Since President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 100 days ago, resources have made their way into African American communities with investments in schools, health care, clean energy and other infrastructure projects saving or creating thousands of jobs. The Recovery Act is providing relief in hard hit areas and extending opportunity to those out of work and looking for a new path to prosperity.

I’ve just returned here from a two-week visit to Southern Louisiana. I drove a Toyota Highlander Hybrid and visited Hammond, New Orleans, Gonzales, Baton Rouge and made a stop in Lafayette on the return trip.
Although I didn’t keep records, what impressed me the most about the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is that I had it for two weeks, drove to five cities, sometimes back and forth between them, and spent less than $100 on gasoline which averaged about two bucks per gallon. That’s not bad.

Come meet METRO’s Abuelita – the new face behind METRO’s Hispanic marketing campaign – as she helps kick off the agency’s launch of its new 32 Renwick Crosstown route. Abuelita will tell you that what makes the 32 Renwick Crosstown service unique is its connectivity to other routes throughout Houston. The Renwick connects with seven of METRO’s top 20 bus routes, but will also link riders to four other routes.

Ribbon Cutting for the AAMA Learning Center, Thursday June 4, 2009.

Serving the community since 1970, AAMA’s mission has been to advance the lives of at-risk youth and families through an array of innovative programs that provide education, healthcare, and human services initiatives to strengthen families and neighborhoods. AAMA’s doors are open to all; no one is turned away.

TODAY, Prairie View A&M University mourns the death of Professor and Director of Bands George Edwards. He directed PVAMU’s world renowned Marching Storm Band for 30 years, before his death on May 28.
“On behalf of the entire PVAMU community, we offer our deepest condolences to the entire Edwards family. For three decades we were fortunate to have George contribute to our community and nurture the talent of our student performers,” states PVAMU President George C. Wright.

It is unconscionable, in these tough economic times, that Governor Perry will veto legislation that will help working Texas parents purchase insurance for their children. Legislation creating a buy-in program for CHIP passed last night with a 29-2 vote in the Senate, and it passed last month from the House with a vote of 87-55. This bill was specifically written with the strictest “crowd out” language possible to ensure that private health insurance is not substituted by CHIP coverage. The Governor is clearly out of touch with the needs of Texas.

2009 Houston Juneteenth Multicultural Health Festival Commercial

Twelve years of hard work paid off for millions of high school students who are a part of the class of 2009. All of the studying in late night sessions, balancing after school activities with academics, and going the extra mile are among the travails the students endured. Their efforts have been crowned with success as those whose names are listed below have been named 2009 valedictorians of their respective high school classes.

When Michael Vick completes home confinement in July, he will have served the 23-month prison sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting charges. After his release from a Kansas prison Wednesday, he headed to his home in Virginia to serve the final two months under home confinement because all the beds at halfway houses in the area are taken.

Signs of “recovery” are in the air, the business pages say. We can see “green shoots” in the economy, says Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The banks are “starting to heal,” says Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, after giving them all a pass on his stress test. Stocks have risen over the last weeks; giddiness is back on Wall Street

When you put your heart and soul into something – a project, a career, a program – you want everything to go right. You don’t want to lose. And you don’t want to give up because nobody wants to fail.

New America Media (NAM), the nation’s largest association of ethnic media outlets, today announced winners of its National Ethnic Media Awards honoring exceptional contributions to journalism by members of the ethnic media.

Too many children are victims twice, first they are born to parents who have no business giving birth to children, and secondly, they become victims of the criminal justice system because they have victimize innocent citizens through criminal activities. No one is born to murder of steal, all children start life with a virgin mentally; it is what they are constantly expose to which may determine the road they will travel.

Council Member Jolanda “Jo” Jones and her son, Jiovanni “Jio” Jones win the prestigious Hero Award. They will fly to Universal Studios to receive the Award in Los Angeles on May 29, 2009, at the Real Heroes Among Us Awards Ceremony. The show will air nationwide on Saturday, July 4th, from 8:00pm-10:00pm EST/PST on KTHX Channel 20 MyNetworkTV (formerly the CW).

This video is dedicated to the memory of Professor George Edwards of Prairie VIew A&M University . This dedication is from the Band staff of Texas Southern University. Richard F. Lee, Darryl Singleton, Clarence Gibson Edwin Rose and Marbre Hunter. Video Edited by Edwin Rose, Assistant Director of Bands.

The President spoke to Republic of Korea President Lee Myung-bak this evening to consult and coordinate our reaction to the North Korean nuclear test. The two Presidents agreed that the test was a reckless violation of international law that compels action in response. They agreed to work closely together to seek and support a strong United Nations Security Council resolution with concrete measures to curtail North Korea’s nuclear and missile activities. President Obama assured President Lee of the unequivocal commitment of the United States to the defense of the Republic of Korea.

President Obama spoke today with Japanese Prime Minister Aso to review the situation following North Korea’s nuclear test. The President underscored that North Korea’s nuclear test was a clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions and therefore warranted a collective response by the international community.

Kristinia DeBarge – Goodbye (The OfficiaL Music video)

As part of their commitment to developing new policies, proposals and ideas to help America’s middle class, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced new agency partnerships to foster job growth for a new green economy at today’s meeting of the Middle Class Task Force in Denver.

Sonia Sotomayor has served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since October 1998. She has been hailed as “one of the ablest federal judges currently sitting” for her thoughtful opinions,i and as “a role model of aspiration, discipline, commitment, intellectual prowess and integrity”ii for her ascent to the federal bench from an upbringing in a South Bronx housing project.