Obama’s ‘to do’ list for Congress: jobs, mortgages

By Ken Thomas
Wire Service Correspondent

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – President Barack Obama said Tuesday that only Congress can take the "bold action" needed to spur job creation, as he unfurled an election year "to do" list for lawmakers. More.

IMPACT!

IMPACT Community Action kicked off Community Action Month with The Breathing Association mobile unit located outside IMPACT offices on Bryden Road on Tuesday, May 1. The free services include health assessment screenings, physical examinations, access to prescription medications, medical supply assistance, referrals to primary care services, spirometry (lung function) testing for asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and other ongoing lung-health treatments and education. (Photo by Ray Thornton) For times and locations of screenings, contact:

IMPACT Community Action:
614-453-1708
www.impactca.org

The Breathing Association
614-273-2843
www.breathingassociation.org

Social Security
still solvent

By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Despite misleading and incomplete media reports, Social Security remains solvent and will remain that way in the foreseeable future, according to several analyses.
In its trustees’ report last week, it was disclosed that without any future adjustments, Social Security will be able to pay full benefits only until 2033 and about 75 percent of scheduled benefits after that.
“Social Security’s annual tax revenue has slipped below the benefits it pays each year,” said Robert Greenstein, president of Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based nonpartisan research and policy institute. “That was long expected to happen in the latter half of this decade, but the weak economy has taken a toll on Social Security, as on many other parts of the budget.”
But that’s only half of the story. More.

Are you hiring?

Mayor Michael Coleman (right) coaches students Briauna Linville of Eastmoor Academy (upper left), Bobbi Price of Marion-Franklin HS (front) and Antwane Martin of The Charles School on interviewing on Tuesday, April 24, at the S.O.A.R.hire! (Successful Opportunities to Achieve and Reconnect) 2nd annual Youth Summer Jobs Expo at Veterans Memorial. In cooperation with Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corporation (COWIC), the City of Columbus and Franklin County are bringing youth and employers together to apply for jobs, have interviews and if possible, get hired on site. Youth and employers are still being sought for the program. (Photo by Ray Thornton)

TRAYVON MARTIN
Special Coverage:

Zimmerman
remains in custody

Investigators say shooter ‘profiled’ Trayvon Martin

By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Two investigators working for Florida Special Prosecutor Angela Corey in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin have filed court documents saying George Zimmerman, who was arrested last week, “profiled” the Black youth in Sanford, Fla.
Zimmerman, who had been free since killing Martin on Feb. 26, turned himself in to authorities last Wednesday and was immediately charged with second-degree murder, which could land him a life sentence. More.

Zimmerman’s arrest
could come soon

By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – The announcement by Special Prosecutor Angela Corey on Monday that she will not use a grand jury to determine if criminal charges should be brought against George Zimmerman for the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. may lead to a quicker arrest of Zimmerman than having regular citizensdecide his fate as grand jurors. More.

Blacks: Zimmerman would have been arrested if Trayvon had been white

By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – African-Americans are more than twice as likely as non-Blacks to believe that if 17-year-old Trayvon Martin had been White, his killer would have been arrested rather than set free, according to a new USAToday/Gallup Poll.
Martin was killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain, as he was walking back to a townhouse in Sanford, Fla. on Feb. 26 with a bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona tea. Zimmerman, described by police as White and pictured by relatives as Latino, was taken into custody for questioning and then released. More.

Zimmerman’s self-defense
claim questionable

By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – George Zimmerman’s claim that he killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defense during a scuffle in Sanford, Fla. has continued to unravel, even as the shooter’s relatives have gone on TV to justify the killing and the city’s police department has leaked information aimed at discrediting the Black high school junior.
Martin was visiting the central Florida city near Orlando on Feb. 26 when he was killed by Zimmerman, who police described as White. Martin, who was returning to a gated townhouse community after walking to a nearby 7-Eleven to purchase a bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona iced tea, was unarmed. More.

Hoodie protest

Protesters wore their hoodies, carried signs, cans of iced tea and bags of Skittles as part of the national protest of the Trayvon Martin case. Protesters gathered in front of Columbus City Hall on the evening of Monday, March 26, then marched over the Broad Street bridge. They returned to City Hall for a rally. (Photo by Ray Thornton)

Trayvon Martin’s parents relive a ‘Nightmare’

By George E. Curry
NNPA Special Contributor

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – On the night of Feb. 26, Tracy Martin and his girlfriend had gone out to dinner in Sanford, Fla., leaving his 17-year-old son, Trayvon, behind at the townhouse with plans to watch the NBA All-Star game scheduled to be televised at 7 p.m. from Orlando’s Amway Center.
Trayvon decided to walk to a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store to pick up a bag of Skittles candy and a can of Arizona iced tea before settling in to watch the East v. West all-stars. On his way back to the gated community, however, Trayvon was stalked by George Zimmerman, a non-Black neighborhood watch captain armed with a 9 millimeter handgun and a head full of stereotypes about African-American males.
According to 911 tapes, Zimmerman, 28, told the emergency police dispatcher that he had spotted a suspicious young male walking in the neighborhood. “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He is on drugs or something.” Zimmerman said, “These _ _ _holes. They are always getting away.” More.