Michelle Obama brings organic garden to the White House
Posted by Molly Reid, The Times-Picayune March 20, 2009 11:30AM
Categories: Green Living
Ron Edmonds / AP Photo
First lady Michelle Obama, accompanied by students from Washington's Bancroft Elementary School, takes part in groundbreaking of the White House Kitchen Garden, Friday, March 20, 2009, on the South Lawn of the White House.The Obama administration may be struggling to get back some of the green that bailed-out insurance giant AIG gave to its employees as bonuses, but starting Friday, it'll be growing some green right at the White House.
First Lady Michelle Obama is set to break ground Friday on an 1,100-square-foot organic vegetable garden -- the first true produce garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden, planted during World War II.
The garden will feature 55 varieties of vegetables, berries and herbs, chosen in part by the White House kitchen staff, the New York Times reports. The produce will go toward both family meals and state dinners, and with selections ranging from collard greens to tomatillos and exotic herbs, it's easy to imagine everyone at the White House getting a taste of something homegrown.
The garden marks a major first step in Michelle Obama's stated agenda of promoting healthy eating habits. For the full scoop on the White House garden, check out the New York Times report.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Pressline Entertainment " Operation N.O" Black Louisianians are more likely to be poor
By ASHLEY M. BAILEY
Advocate staff writer
Published: Mar 22, 2009
The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus released a new study Saturday detailing the state of African Americans in Louisiana.
Based on the report’s key findings in areas of economics, education and health, the majority of blacks do not appear to be doing well at all.
The nearly 200-page report was presented at the State of Black Louisiana Conference on Southern University’s campus.
“When a third of this state is African American, it is important to know the state of black people,” said caucus Chairwoman and state Rep. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge. “If African Americans aren’t doing well, the state of Louisiana is not doing well.”
According to the report, black people are three times more likely to experience poverty than their white counterparts. It also found that black people bring home only half the median income and per capita income of whites. “Disparities in income … play huge roles in accounting for large gaps in wealth building (between the two races),” an abridged version of the report states.
In the area of education, black children are much more likely to be classified as having a learning disability than white children.
Among older students, more black people than white people are obtaining degrees from two-year colleges, the report states. Black people, however, receive four-year degrees at half the rate of white people.
Barrow said she was especially alarmed to find that one in every 50 black students who want to go to college are not ready. She said they are often placed into remedial classes and serve as evidence of the poor educational system.
Wellness seems to be another area of concern for the black population, which faces higher cancer mortality rates than white people and which is four times more likely to contract the AIDS virus. “The prognosis for overall health of African Americans is grim,” the report says.
Despite their unsatisfactory health outlook, black people are twice as likely to be uninsured, according to the report.
“The root cause (of the disparities) is poverty,” Barrow said. “It’s probably something dating back before slavery.”
Poverty is often indicative of poor education, she said. Lack of education leads to low-paying jobs, often without access to health care, thus the cycle of poverty begins and continues.
Barrow said one way to break that cycle is through education.
“This, to me, marks an educational tool,” she said, pointing to the report. “When you don’t know, you don’t know how to do any better.”
Those in attendance at Saturday’s conference spent hours addressing the report’s findings and discussing policy changes to combat the somber figures.
Barrow said she and the members of the black caucus plan to publicize and distribute their findings and policy ideas among colleagues and state government officials.
The report is a joint effort by the black caucus and the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University, Barrow said.
Authors of the report began compiling data using national and statewide Quality of Life Index reports shortly after Hurricane Gustav struck Louisiana on Sept. 1.
«
Advocate staff writer
Published: Mar 22, 2009
The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus released a new study Saturday detailing the state of African Americans in Louisiana.
Based on the report’s key findings in areas of economics, education and health, the majority of blacks do not appear to be doing well at all.
The nearly 200-page report was presented at the State of Black Louisiana Conference on Southern University’s campus.
“When a third of this state is African American, it is important to know the state of black people,” said caucus Chairwoman and state Rep. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge. “If African Americans aren’t doing well, the state of Louisiana is not doing well.”
According to the report, black people are three times more likely to experience poverty than their white counterparts. It also found that black people bring home only half the median income and per capita income of whites. “Disparities in income … play huge roles in accounting for large gaps in wealth building (between the two races),” an abridged version of the report states.
In the area of education, black children are much more likely to be classified as having a learning disability than white children.
Among older students, more black people than white people are obtaining degrees from two-year colleges, the report states. Black people, however, receive four-year degrees at half the rate of white people.
Barrow said she was especially alarmed to find that one in every 50 black students who want to go to college are not ready. She said they are often placed into remedial classes and serve as evidence of the poor educational system.
Wellness seems to be another area of concern for the black population, which faces higher cancer mortality rates than white people and which is four times more likely to contract the AIDS virus. “The prognosis for overall health of African Americans is grim,” the report says.
Despite their unsatisfactory health outlook, black people are twice as likely to be uninsured, according to the report.
“The root cause (of the disparities) is poverty,” Barrow said. “It’s probably something dating back before slavery.”
Poverty is often indicative of poor education, she said. Lack of education leads to low-paying jobs, often without access to health care, thus the cycle of poverty begins and continues.
Barrow said one way to break that cycle is through education.
“This, to me, marks an educational tool,” she said, pointing to the report. “When you don’t know, you don’t know how to do any better.”
Those in attendance at Saturday’s conference spent hours addressing the report’s findings and discussing policy changes to combat the somber figures.
Barrow said she and the members of the black caucus plan to publicize and distribute their findings and policy ideas among colleagues and state government officials.
The report is a joint effort by the black caucus and the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University, Barrow said.
Authors of the report began compiling data using national and statewide Quality of Life Index reports shortly after Hurricane Gustav struck Louisiana on Sept. 1.
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Monday, March 23, 2009
PRESSLINE ENTERTAINMENT REBUILDS NEW ORLEANS
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Initial claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana remained virtually unchanged last week.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission says that for the week ending March 14, there were 4,526 new claims, just seven fewer than the previous week.
The latest number is nearly double that of the comparable week of 2008 when the state received 2,337 initial unemployment claims.
Last week also showed an increase in continuing claims with 41,230, about 300 more from the previous week.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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