April 2014 - The Archive Site for The Baltimore Times

Black Jews remark may dog Sterling even more

(CNN) — “You go to Israel, the blacks are just treated like dogs,” the Guy Who Sounds Like Sterling said on the recording leaked by Somebody Perhaps His Mistress.

Here’s the full exchange: The Guy: “It’s the world! You go to Israel, the blacks are just treated like dogs.” The Mistress: “So do you have to treat them like that, too?” Guy: “The white Jews, there’s white Jews and black Jews. Do you understand?” Mistress: “And are the black Jews less than the white Jews?” Guy: “A hundred percent, fifty, a hundred percent.”

On the surface, Sterling might have a point — even if no one can make any sense of where he was going with it — that dark-skinned Jews have experienced adversity in the Jewish state. But to say ”dogs” isn’t quite kosher.

Israel touts with pride successes like Operation Solomon, its airlift of Ethiopian Jews in 1991 — where in one push, more than 14,000 were transported to Israel over 36 hours — to escape persecution in a homeland where the religion has been practiced since Biblical times. There’s no question that life, especially the fact that they are alive, is better in the Promised Land.

Yet it hasn’t been overflowing with milk and honey. Ethiopian Jews are among the poorest Israelis, with 72% living below the poverty line and unemployment affecting as many as six in 10 Ethiopian men and three-quarters of women, according to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston.

Consider also that many came from villages without electricity or running water, and that 70% were functionally illiterate in their native Amharic and never learned to read or write Hebrew. It’s obvious they’d have trouble integrating into an industrialized society.

Frustrations boiled over two years ago in the city of Kiryat Malachi, when thousands demonstrated against discriminatory practices, including apartment owners who refused to rent to Ethiopian Israelis.

That’s bad. But dogs?

“That’s insane. That’s disgusting,” said Avishai Mekonen, an Ethiopian Israeli filmmaker living in New York.

“Basically, this man is stupid. He doesn’t know any history of African people,” said Mekonen, who in his film “400 Miles to Freedom” documented his own harrowing escape from Ethiopia as a child, getting separated from his family and nearly dying in the desert.

The other side of the Ethiopian Jewish story counts successes like members of the Knesset, writers and musicians, and Yityish Aynaw, the current Miss Israel.

While acknowledging that assimilation and rejection are real, Mekonen said: “There’s a lot of change from what happened in the ’80s. We had the issue of language and communication and culture. They see us as different, but year-by-year, it’s improved.”

That’s because the community isn’t just sitting there taking it, he says.

“They don’t give up. They’re doing something. We have a voice.”

If it’s necessary to prove Sterling wrong (requisite disclaimer again: assuming it’s him), Mekonen’s message of empowerment flies in the face of the repeated theme on the tape that the world is racist and there’s nothing you can do about it.

“It isn’t a question. We don’t evaluate what’s right and wrong. We live in a society. We live in a culture. We have to live within that culture,” the guy in the recording says to sum up his black Jew narrative — which, by the way, isn’t clear about who he’s referring to.

“Which people is he talking about when he says ‘black Jews?'” asked Mekonen. “That could be people from North Africa, Asia, India, Israeli Arabs”— all with very different cultures.

Shocking. Can’t believe that (a guy that sounds like) Sterling would stereotype them.

Robin Washington is a research scholar for the San Francisco-based think tank Be’chol Lashon and co-founder of the Alliance of Black Jews. He lives in Duluth, Minnesota. He was previously the editor of the Duluth News Tribune. You can follow him on Twitter @robinbirk. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

The-CNN-Wire

White House addresses college rape

(CNN) — The Obama administration has taken another step in its effort to combat rape on college campuses with the release of a new report.

The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault produced the 20-page report. The task force, including Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, spent the last three months talking to “thousands of people” and compiled a number of very specific recommendations:

More data: The task force wants to know more about the scope and scale of the problem. The report cites a statistic from the National Institute of Justice that one in five women experience rape or attempted rape in college but say the group needs to know more.

This year, the task force is pushing schools to use its tool kit in 2015 to survey their campuses. By 2016, the task force will be reporting. The report said “we will explore legislative or administrative options to require the schools to conduct a survey.”

Survivors need more: In 2011, the administration first alerted schools about their responsibilities to survivors of sexual violence. The administration said that under Title IX schools had to address sexual violence in order to provide equal access to education. But schools have struggled with that. In the past three years many have been publicly cited for failing to live up to these standards.

Most recently, the Department of Education announced that Tufts University “failed to comply with Title IX” in the way it handles sexual assaults. The school wrote it was “surprised and disappointed” with the finding, adding it was “deeply committed to the safety and well-being of our students.”

So now the administration is getting more specific. The importance of having confidential advocates is now emphasized. This point clarifies what had been confusing for many, namely that not everyone on college campuses has a duty to report.

“In recent years, some schools have directed nearly all their employees … to report all the details of an incident to school officials,” the report said, “which can mean a survivor quickly loses control over what happens next.” That’s a critical issue for many advocates who emphasize the importance of returning control to survivors.

The administration calls for further training for those who deal with sexual violence on college campuses.

“Insensitive or judgmental comments — or questions that focus on a victim’s behavior (e.g., what she was wearing, her prior sexual history) rather than on the alleged perpetrator’s — can compound a victim’s distress,” the report notes.

On the enforcement side, the report calls for new models for investigating and adjudicating cases on campus and for a pilot program aimed at rehabilitating offenders.

Tuesday, the White House unveiled a new public service announcement encouraging men to help women who are in danger of being sexually assaulted. The PSA features several Hollywood stars, including Steve Carell and Seth Meyers and will air in movie theaters beginning in May.

Transparency: One of the biggest problems with sexual violence on college campuses is that no college wants to admit it has a problem. Parents don’t want to send their children to a school where data shows more sexual crimes occur, that could ding rankings and potentially cause problems with donors.

Paradoxically, advocates say, those schools that have high numbers may actually be taking the problem seriously. That’s because they have robust systems in place that allow for students to file complaints. Now the government wants to centralize all that data on NotAlone.gov.

Accountability: It won’t just be numbers on NotAlone.gov. The administration will also put forms online making it easier for students to complain if their school fails to live up to the other obligations. Many of the Department of Justice and Department of Education investigations over the years have resulted from student complaints.

So what does this all mean? According to Know Your IX, an organization that seeks to educate college students about Title IX rights, it’s a good step, but more is needed.

“These changes will mean little until Title IX enforcement is finally given teeth,” the organization said. Know Your IX said the administration is reluctant to use the best leverage it currently has, namely pulling a school’s federal funding.

“The agency has never once sanctioned a school for sexual violence-related violations of Title IX,” the organization said.

CNN’s Joe Johns contributed to this report

The-CNN-Wire

NBA bans Clippers owner Sterling for life

(CNN) — Basketball Commissioner Adam Silver slapped Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling with a lifetime ban from the sport and a $2.5 million fine Tuesday over racist remarks attributed to Sterling.

Silver said the National Basketball Association “will begin immediately” to force Sterling to sell the team, which he has owned since the 1980s. Sterling admitted it was his voice on the recording, but expressed no remorse for the remarks, Silver said.

“Sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse, multicultural and multi-ethnic league,” Silver said. Regardless of whether Sterling’s views were expressed in private, “They are now public and they reflect his views.”

The fine is the maximum that can be imposed under NBA rules. Under the ban, Sterling can’t go to games, attend practices, make decisions regarding the team or attend NBA meetings, and Silver said NBA owners are expected to provide the three-quarters vote needed to force Sterling to sell the team.

Before Tuesday’s announcement, the head of the league’s players association had called for Silver to hit Sterling with the most severe penalties.

“When a hint of cancer is shown, you have to cut it out immediately, and I feel that’s where the players are today,” Kevin Johnson, the former all-star who is the chairman of the National Basketball Players Association’s executive committee, told CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

Johnson said the players trust that the new commissioner, on the job for less than three months, will find the right penalties for Sterling.

“They don’t think he’s worthy to be an owner,” said Johnson, also the mayor of Sacramento, “so whether there’s a sanction that includes a suspension, whether there’s a sanction that includes a hefty fine … the players feel very strongly that he’s not fit to be an owner and a part of this NBA family.”

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the announcement.

“Those are exactly the sorts of strong statements we need to stand up against these hateful comments,” Garcetti said.

Former NBA player Thurl Bailey, a broadcaster for the Utah Jazz, told CNN that if Sterling merely received some kind of suspension, that would be an inadequate way to address the issue.

Bailey said he recognized Sterling’s voice on recordings that were posted online that are at the center of the controversy.

“For me, that was his voice,” Bailey said.

Tuesday, the Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, called on Silver to meet this week with him and other civil rights leaders, according to a statement from the organization. Sharpton is planning to meet with the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington to discuss the situation, it said.

Monday brought a slew of sponsors distancing themselves from the team and a host of other owners and team officials condemning the comments attributed to Sterling, who has never been disciplined by the league.

Adidas confirmed to CNN Tuesday that it was suspending its current marketing partnership with the Clippers. That means the company will not have in-arena promotions, signage, LED boards and so forth, but Adidas will remain the official outfitter. The Adidas logo doesn’t appear on the team’s warm-ups, shooting shirts and gear, Adidas spokeswoman Laura Lamkin said in an e-mail.

On Saturday, the website TMZ posted a 10-minute recording of a conversation, reportedly between Sterling and his girlfriend, whose legal name is V. Stiviano. According to the website, the conversation occurred on April 9.

On the recording, the man and woman argue about photos posted to Instagram in which she appears with African-Americans. The man says he doesn’t want the woman bringing any black people to games with her.

Team President Andy Roeser issued a statement this weekend that said “what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect (Sterling’s) views, beliefs or feelings.” He suggested that the recording was an attempt by Stiviano to “get even” with Sterling.

Speculation on possible punitive actions

Silver has promised the league would give Sterling due process but would act quickly.

It is unclear whether Silver could order Sterling to sell the Clippers, a team he bought for $12 million in 1981 and is now worth $575 million, according to Forbes magazine. A lifetime suspension and fine of at least $1 million is more likely, experts say.

The commissioner might announce an indefinite suspension while the investigation continues, CNN’s Rachel Nichols reported.

“He (eventually) could suspend Donald Sterling maybe for a year, maybe even two years or even indefinitely,” Nichols said. “And the idea and the hope would be that if he made him so uncomfortable, if he was removed from day-to-day operations, if sponsors are pulling out the way that they are, there would be some way to convince Sterling, it’s in your best interest and the interest of everyone else to sell the team.”

Nichols likened the situation to that of the late Marge Schott, who owned the Cincinnati Reds and made racist and other insensitive comments. She was suspended twice, the second time in 1996, and sold the team in 1999.

Other NBA owners have called the remarks attributed to Sterling “abhorrent,” “reprehensible,” “hurtful,” and said they have no place in the league or anywhere in society.

And they all said they have confidence Silver will handle the matter well.

Charlotte Bobcats owner and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan made a rare public statement on a controversial subject.

“As an owner, I’m obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views,” he said. “As a former player, I’m completely outraged. There is no room in the NBA — or anywhere else — for the kind of racism and hatred that Mr. Sterling allegedly expressed.”

TMZ posts audio recording

In the recording, the man seems mad about a photo the woman posted to Instagram with Magic Johnson, now a part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“In your lousy fing Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with — walking with black people,” the man says.

“If it’s white people, it’s OK?” she responds. “If it was Larry Bird, would it make a difference?”

Bird was Johnson’s chief rival when Bird’s Celtics and Johnson’s Lakers ruled the NBA.

“I’ve known (Magic Johnson) well, and he should be admired. … I’m just saying that it’s too bad you can’t admire him privately,” the man on the recording says. “Admire him, bring him here, feed him, fk him, but don’t put (Magic) on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don’t bring him to my games.”

On Sunday, the sports website Deadspin posted five additional minutes it said was part of the same audio recording.

Neither website has said how it obtained the recordings.

Stiviano’s lawyer’s office said Sunday that she didn’t release the recordings to TMZ but that they are legitimate.

“This office understands that the currently released audio tape of approximately 15 minutes is a portion of approximately one (1) hour of overall audio recording of Mr. Donald T. Sterling and Ms. Stiviano, and is in fact legitimate,” Mac E. Nehoray said in a news release. “Ms. Stiviano did not release the tape(s) to any news media.”

Clippers considered boycott

Sterling’s wife, who is suing the woman, gave CNN affiliate KABC a statement Sunday night.

“Our family is devastated by the racist comments made by my estranged husband,” Rochelle Sterling said. “My children and I do not share these despicable views or prejudices. We will not let one man’s small-mindedness poison the spirit of the fans and accomplishments of the team in the city we love.”

Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters Monday that he was offered an opportunity to speak to Sterling after the comments attributed to the team’s owner were posted online, but Rivers said he “passed.” Rivers added, “I don’t think right now is the time or place, for me at least. And so I just took a pass.”

The coach, in his first year with the Clippers, said he believes that Sterling did make the comments but said he wanted to find out if the recording was doctored.

Rivers confirmed the team’s players had talked about boycotting a playoff game but decided against it. Whether the coach or a player will address the fans before Tuesday’s Game 5 against the Golden State Warriors is being discussed internally, Rivers said. The teams each have two wins in the best-of-seven-games series.

Golden State coach Mark Jackson said Monday that fans should make a statement by staying home.

Sponsors leave in droves

Twelve Clippers sponsors have taken action. State Farm, Virgin America, CarMax, Red Bull were among companies to pull sponsorships, at least temporarily, CNN Money reported.

Sterling was to receive a lifetime achievement award at an event next month to mark the 100th anniversary of the Los Angeles NAACP, but the national organization said Monday that would not happen.

Sterling had been given a lifetime achievement award from the organization in 2009, according to a brochure obtained by CNN.

Roeser, the Clippers’ president, suggested Saturday that Stiviano — whom he didn’t mention by name — was “getting even” with Sterling over a lawsuit.

Rochelle Sterling filed a lawsuit last month against Stiviano, who she said was having an affair with her husband.

In the complaint, Rochelle Sterling accuses Stiviano of targeting extremely wealthy older men. The suit claims that Donald Sterling used the couple’s money to buy Stiviano a Ferrari, two Bentleys and a Range Rover and that Stiviano took possession of a $1.8 million duplex through fraud. Sterling also gave her nearly $250,000 in cash, the court document says.

Stiviano countered in another court document that there was nothing wrong with Donald Sterling giving her gifts and that she never took advantage of the Clippers owner, who made much of his fortune in real estate.

Speaking about the recording, Roeser said, “We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered. We do know that the woman on the tape — who we believe released it to TMZ — is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family alleging that she embezzled more than $1.8 million, who told Mr. Sterling that she would ‘get even.’ “

CNN’s Paul Vercammen, Caleb Silver, Stephanie Elam, Ralph Ellis, AnneClaire Stapleton, Joe Sutton, Wayne Sterling and Kevin Dotson contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire

Dominique Wilkins: Time to talk about racism

(CNN) — I am extremely proud of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. He made the exact right move in banning Donald Sterling from the NBA for life and fining him $2.5 million for his offensive, racist comments. It sets a definitive tone not only for how we deal with racism in the NBA but also how we should be dealing with it in the country as a whole.

I am not a politician. I am not a legislator. I’m not an activist. I do have fame. I do have accolades. I played professional basketball. But all of this aside, I am a man, a black man.

I grew up in the inner-city street projects of Baltimore, moving to North Carolina when I was 16. My passion and love for a round orange ball has taken me to unimaginable heights, earning me a measure of success in the NBA. I have lived the majority of my life in the bright and narrow cast of a spotlight, so I know what it is like to live with the obligation to shape words into politically correct statements, and to mute my thoughts in moments of emotion. At times it is my job to do so.

Hearing about, and then listening to, the Donald Sterling recordings early Saturday left me and my NBA family disgusted. As one of the premiere professional leagues in the world, we take pride in carrying the banner as one of the most diverse sports industries, with a commitment to fair racial hiring practices. More than 80% of our players are men of color, and well over a third of them are African-American.

Again, I’m no activist. I have turned down more press requests and interviews surrounding the abhorrent comments of Sterling in the past two days than I care to number. And just when I thought I would refocus my energy on the most evenly matched NBA playoffs in my recollection, CNN offered me the opportunity to depress my mute button and comment on what has become a much bigger story than one man’s racist comments.

Racism is a real problem that has survived through generations and generations in this country. It is time to use the opportunity to further the race discussion.

Let me be clear. In my career as a basketball player and now as an executive with the Atlanta Hawks organization, I have never been subjected to racism in my workplace. But there is racism, sexism, bigotry everywhere in our society. As a black man growing up in the South, I have, of course, experienced it.

There are many stories surrounding the Sterling recordings; the motivation, who was involved, and so on. But the focus needs to turn to whether or not we will allow a multibillion dollar league and a country of multicultural influences to be consumed by the news cycle noise.

The conversation must continue on a broader scale. This is bigger than basketball.

Will this moment fade into the background? Or will we as leaders of industry and community meet the need for continued discussion about the prevalence of racism in our country?

We live in a society where public perception dictates reality. So we carefully craft and weave sound bites and statements, giving the public enough until it moves into the next news cycle. The noise consumes 24 hours. Distracted, preoccupied, the public moves on to the next story.

Can the gap be closed? I for one am clearly choosing to accept the responsibility yet again to craft and weave my words in the spotlight in this case to open up and invite the continued conversation on racism.

As professional athletes we live a privileged life. We’re blessed to make a living in line with the market, and the market generates billions of dollars only thanks to the fans that pay to watch our sports and buy our brands. But we are employees at the end of the day.

We expect a safe and fair environment to do what we are paid to do. We expect to advance in executive positions where qualifications dictate and where we have been given the opportunity to shine — not because of our race or gender, but because of our abilities. We pour our passion into our jobs, and we accept our paychecks gladly.

Just like any other work space, we will always run across people who will be jealous of the individual success of another or the flip side of that, find ourselves boxed in because of the direct selfish intentions of the powers in positions above you. In the competitive business of professional sports, there will always be those in positions of ultimate power whose job it is to dictate your very future based on a laundry list of reasons.

As an executive with a level of significant impact and inherent power, you are expected to carry yourself with dignity, respect, integrity and thoughtfulness. A leader should exhibit these qualities at all times. I have been extremely fortunate to play for and work for some of the greatest owners the NBA has ever had, and I continue to value those relationships because of the qualities they showed not just in business, but more important, in life.

I feel deep disdain that this discussion of race was generated out of the highest level of the very sport that has given me so much happiness, confidence and success. It is with my obligation as a representative of the NBA to uphold the values we live and lead by as well as share my experiences with the next generation to make our sport and community better. It is my deep desire to impress upon current and future players that NBA leadership will continue to strip away the layers of underlying and seemingly unchecked racism.

As for Sterling’s comments, they really mean nothing in the big picture. In the end, he will be one man, one ignorantly misguided outlier who galvanized and brought even closer the tightknit community of the NBA. He will be consumed by the noise of yet another news cycle and forgotten.

It is incumbent upon us as executive leaders and community leaders to continue to be outspoken to ensure the lessons of this moment do not become part of that same noisy news cycle.

The conversation is way bigger than any one man.

Dominique Wilkins, retired professional basketball player and a vice president of basketball operations with the Atlanta Hawks, was an NBA All-Star nine times and is one of the all-time leading scorers in the history of the NBA. In 2006, Wilkins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The opinions in this commentary are solely those of the author.

Is diabetes shrinking my brain?

(CNN) — It’s not a secret that some diabetics also have memory issues, but a new study suggests it’s not just due to clogging of blood vessels — your brain may actually be shrinking.

When the brain shrinks, it’s often because valuable brain cells that help us think and remember are dying. A loss of brain cells is a hallmark for Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.

In this new study, published in the journal Radiology, researchers looked at brain scans from a little more than 600 people age 55 and older with type 2 diabetes. They found that patients who lived with diabetes the longest had smaller brain volumes.

“When you lose brain cells, you lose the capacity for more complex thoughts and memory,” says Dr. R. Nick Bryan, lead author of the study.

“Diabetes may be a risk factor for things like Alzheimer’s disease,” says Bryan, chairman of the Department of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania. ” We didn’t prove that, but we suggest that.”

Up until about five years ago, experts thought memory and cognitive problems related to diabetes were largely due to problems with blood clots in the brain. But Bryan’s new imaging study builds on other research, which points to brain shrinkage as a potentially stronger link to the development of cognitive decline in diabetics.

“Somehow diabetes is doing something to the brain that results in tissue loss (death of cells),” says Dr. Rosebud Roberts, professor of epidemiology and neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who was not involved with this new research.

Roberts says scientists are still trying to understand why cells are dying. Their best guess is that it’s related to both too little and too much glucose in the brain. Glucose is the brain’s food and when you have diabetes, brain cells may not be getting enough nutrients, so they can die. Another possibility is that too much glucose in the brain can also kill cells.

The brain of a diabetic “metabolizes glucose and oxygen differently than people who don’t have diabetes,” says Bryan, because destructive free radicals are possibly produced.

“Diabetes can lead to what is in essence a faster aging process,” says Dr. Gail Musen, investigator at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, who was also not involved in this new research.

Her advice to diabetics is to keep the condition under control: “Exercise, eat right, go to your doctor, lose weight if you need to and take your medicine.” These lifestyle changes won’t prevent the brain shrinkage, Musen says, but they will slow down the process — and the sooner you start, the better.

The-CNN-Wire

Elevate Your Gardening Success…

Don’t let a sore back, bad knees or lousy soil stop you from gardening. Elevate your garden for easier access and better gardening results.

The simple act of creating a raised bed improves drainage in heavy clay soil. Add in some organic matter to further increase drainage and improve the water holding ability for sandy soils.

And if your soil is beyond repair or you don’t want to wait, a raised garden allows you to bring in quality soil and create a garden right on top of the existing soil or even paved areas.

The quality soil and easy access will allow for dense plantings without pathways. This means greater yields, up to four times more, in raised beds than in-ground gardens.

Raised beds also help conserve water. You’ll concentrate your growing efforts in smaller areas and that means less water wasted. Increase the benefit by using soaker hoses or drip irrigation in order to concentrate water application to the soil nearest the plants, right where it is needed.

Make your raised bed a comfortable height. Elevating the garden minimizes bending and kneeling. Design raised beds in corners or edges suited for sitting or areas narrow enough to set a garden bench alongside for easy access.

Design raised gardens so they are narrow enough for gardeners to easily reach all plants growing within the garden. Or include steppers or pathways if creating larger raised garden areas.

Add a mowing strip around the edge of the raised bed. A narrow strip of mulch or pavers set level with the soil surface keep the area tidy and eliminate the need for hand trimming.

Select a material suited to your landscape design. Wood, brick and stones have long been used to create raised beds. Consider using materials that are long-lasting and easy to assemble, like Lexington Planter Stone (lexingtonseries.com). These stone sections can be set right on the ground, fit together easily, and can be arranged and stacked to make planters the size, shape and height desired.

Start a raised bed garden by measuring and marking the desired size and shape. Remove the existing grass and level the area. For taller raised gardens edge the bed, cut the grass short and cover with newspaper or cardboard prior to filling with soil. Be sure to follow directions for the system being installed.

Once the raised bed is complete, fill it with quality soil. Calculate the volume of soil needed by multiplying the length times the width times the height of the raised bed, making sure all measurements are in feet. Convert the cubic feet measurement to cubic yards by dividing it by 27 (the number of cubic feet in a cubic yard). For a 4 x 8 feet raised bed that is 2 feet deep you would multiply 4 x 8 x 2. This equals 64 cubic feet. Divide by 27 and you will need just a bit more than 1 cubic yard of soil. Don’t let the math overwhelm you, most topsoil companies and garden center staff can help you with the calculations. Just be sure to have the raised bed dimensions handy when you order your soil.

The best part is that this one time investment of time and effort will pay off with years of gardening success.

Gardening expert, TV/radio host, author & columnist Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and has written over 20 gardening books. Visit her website: www.melindamyers.com for more information and gardening tips.

NBA players protest racist talk attributed to L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling

(CNN) — The players in the National Basketball Association spoke out Sunday about racist comments attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

The Clippers players staged a silent protest. As they warmed up for an NBA playoff game, the players removed their warmup shirts bearing team logos to reveal red T-shirts worn inside out, with the logos hidden. They finished warming up, removed the red shirts and played the game wearing their regular uniforms.

The National Basketball Players Association demanded Sterling be barred from all playoff games this season. The players also want an accounting of past accusations of racism against Sterling; an explanation of what kind of discipline might be issued; assurance that the league commissioner will work with the association; and assurance the investigation will be conducted swiftly.

And throughout the day, past stars including Michael Jordan slammed Sterling.

Sterling wasn’t there to see the protest or his team lose 118-97 to the Golden State Warriors. He agreed to stay away from the game because of the controversy that heightened Sunday when the website Deadspin released an additional audio recording of a conversation that purports to be Sterling talking with girlfriend V. Stiviano earlier this month.

Neither Deadspin nor TMZ, which released a similar recording Saturday, said where they got the recordings. Stiviano’s lawyer’s office said Sunday that she didn’t release the recordings but that they’re legitimate.

The 15-minute Deadspin recording purports to be Sterling talking with Stiviano about her Instagram photo feed. The photos include images of her with African-Americans, including NBA great Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

If authentic, the remarks seem to reflect Sterling’s embarrassment and frustration with Stiviano over her associating with African-Americans at Clippers games and for posting such pictures on her Instagram account.

Three NBA legends lashed out at Sterling Sunday.

Jordan, considered the league’s greatest player and now the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, said: “As an owner, I’m obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views. … As a former player, I’m completely outraged. There is no room in the NBA — or anywhere else — for the kind of racism and hatred that Mr. Sterling allegedly expressed.”

NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was a Clippers special assistant coach in 2000, told CNN: “I know him. I know his voice. I am not surprised by this very much.”

But Abdul-Jabbar said Sterling was congenial in person and said he never heard any racist words from Sterling. Still, the recording shows a “repugnant attitude for someone to have, and for him to be an employer for so many people of color, it kind of blows your mind.”

Johnson, speaking on an ABC pregame show Sunday, said Sterling needs to go.

“He shouldn’t own a team any more. And he should stand up and say, ‘I don’t want to own a team any more,’ ” Johnson said.

‘Is that racism?’

In the latest recording, a man and woman talk about the photos, and he tells her he cannot change cultural beliefs, Deadspin reported.

The woman says she doesn’t think the man is racist but the people around him have “poison minds.”

“It’s the world! You go to Israel, the blacks are just treated like dogs,” the man says.

He says there are white Jews and black Jews, and they are treated 100% differently.

“And is that right?” the woman asks.

“It isn’t a question — we don’t evaluate what’s right and wrong, we live in a society. We live in a culture. We have to live within that culture,” the man replies.

When the woman says she doesn’t share the man’s views about race, he tells her: “Well, then, if you don’t feel — don’t come to my games. Don’t bring black people, and don’t come.”

The woman, who says she is of mixed race, reminds him that most of his team’s players are African-American.

“I support them and give them food, and clothes, and cars, and houses. Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them? Do I know that I have — Who makes the game? Do I make the game, or do they make the game?”

The woman compares racial discrimination to the Holocaust.

“And you’re Jewish. You understand discrimination,” she says.

The man disagrees with the analogy and says that what he’s talking about is not discrimination.

“There’s no racism here. If you don’t want to be walking into a basketball game with a certain person, is that racism?” the man says.

Investigation under way

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday that Sterling, who has owned the basketball franchise for nearly three decades, is now under investigation over the comments attributed to him.

Silver said that the league’s investigation will seek to determine whether the recording is authentic and to figure out the context in which these “offensive and disturbing” comments were made.

But he cautioned that Sterling must be afforded due process, so he would not speculate on any possible punishment, but said that the investigation will move “extraordinarily quickly.”

Clippers President Andy Roeser on Saturday suggested a woman — whom he doesn’t mention by name — was “getting even” with Sterling over a lawsuit.

Rochelle Sterling, the wife of Donald Sterling, filed a lawsuit last month against Stiviano, who she said was having an affair with her husband.

In the complaint, Rochelle Sterling accuses Stiviano of targeting extremely wealthy older men. The suit claims that Donald Sterling used the couple’s money to buy Stiviano a Ferrari, two Bentleys, and a Range Rover and that Stiviano took possession of a $1.8 million duplex through fraud. Sterling also gave her nearly $250,000 in cash, the court document says.

Stiviano countered in another court document that there was nothing wrong with Donald Sterling giving her gifts, and she never took advantage of the Clippers owner, who made much of his fortune in real estate.

‘And don’t bring him to my games’

According to the website TMZ, Sterling reportedly made discriminatory remarks during an argument he had with Stiviano on April 9. TMZ on Saturday posted a 10-minute recording purporting to be the argument.

The man alleged to be Sterling takes particular exception to a photo she posted to Instagram with Johnson.

“In your lousy fing Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with — walking with black people,” the man says.

“If it’s white people, it’s OK?” she responds. “If it was Larry Bird, would it make a difference?”

Bird, the longtime Boston Celtics star, was Johnson’s NBA rival.

“I’ve known (Magic) well and he should be admired. … I’m just saying that it’s too bad you can’t admire him privately,” the man on the recording says. “Admire him, bring him here, feed him, fk him, but don’t put (Magic) on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don’t bring him to my games.”

Roeser said Sterling is upset and apologizes for sentiments attributed to him about Johnson. “(Sterling) has long considered Magic a friend and has only the utmost respect and admiration for him — both in terms of who he is and what he has achieved.”

Sterling is “emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings,” Roeser said.

President Obama’s response

President Barack Obama weighed in on the controversy.

At a news conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Sunday, Obama was asked about the comments on the recording.

“When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don’t really have to do anything, you just let them talk. That’s what happened here,” the President said.

Obama also said Sterling’s alleged comments are an example of how “the United States continues to wrestle with the legacy of race and slavery and segregation.”

The president of the California NAACP suggested fans boycott Clippers games.

“We also suggest that African-Americans and Latinos should honor (Sterling’s) request and not attend the games,” Alice Huffman said in a statement released Saturday.

Sterling was to receive a lifetime achievement award at an event next month to mark the 100th anniversary of the Los Angeles NAACP, but the national organization tweeted Sunday that wouldn’t happen.

LeBron James speaks out

The release of the recordings comes at a bad time for the Clippers, who are playing in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

“I don’t know if I’m surprised or not,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said at the team’s practice Saturday, adding that he “obviously” didn’t like the comments.

Rivers, who is in his first year coaching the team, told reporters that he didn’t want the controversy to detract from the playoffs. He said he would be the sole person speaking on behalf of the team.

But Chris Paul, a Clippers player and president of the National Basketball Players Association, issued a statement Saturday saying “this is a very serious issue which we will address aggressively.”

Helping the players association will be Kevin Johnson, a former NBA player and current Sacramento, California, mayor. “There needs to be an immediate investigation, and if the reports are true, there needs to be strong and swift action taken,” Johnson said in a statement on the NBPA website.

Miami Heat forward LeBron James was one of several players and former players who weighed in on the controversy. James spoke to reporters before the playoff game against the Charlotte Bobcats Saturday night.

“If the reports are true, it’s unacceptable. It’s unacceptable in our league. It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, Hispanic, whatever, all across the races. It’s unacceptable, and as a commissioner in our league, they have to make a stand, and they have to be very aggressive with it.”

“Should this guy continue to be an owner?” asked Shaquille O’Neal, who also called the comments “repugnant.”

“We cannot have an NBA owner discriminating against the league,” said Charles Barkley. “We’re a black league.”

Both discussed the issue during the Atlanta Hawks-Indiana Pacers halftime program on TNT, which like CNN is a division of Time Warner.

CNN’s AnneClaire Stapleton, Joe Sutton and Kevin Dotson contributed to this report.

How you can help tackle ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’

NEWS AND EXPERTS — It’s a growing problem in the northern Pacific Ocean and one that could change life on our planet within the next 20 years.

“I remember the first time I felt it; I was paddling out on my surfboard and noticed a mushy, plastic-like substance sliding through my fingers. That’s what started my obsession with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” says charity fundraiser and environmentalist Veronica Grey. “The patch is located between Hawaii and California in the northern Pacific Ocean, where millions of small bits of plastic have gathered in a vortex of ocean currents known as a gyre.”

As someone with ample experience raising awareness for worthy causes, Grey paired her professional skills with her personal passion for the ocean, creating the award-winning documentary “Aqua Seafoam Shame,” (www.Pacific-TV.com), which spotlights the mess in the ocean that has garnered precious little media attention, she says.

“Fifteen years ago The Patch was the size Texas, but now it’s the size of the continental United States,” says Grey, who used her iPhone to shoot the documentary, which features renowned scientists, journalists and environmentalists.

Plastic in the ocean has far-reaching implications that, if not addressed within 20 years, could change life on this planet, she says. To date, 177 species of sea life are known to ingest plastic; other species feed on those creatures, extending the chain of damage.

“People eat the seafood that eats plastic, and the planet gets its rain from the oceans, which are being polluted at an exponential rate,” she says. “We use significantly more of our planet’s surface as a dump than for growing food; this has to change.”

To begin addressing plastics pollution, Grey encourages people to use alternatives:

•Americans buy two million bottles of water every five minutes; ditch plastic bottles and use glass or recyclable cans.

•Carry a cost-effective canvas bag instead getting disposable plastic bags at the grocery store. We waste 10 billion plastic bags every week!

•Do not line your trashcans with plastic bags. Use paper bags or nothing.

•Skip the lid on your to-go drinks. The paper cup is normally recyclable but the lid usually isn’t.

•Remember that each and every time you flush; it all ends up in the ocean. Be mindful of what you toss in your toilet!

Veronica Grey is an award-winning author and filmmaker. “Aqua Seafoam Shame” is a critically acclaimed documentary that explores the diagnosis that 25 percent of our planet’s surface is now a landfill, due to the Pacific garbage patch and plastics. The movie also explores the process by which conscientious companies, some because of her encouragement, switched from plastic to a more sustainable alternative. For more information, visit the website: www.Pacific-TV.com.

RAMBLING ROSE: Entertainment this week is off the hook!

Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed the Easter weekend, being in church for the first time all year and all that stuff. I know your preachers were glad to see you. The churches were packed with the colorful dress attire and fancy hats. I understand that many of you go to church on a regular every week, but “HONEY CHILD!” weren’t you surprised when you looked up and saw Susie Mae and her children and Johnny Blow and his wife walk in? It was a combination of a fashion show and a family reunion.

Delegate Melvin L. Stukes invites you to have an “Afternoon Sip” with him Saturday, April 26, 2014 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Arch Social Club located at 2426 Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore. You will be entertained by Baltimore’s own, Phil Butts & the Sunset Band, Kermit Golden, Denise Hunter and Lady M. For more information, call 410-644-5632.

Okay, it is time to tell you what is coming up for this week, and believe me it is a lot. I advise you to take out your calendar and fix a cocktail. You can tell from the photos I put in this column and reading the captions that this week is going to be busy. I will add to that by telling you the Landmark Lodge #40 are having a Spring Cabaret at the Pikesville Fire Hall, 40 Sudbrook Land on April 26 from 9 p.m. – 1 a.m. Music by DJ Mike Jones and it is BYOB. For more information, contact Joe Smith at 443-804-9846.

The Arena Players, Inc. 801 McCulloh Street is featuring a comedy play produced by Robert Russell called, “It Happened on the Avenue” on Friday, April 25th thru Sunday, April 27th. For more information and tickets, call 410-728-6500.

Bilal Ali Productions is hosting a “Jazz Appreciation Month” with tribute to the Diva & Mr. Cool Jazz saxophonist, Wake Campbell with Shang and Amji on Saturday, April 26th, 7 p.m. at the Best Western Hotel. For more information, call 443-540-7797.

The Association for the Study of African-American Life and History, Inc., also known as ASALH, is the world’s oldest learned society devoted to the research, education, culture and history of persons of African descent. The Roland McConnell Branch of ASALH will host an event on Sunday, April 27 at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3200 Walbrook Avenue at 4 p.m. You all are invited. Yours truly, Rosa “Rambling Rose” Pryor will be the guest speaker as well as conducting a presentation and book signing of my new book “African-American Community, History & Entertainment in Maryland, (Remembering the Yesterday’s 1940-1980).” For more information, call Andre Lee at 410-627-3373.

Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, 3008 Gwynns Falls Parkway is hosting a PK Night and Holy Communion on Friday, April 25, 6:30 p.m. The New Psalmist Baptist Church, 6020 Marion Drive is hosting a Continental Breakfast on Saturday, April 26th, 8 a.m., opening session at 8:30 a.m. The luncheon is at 11:30 a.m. followed by the presidential address, awards and installation of officers. For registration and information, call Sandra Coger at 410-262-8394.

Now back to my roots! Put on your dancin’ shoes and enjoy some blues because, “Big Daddy” Stallings & the Bluez Evolution Band are performing Friday, April 25, 8 p.m. at Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Road in Laurel, Maryland.

Okay folks, listen up! Mending Nets Theater Group is hosting a gospel musical production, “Daughters of Zion.” The casting calls will take place on Saturday, April 26th 4 p.m. and Saturday, May 24th at The Charles R. Uncles Senior Plaza, 607 Pennsylvania Avenue, in Baltimore. For more information, call Dr. Constance Johnson at 443-531-8555.

Well, my dear friends, it is time for the fat lady to sing. I am out time and space. If you need me, call me at 410-833-9474 or email me at rosapryor@aol.com. UNTIL THE NEXT TIME, I’M MUSICALLY YOURS.

Do you have abandoned funds at the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System?

BALTIMORE — The Maryland State Retirement Agency is attempting to find nearly 26,000 former public employees who didn’t work long enough to vest for a state pension benefit and return the contributions they made to the system to them. The retirement agency has established a searchable database on its website. To start the claims process, search the database at: http://sra.maryland.gov/Participants/Members/Resources/UnclaimedFunds/

If you believe you have unclaimed funds with the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System you should follow these three steps:

·You must first check the online database to find your name and associated agency name of your former employer.

·Once you have obtained this information online, call a Retirement Benefits Specialist at 410-625-5555 or 800-492-5909 for confirmation.

·After verification with a Retirement Benefits Specialist, you can claim your funds by completing and submitting an Application for Withdrawal of Accumulated Contributions (Form 5).

There is no need to utilize the services of a third party agent to acquire these funds. This service is provided free by the Maryland State Retirement Agency.

Typically, when members separate from service before earning a future vested benefit, the agency makes every effort to contact the individuals and encourage them to withdraw any accumulated contributions they may have made to the system while they were employed. If contributions are not withdrawn within four years, they are considered abandoned and no longer accrue interest. These funds however, may be claimed at any time by the former member or his/her beneficiary or estate.