersecretary Vickers, and the IG will and should reach her own conclusions. 

But because yesterday's press reports on Mr. Vickers are unwarranted, unfounded, and unfair, we are obliged to correct the record. He deserves better. "In July 2011, Mr. Vickers was asked by the Department's Office of Public Affairs to provide background information to filmmakers working on a movie about the successful raid that killed Osama bin Laden. 

 The Office of Public Affairs arranges these types of meetings on a routine basis. The interview was a coordinated response to questions, just as we handle questions daily from journalists, writers, and media producers. The Office of Public Affairs was present for the unclassified interview and transcribed it. "The Department's Office of Security Review reviewed the transcript and concluded that it is unclassified in its entirety. 

It was then released publicly by the Department of Defense in May 2012. Senior special operations officers approved in advance the offer Mr. Vickers made to arrange a potential discussion with a special operations planner -- someone who was not part of the Bin Laden raid team -- but such a meeting never occurred. 

Where there are redactions in the transcript, it is for privacy reasons only, not because the redacted material is classified. "The secretary has full confidence in Mr. Vickers and believes he is doing an outstanding job. Mr. Vickers is a national security professional with a long career spanning multiple administrations, including distinguished service in Special Forces, the CIA, and at the Pentagon."

Army Officials are investigating Fort Myer Child Development Center for abuse

(BMLTV) WASHINGTON, December 18, 2012 - Officials from the U.S. Army announced today they have begun an investigation of personnel procedures at the Army's Child Development Centers after a review of personnel records at the Fort Myer CDC found "derogatory information" contained in the background of a number of its employees.

 "The safety of the children under our care is our most important responsibility," said Col. Fern Sumpter, garrison commander at Fort Myer. "The quality of their care and safety has been and will continue to be our most important priority.

" In October, the Army's Installation Management Command replaced the CDC's management team following concerns received about facility leadership. A subsequent review found background issues with a number of employees. Not all the workers were directly responsible for child care. "Out of an abundance of caution, we removed those employees and temporarily closed the facility, moving students to the Cody CDC (also located on Fort Myer),

" Sumpter said. "An investigation was ordered to determine whether background checks were properly done at the time these employees were hired, and whether required procedures were followed. That investigation has just begun.

" Fort Myer officials also empanelled a Program Review Board to review the background files of about two dozen employees to determine whether they should be terminated. The Center's Child Youth Coordinator and deputy were both reassigned while those investigations and reviews are underway. Following the initial findings at Fort Myer, Secretary of the Army John McHugh directed an Army-wide review of management and procedures at child care centers, and review of compliance with those policies and procedures.

 "It's a fundamental responsibility to ensure the highest quality of care for the children of our men and women in uniform, many of whom rely on us to care for their children while deployed," he said. "These initial findings are not only troubling, they are unacceptable, and we will make certain that adequate policies and procedures are in place, and that they are strictly followed and fully enforced."

SRI LANKA: Learning from Nepal's search for the missing

Pictured here is 70-year-old Adhri Rajbanshi's, her son disappeared in 2002.
© Amantha Perera/ IRIN 

(IRIN) JALTHAL/KILINOCHICHI, December 5, 2012 - Nepal and Sri Lanka share few similarities in their post-conflict experiences. The former has a peace deal, a government ministry overseeing post-war reconstruction, a national programme to trace missing persons and an NGO to advocate for their families - none of which exist in Sri Lanka. But the two do have something essential in common: grieving relatives of the missing who are now searching for answers.

In her village of Jalthal, 550km southeast of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, 35-year-old Reena Mecha had for years avoided talking about her husband’s 2004 disappearance during Nepal’s civil conflict.

“At the beginning, there was no one to talk to, no one to understand what I was going through,” Mecha told IRIN. The 2006 peace agreement that ended the decade-long conflict did little to ease her burden. It was only in November 2011 that she found comfort after joining a support group for families of the missing, coordinated by Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC), a local rights group.

Some 1,500km away, in northern Sri Lanka, 23-year-old Maheswari has embarked on a similar journey. Her brother has been missing since May 2009, when the entire family fled Kilinochchi to escape fighting between government forces and separatist rebels from the Tamil ethnic group. Some 40,000 civilians died in the final months of fighting, according to the UN.

She and her parents have since returned. “Life is hard, I am trying my best to look for him, but I don’t know where to start or whom to ask [for] information. There are thousands of others like me here [in the former war zone],” said Maheswari, who provided only her first name.

There are thousands still unaccounted for in both these South Asian countries. In Nepal, the tracing unit of the Nepal Red Cross, which helps reunite family members by tracking down the missing, is trying to locate 1,401 missing persons.

Sri Lankan government data from 2011 estimated 2,635 people in the country’s former conflict zone, Northern Province, are “untraceable” (missing). Other estimates are much higher.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded 5,671 reported cases of wartime-related disappearance, not counting people who went missing in Sri Lanka in the final stages of fighting from 2008 to 2009. At the end of 2011, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Sri Lanka had compiled a database of 15,780 cases of missing persons, some of which dated back to 1990. 

Mecha in Nepal had one piece of advice for those like Maheswari: It will be a grim and lonely search, and your only solace will be the company of others like you.

Frustrated by lack of answers following his father’s disappearance in 2001, Ram Kumar Bhandari formed a regional group of missing families in the country’s west in December 2007. “Someone need[ed] to take the initiative and get the voice [of the families] heard and the trauma they undergo recognized,” Bhandari said.

By 2009 the group became the National Network of Families of Disappeared and Missing (NEFAD) in Nepal and now counts more than 800 families among its membership.

Aside from peer support and a forum for discussion, the activist said associations like NEFAD provide political leverage. “Politicians will listen to a collective voice,” he said.


The Nepali Red Cross is tracing those missing by conducting periodic interviews with their families. Red Cross staff follow up on new leads with government and other officials.

By contrast, in Sri Lanka, there is no national tracing programme thus far, though a local government unit in the northern Vavuniya District carries out local searches. Piencia Charles, who was instrumental in setting up this Family Tracing Unit in December 2009 (but who no longer serves in the north), told IRIN she was responding to the women she encountered daily who cried in her office. The unit’s main task is to find children, though it receives complaints about missing adults as well.

“One of their [families’] main expectations is [to find out] what happened to their loved ones, and after repeated [home visits from us and] no new information, they can get very emotional,” Shubhadra Devkota, a tracing officer with the Nepal Red Cross told IRIN. She said families frequently question whether to continue searching.

Back in Kilinochchi, in Sri Lanka, a church-based counsellor who requested anonymity told IRIN that families of the missing were only now coming out to seek counsel.

She said due to how contentious the issue of disappearances still is – the number of persons missing is disputed – there are few efforts to expand or institutionalize tracing.

“There is a long way to go here. A very long way,” the counsellor concluded.

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Norfolk offers free Aids Testing in worldwide unity fight against HIV

Toni Hawes, Dr. Latonya Lonnise Ricks,Pagan Hawes are three professional women committed to worldwide unity to end HIV. photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©

(BMLTV) Norfolk, VA, December 4, 2012 -  The Norfolk Department of Recreation, Parks & Open Space together with Access AIDS Care will offer free AIDS testing in recognition of World AIDS Day. Testing will take place Tuesday, December 4th from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the East Ocean View Community Center, 9520 20th Bay Street, and is open to ages 16 and older. Test results will be available within 20 minutes.
 

World Aids Day is held on annually December 1st as an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. The first World AIDS Day was held in 1988 and was the first ever global health day. 

The Norfolk Department of Recreation, Parks & Open Space (RPOS) enriches the quality of life for Norfolk residents by providing a full spectrum of recreational programming for youth, adults and special populations. RPOS maintains over 100 City parks, 18 recreation centers, four computer resource centers, three neighborhood service centers, five specialty centers, six pools, eight cemeteries, over seven miles of beaches, and a number of playgrounds and athletic facilities.

For more information, visit www.norfolk.gov/rpos, like the RPOS Facebook page at /NorfolkRPOS, or pick up the latest Good Times magazine at a Norfolk recreation center near you.

The Statstraad Lehmkul one of the world's largest Sailing ships docks at Norfolk Berth

The Statstraad Lehmkul at Otter Berth, Norfolk VA.
photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©


The Flag of Norway and the U.S. Flag side by side on the Statstraad Lehmkul, Norfolk VA.
photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©


The Statstraad Lehmkul at Otter Berth, Norfolk VA.
photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©
 

Crew member giving the Statstraad Lehmkul a wipe down.
 photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©


Cook prepping vegetables and fruit for an evening event on the Statstraad Lehmkul.
 photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©


Cook getting fish prepared for an evening event on the Statstraad Lehmkul.
photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©


Galley help aboard the Statstraad Lehmkul.
Photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©  

The Statsraad Lehmkuhl one of the world’s largest and tallest sailing ships arrived in Norfolk Virginia and was docked at the Otter Berth adjacent to Waterside. The 98-year old Norwegian ship is based in Bergen, Norway 

(BMLTV) NORFOLK VA, November 5, 2012 - Statsraad Lehmkuhl, a 3-masted steel barque, was built in 1914 as a training Ship for the German Merchant Marine. 

During most of World War I Statsraad Lehmkuhl was used as a stationary training Ship in Germany, and after the war was seized as a war prize by England. 

The Norwegian government purchased the Ship from England in 1921 and she was put into service as a sail training vessel until 1967 ex¬cept for the period 1940 - 1945, when the Germans confiscated the Ship during World War II. 

The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is sailed by the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy's first year officer cadets who are participating in leadership training and teambuilding during the trip. The cadets also get a strong foundation of basic seamanship during their weeks onboard. 

Stripped of modern communication technology, the students are ordered to work together to overcome the timeless challenges and dangers of travelling the seas by sail. Statsraad Lehmkuhl has been part of the basic training program since 2002, whereby the Royal Norwegian Navy leases the ship for several months every year. 

Norfolk has become a favorite port of call for the ship and her crew; this will be the 8th consecutive year that the ship has called on Norfolk as part of their sail-training schedule. Norfolk has become a favorite port of call for the ship and her crew; this will be the 8th consecutive year that the ship has called on Norfolk as part of their sail-training schedule. The port visit is sponsored by Norfolk Festevents, Ltd. 

raa

Australia’s Prime Minister honors Afghanistan war hero Corporal Daniel Keighran

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard (L) and Quentin Bryce (R), Governor-General of Australia with Corporal Daniel Keighran at an Investiture Ceremony at Government House in Canberra. photo: australia's DOD
 
(BMLTV) AUSTRALIA - On November 1, 2012, Australia’s Prime Minister, Julia  Gillard gave  a statement at an awards ceremony which honored  Corporal Daniel Keighran for the most conspicuous acts of gallantry and extreme devotion to duty in action in circumstances of great peril at Derapet, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan as part of the Mentoring Task Force One on Operation SLIPPER.  The Corporal recieved Australia’s 99th Victoria Cross.

Prme Minister Gillard said the following. “It's with a tremendous sense of pride that I am here today to honour Corporal Daniel Keighran.

I join with Her Excellency and with every distinguished guest here in paying tribute to you and to your courage.

Daniel, Kathryn, if I can say something personally to you.

We had the opportunity to meet yesterday but it was only for a brief time.

But I've left that meeting with a very clear impression of the two of you.

And I'm very clear in my impression that pomp and circumstance is not your natural home and that there are aspects of today that you have probably thought about a great deal and maybe even lived a little bit in trepidation of. 

I've also left with a very clear impression about your modesty, about the amazing acts of valour that you performed. 

And so to you, Corporal Keighran, here today despite your modesty, we acknowledge those acts of valour.

We acknowledge them because it is always important to accurately record the history of our nation and what makes our nation.

And these acts of courage speak to who we are as Australians.

You don't need to be a religious person to understand the force of the words that greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

You showed your preparedness to lay down your life for your mates.

We are so glad that your spectacular acts of bravery still saw you returned home to us safe and to your family and friends safe.

But they were spectacular acts of bravery, where in the moment you did not put your personal safety first but you put that Anzac tradition of mateship first. 

That's why we are honouring you today; that's why it will be another moment in our history where we can say that this is the best of who we are and the best of what Australians can do.

Thank you for proving that once again for our nation.

I trust in the days to come that apart from the whirlwind, there are some quiet moments for you to reflect with your family and friends on what this means.

You can tell some remarkable stories.

You told me some yesterday about the difference in sound a bullet makes depending on how close it is to your head and that you were conscious of that in the moment.

A remarkable story.

Kathryn told me that perhaps she didn't really know why you were getting the VC until it was clear that you were getting the Victoria Cross because you hadn't come home to share that.

That was something that you had kept to yourself and to your mates.

All of that speaks of a tremendously Australian character.

That's who you are and we honored you today.

Corporal Keighran is only the third recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia, which in 1991 replaced the British or Imperial Victoria Cross awarded to 96 Australians. He is the first member of the Royal Australian Regiment to receive the country’s highest military honour.

raa

 

City offices and public schools to experience two hour delay

(BMLTV) NORFOLK VA. October 29, 2012 – All Norfolk City offices will open on a two-hour delay at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, October 30, 2012.  The Norfolk Treasurer and Commissioner of Revenue offices will also open on two hour delay at 10:15 a.m.  Essential employees may be required to report for normal working hours or as directed.  All three Norfolk courts and the Commonwealth’s Attorney Office will open on time.

All Recreation, Parks and Open Space programs and facilities will be open to the public tomorrow.  All Before-School programming is cancelled. After-School programs will go on as scheduled.

Norfolk Public Schools will open on a two-hour delay Tuesday, except two schools - Ruffner Academy and Tidewater Park Elementary - will be closed to students all day due to standing water around the buildings. Ruffner Academy staff members should report to Ruffner following the two-hour delay; Tidewater Park Elementary staff members are excused for the day.

 All other NPS staff members may observe a two-hour delay, except essential personnel who should report as needed or directed by their supervisors.

City updates are available at www.norfolk.gov

www.facebook.com/norfolkVA

www.twitter.com/CityofNorfolkVA, Cox cable channel 48. 

 Norfolk Public Schools staff members and families can receive school updates at www.npsk12.com

www.facebook.com/NorfolkPublicSchools

www.twitter.com/npschools, Cox cable channel 47 and the Edulink phone messaging system.

200 Jewish Communities act against global hunger

AJWS gathers American Jews for Educational Program on hunger, encourages congressional action on stalled farm bill 

(PRN/USN) NEW YORK, October. 29, 2012  - More than 200 synagogues, college groups and households across the U.S. will participate in American Jewish World Service's 3^rd annual Global Hunger Shabbat on November 2-3. During Global Hunger Shabbat, participants will examine the root causes of global hunger and commit to advocate for passage of U.S. food aid policy that would support people in the developing world growing their own food to feed themselves and their communities.

American Jewish World Service (AJWS), the only Jewish organization focused on empowering people in the developing world to end poverty and realize their human rights, anchors this weekend of learning and action in the Jewish Sabbath, a period traditionally centered on worship, study and rest.

"Global Hunger Shabbat is about ensuring that people in developing countries are able to grow their own food and feed themselves with dignity," said AJWS president Ruth Messinger. "Our responsibility as Americans and Jews is to change ineffective U.S. policies that contribute systemically to global hunger, especially in the developing world. We must urge Congress to reauthorize the Farm Bill with new reforms that empower local communities to grow and consume their own food."

Global Hunger Shabbat is a key component of AJWS's Reverse Hunger campaign, an initiative to rally the American Jewish community to change U.S. food and agriculture policies which the organization believes are major contributors to global hunger. Global Hunger Shabbat provides participants with resources about the U.S. Farm Bill and its impact on food prices and the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in developing countries.

Over the past year, AJWS has mobilized thousands of American Jews around hunger and Farm Bill reform. In June, AJWS and its partners in the Jewish Farm Bill Working Group delivered a petition with over 18,000 signatures to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and officials of the Obama Administration demanding a food system that pursues long-term, sustainable approaches to eradicating hunger. AJWS also organized hundreds of Jewish activists throughout the country to meet with their representatives to talk about global hunger and the Farm Bill.

"Our community has made tremendous strides in the battle for international food aid reform that could save millions more lives," said Messinger. "Let's tap into the power of our community and keep the pressure on our government to enact policies that make economic and moral sense."

To help individuals, congregations and communities host Global Hunger Shabbat events, AJWS created an online toolkit available here, which includes:

• A sample sermon on ending global hunger
• Readings about communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America that are developing innovative solutions to hunger
• Activities and discussion guides for various audiences and ages
• Jewish text studies related to global hunger
• A prayer for the world's hungry
• Talking points about food insecurity and aid, along with a reading list on these topics
• Suggestions for ways that American Jews can take action to end hunger

To view a map of Global Hunger Shabbat events throughout the country please, visit www.ajws.org/hunger/ghs.


Inspired by Judaism's commitment to justice, American Jewish World Service works to realize human rights and end poverty in the developing world. www.ajws.org

Be in the know with real time Norfolk storm related events

(BMLTV) NORFOLK VA., October 28, 2012 - If you want to get real time Norfolk storm related events go to www.norfolk.gov and click on the IView link on the front page. http://iview.norfolk.gov/#/Map

Once there, click on storm data and select “all features”.  It will show you what reports we received so far.

IView uses information from STORM; a program created in-house which won the Governor’s Award for Technology.

Red Cross gearing up for Sandy; urges everyone to get ready now for massive storm

Common flooding at Freeman and Bainbridge, South Norfolk VA[FILE]. photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©


This is a well known flood area, at Freeman and Bainbridge[FILE]. South Norfolk VA. photo: abhi ahmadadeen/BMLTV©

(PRN/USN) WASHINGTON, October 28, 2012 -  Hurricane Sandy is barreling toward the East Coast and the American Red Cross is launching a multi-state response to help the millions of people who may be in the path of the storm.

The Red Cross urges everyone to make their final storm preparations today. Important information about how to get ready is available on the Red Cross web site.

Weather experts predict the massive storm could affect residents up and down the eastern region of the United States for several days and the Red Cross is working with government officials and community partners to coordinate a wide-ranging response. Sandy is expected to have a huge impact in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. Some areas are already under state of emergencies.

"This is a dangerous storm that should be taken seriously, and people should get ready now," said Charley Shimanski, senior vice president of Disaster Services for the Red Cross. "Sandy could affect people all along the East Coast and the Red Cross is preparing to open shelters and is moving workers, vehicles and relief supplies into place."

Sandy is expected to bring as much as ten inches of rain and flooding in some areas, winds gusting up to 80 miles per hour, extended power outages and even several feet of snow in the higher elevations.

Red Cross chapters throughout the potentially affected areas are mobilizing hundreds of disaster workers, readying shelters and coordinating response efforts with community partners. Red Cross workers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware are finalizing preparations in advance of opening shelters as early as Sunday afternoon if needed. Relief supplies like cots, blankets, ready-to-eat meals and snacks are being moved into place to support sheltering efforts.

In Delaware and Maryland, the Red Cross is coordinating with the Southern Baptist Convention to serve meals in shelters. Meanwhile in West Virginia, the Red Cross is preparing for significant snowfall and coordinating response planning with state and county emergency management agencies.

GET READY The Red Cross has information on its website about how to get prepared for the storm, including steps for hurricane and power outage emergencies. Videos are also available to help get prepared, including information on severe weather preparedness and how to get ready for winter weather.

RED CROSS APPS People should download the free Red Cross Hurricane and First Aid apps for mobile devices to have emergency information at their fingertips. The Hurricane App provides real-time hurricane safety information such as weather alerts and where Red Cross shelters are located. The app also features a toolkit with a flashlight, strobe light and alarm, and the one-touch "I'm Safe" button lets someone use social media sites to tell family and friends they are okay.

The Hurricane App can be downloaded in Spanish by changing the language setting on someone's smart phone to Spanish before downloading.  The First Aid app puts expert advice for everyday emergencies in someone's hand. The apps can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross.

HOW TO HELP  To help people affected by disasters like this, as well as countless crises at home and around the world, make a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in response to disasters. Visit www.redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

PLEASE GIVE BLOOD The Red Cross is moving shipments of blood products to hospitals along the coast in advance of the storm as patients will still need blood and platelets despite the weather. Sandy could affect the turn-out at Red Cross blood drives. If anyone is eligible, especially in places not affected by the storm, they are asked to please schedule a blood donation now.

To schedule a donation time or get more information about giving blood, people can visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). To give blood, someone must be at least 17 years of age, meet weight and height requirements and be in general good health.  Donors should bring their Red Cross blood donor card or other form of positive ID with them.  Some states allow 16-year-olds to give with parental consent.

NASA to host Oct. 30 Teleconference about Mars Curiosity Rover progress

(PRN/USN) PASADENA, Calif., October 26, 2012 - NASA will host a media teleconference at 11:30 a.m. PDT (2:30 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, Oct. 30, to provide an update about the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars' Gale Crater.

The Mars Science Laboratory Project and its Curiosity rover are almost three months into a two-year prime mission to investigate whether conditions may have been favorable for microbial life.

Audio and visuals of the event will be streamed live online at:
www.nasa.gov/newsaudio and
www.ustream.tv/nasajpl 
Visuals will be available at the start of the event at: CLICK HERE
For information about NASA's Curiosity mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/mars

Two time Olympian LaTasha Colander Clark to be inducted into the Hampton Roads African American Sports Hall of Fame

LaTasha Colander(Clark) of USA competes in the women's 4 x 100 metre relay on August 26, 2004 during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games at the Olympic Olympic Stadium in the Sports Complex in Athens, Greece. photo: michael steele/Getty Images

(BMLTV) NORFOLK VA., October 25, 2012 - The Hampton Roads African American Sports Hall of Fame will celebrate their sixteeth year anniversary at the Waterside Marriott in Downtown Norfolk this coming Saturday October 27, 2012 at 7:00 PM.

One of the big highlights of the evening will the induction of  two time Olympian LaTasha Colander-Clark.

Colander-Clark, a native of Portsmouth, began her track career by winning 12 Virginia State titles while at Manor now named Woodrow Wilson High School. Colander-Clark won the 1994 USA Junior title in the 100-meter hurdles and was second at the World Junior Championships. Rarely challenged in high school, she won three championships at the National Scholastic Outdoor meet before earning a scholarship to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Colander-Clark completed her outstanding career at the University of North Carolina. She led the Tar Heels to 14 Atlantic Coast Conference titles and was a three-time ACC champion in the 100-meter hurdles. Colander-Clark also was a seventeen time All-American.

After college, she reinvented herself as a 400 runner and won the event at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2000. At the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Colander-Clark ran the anchor leg on the triumphant U.S. 4 X 400-meter relay team winning a gold medal. She also ran the second leg on the 4 X 200m relay team that set a world record at the 2000 Penn Relays. Colander-Clark won the U.S. championship in the 400 in 2001. She changed gears again to specialize in the 100, and won the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2004 and finishing eighth in the Summer Games in Athens.

Colander-Clark was the 2004 Olympic 400m Champion. In the 2005 season, Colander qualified to be a part of Team USA for the World Outdoor Championships in Helsinki where she made it to the 200m finals in which she placed fifth in the world. Colander-Clark retired from track and field in 2006.

For more information regarding The African American Sports Hall of Fame  Celebration and Banquet, please! contact Yvette Todd at 757-404-1755

by abhi ahmadadeen