New York

Apr 15 2013

Potentially life-threatening strain of the disease

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Free meningitis vaccinations will be available beginning today at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s pharmacies in West Hollywood and Hollywood and its Men’s Wellness Center in East Hollywood.

The vaccinations are being made available in response to the recent death of a West Hollywood man from bacterial meningitis and cases of a potentially life-threatening strain of the disease that has circulated in men-who-have-sex-with-men in New York, foundation president Michael Weinstein said
today.

Apr 12 2013

i-Pads, robotic luggage handlers and rooms address you by name

Whether you’re on business or vacation, if you’re sleeping in anything more sophisticated than a zippered sack, staying connected is a necessary part of travel.

For years, a crusty USB jack and some intermittent Wi-Fi were enough to constitute a full suite of technological hotel amenities.

Today’s future-forward lodge has to offer in-room nightclub lighting and 3D television just to keep up with the Skywalkers.

The new breed of techie lodging is no less a hotel than a Best Buy with blankets.

Apr 5 2013

Liability insurance for gun owners

Death threats have been called into the office of a Democratic congresswoman after she proposed legislation requiring gun owners obtain liability insurance.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, said in a statement the calls were received in her New York office Tuesday “by young interns, who were understandably shaken by this experience.”

Apr 2 2013

Cash and interest in property exchanged

NEW YORK, N.Y. — A New York state senator and a New York City councilman were among six people arrested Tuesday morning on charges that they schemed to fix the city’s 2013 mayoral election through fraud, bribery and extortion, according to federal prosecutors.

The United States Attorney’s Office announced charges of corruption against state Sen. Malcolm Smith and Councilman Dan Halloran, alleging that Smith, a Democrat, bribed Halloran, a Republican, to help him guarantee himself a spot on the Republican ballot in the city’s November election.

Feb 28 2013

Vigil remembers Trayvon

Trayvon Martin’s family marked the anniversary of his death with a candlelight vigil in Manhattan.

Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, were joined by actor Jamie Foxx and a crowd of about 200 people on Tuesday evening in Manhattan’s Union Square Park. They lit candles and held a moment of silence at 7:17 p.m., the time Martin was fatally shot on Feb. 26, 2012.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”