Greene County Democrat

Category: Politics

  • Virginia Governor restores voting rights to felons

    By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and ERIK ECKHOLM

    VA Governor Terry McAuliffe

    Gov. Terry McAuliffe held up the signed executive order at a ceremony outside the state capitol in Richmond, Va., on Friday. CHET STRANGE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

     

    WASHINGTON — Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia used his executive power on Friday to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 convicted felons, circumventing the Republican-run legislature. The action effectively overturns a Civil War-era provision in the state’s Constitution aimed, he said, at disenfranchising African-Americans. The sweeping order, in a swing state that could play a role in deciding the November presidential election, will enable all felons who have served their prison time and finished parole or probation to register to vote. Most are African-Americans, a core constituency of Democrats, Mr. McAuliffe’s political party. Amid intensifying national attention over harsh sentencing policies that have disproportionately affected African-Americans, governors and legislatures around the nation have been debating — and often fighting over — moves to restore voting rights for convicted felons. Virginia imposes especially harsh restrictions, barring felons from voting for life. In Kentucky, Gov. Matt Bevin, a newly elected Republican, recently overturned an order enacted by his Democratic predecessor that was similar to the one Mr. McAuliffe signed Friday. In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, vetoed a measure to restore voting rights to convicted felons, but Democrats in the state legislature overrode him in February and an estimated 44,000 former prisoners who are on probation can now register to vote. “There’s no question that we’ve had a horrible history in voting rights as relates to African-Americans — we should remedy it,” Mr. McAuliffe said in an interview Thursday, previewing the announcement he made on the steps of Virginia’s Capitol, just yards from where President Abraham Lincoln once addressed freed slaves. “We should do it as soon as we possibly can.” Republicans in the Virginia Legislature have resisted measures to expand voting rights for convicted felons, and Mr. McAuliffe’s action, which he said was justified under an expansive legal interpretation of his executive clemency authority, provoked an immediate backlash. Virginia Republicans issued a statement Friday accusing the governor of “political opportunism” and “a transparent effort to win votes.” “Those who have paid their debts to society should be allowed full participation in society,” said the statement from the Republican party chairman, John Whitbeck. “But there are limits.” He said Mr. McAuliffe was wrong to issue a blanket restoration of rights, even to those who “committed heinous acts of violence.” The order includes those convicted of violent crimes, including murder and rape. There is no way to know how many of the newly eligible voters in Virginia will register. “My message is going to be that I have now done my part,” Mr. McAuliffe said. Nationally, an estimated 5.85 million Americans are denied the right to vote because of felony convictions, according to The Sentencing Project, a Washington research organizations, which says one in five African-Americans in Virginia cannot vote. Only two states, Maine and Vermont, have no voting restrictions on felons; Virginia is among four – the others are Kentucky, Florida and Iowa – that have the harshest restrictions. Friday’s shift in Virginia is part of a national trend toward restoring voter rights to felons, based in part on the hope that it will aid former prisoners’ re-entry into society. Over the last two decades about 20 states have acted to ease their restrictions, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. Previous governors in Florida and Iowa took executive action to ease their lifetime bans, but in each case, a subsequent governor restored the tough rules. Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, said Mr. McAuliffe’s decision would have lasting consequences because it will remain in effect at least until January 2018, when the governor leaves office. “This will be the single most significant action on disenfranchisement that we’ve ever seen from a governor,” Mr. Mauer said, “and it’s noteworthy that it’s coming in the middle of this term, not the day before he leaves office. So there may be some political heat but clearly he’s willing to take that on, which is quite admirable.” Myrna Pérez, director of a voting rights project at the Brennan Center, said Mr. McAuliffe’s move was particularly important because Virginia has had such restrictive laws on voting by felons. Still, she said,“Compared to the rest of the country, this is a very middle of the road policy.’’ Ms. Pérez said a number of states already had less restrictive policies than the one announced by Mr. McAuliffe. Fourteen states allow felons to vote after their prison terms are completed even while they remain on parole or probation.

  • Obama: Black Lives Matter movement “can’t just keep on yelling”

    JASON SILVERSTEIN, NEW YORK DAILY NEW

    britain-obama

    President Obama speaking at a town meeting in Britain.

    President Obama criticized the Black Lives Matter movement during a town hall meeting in London Saturday — saying the activist group “can’t just keep on yelling” about the issues it wants to change. Obama’s comments came during day two of his visit to Europe, at a Q and A event for young people. One audience member asked Obama if he felt his administration had done enough to discourage racial profiling at airports. His answer led him to discussing social justice movements, with Obama specifically naming the Black Lives Matter movement. He said he admired such groups for being “really effective in bringing attention to problems” of racial injustice — but he also showed those movements some tough love.
    “Once you’ve highlighted an issue and brought it to people’s attention and shined a spotlight, and elected officials or people who are in a position to start bringing about change are ready to sit down with you, then you can’t just keep on yelling at them,” Obama said. “And you can’t refuse to meet because that might compromise the purity of your position. The value of social movements and activism is to get you at the table, get you in the room.”
    Black Lives Matter did not respond to his remarks.
    Obama has openly supported the Black Lives Matter movement in the past. At a White House forum in October, he dismissed the popular “all lives matter” rebuttal to the national group, saying: “I think everybody understands all lives matter…They were suggesting was there is a specific problem that’s happening in the African-American community that’s not happening in other communities. And that is a legitimate issue that we’ve got to address.”
    Obama in February praised prominent Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson for an “outstanding” job leading the movement in Baltimore, where McKesson is now running for mayor.
    Black Lives Matter groups have consistently clashed with presidential candidates on the campaign trail.  Several members have been assaulted at Donald Trump rallies, while Hillary Clinton has had heated exchanges with protesters accusing her of racial insensitivity.

  • Sheriff Benison provides $30,000 to Greene County Hospital Greene Co. electronic bingo bill defeated in Alabama Senate; Meeting in Branch Heights to explain status of bill and next steps

    News Analysis
    by John Zippert,
    Co-Publisher

    Sheriff and CEo of Hospital.jpg

    Photo includes Sheriff Benison, Jasma Colvin, Alicia Jordan, Jalessa Jones and CEO Elmore Patterson shown providing a check for $30,000. Shown below meeting held at the Branch Heights Center on Bingo with represenatives Bobby Singleton and AJ McCampbell.

     Bingo in Branch Height.jpg
    The past week saw many developments related to the future of electronic bingo in Greene County.
    Eutaw Councilman Joe Lee Powell and County Commissioner Corey Cockrell convened a meeting at the Branch Heights Community Center for the county’s legislative delegation to explain their efforts to assist Greene County.
    Senator Bobby Singleton and Representatives Artis McCampbell and Ralph Howard were present to explain their efforts to pass SB 340 to amend Greene County’s Amendment 743 to strengthen the legal basis for electronic bingo in the county.
    SB 340 also allowed electronic bingo at only one site in the county, which is Greenetrack, since it is already approved for pari-mutuel gambling on greyhound dogs and horses. The bill also would have changed the formula for distribution of bingo funds to county agencies and charities. It also removed the regulation of bingo from the exclusive control of the Sheriff to a five member Greene County Gaming Commission.
    The proposed bill included a provision that three-quarters of one percent of the annual gross revenues of electronic bingo would be paid to the Greene County Housing Authority. Based on projected annual gross revenues of $50 million, the Housing Authority would receive approximately $375,000 per year. “ Under our plan, the Housing Authority could use these revenues to finance a bond issue that would repair the roads and streets in Branch Heights, ” said McCampbell. Bobby Singleton said, “ Our goal was to legally protect bingo in Greene County and we needed support from the Republican super-majority in the Legislature to get this done. Some Republicans do not want to vote for any form of gambling; others want to reduce the spread of gambling; and some legislators want to help the Native Americans that have bingo in their casinos.”
    “We felt we had the 21 votes needed to pass our amendment in the Senate. We hoped we had all eight Democratic Senators and even changed the bill to accommodate some of their concerns. We had some Republicans who promised that if we got 19 or 20 votes they would vote with us, to put us over the top.
    “We were very disappointed that we only got 17 votes because two Democrats, who are African-American, Senators Hank Sanders of Selma and Vivian Figures, voted against the bill which effectively killed our chance to pass it,” said Singleton.
    Singleton said, “ I know the rules of the Senate and worked hard with my personal relationships to get enough support to pass it. We changed it to accommodate various concerns by Senator Sanders and others. We tried to calm the opposition of the Native Americans. We included a 4% state tax to provide revenues for the state. We did everything we could but we needed a few more votes.”
    A lady in the audience was very concerned that the proposed bill would result in the closure of the other three bingo parlors and put their employees out of work. Singleton responded that this was done to insure the legal survival of bingo and show that the growth of bingo establishments would be curtailed and concentrated in one place. “ We hoped that most of the people, who may have lost their jobs, would be hired by Greenetrack, who would need more employees. In the past, Greenetrack had 400 to 500 employees making living wages with a good benefits package.”
    Hodges Smith, speaking on behalf of the 14 volunteer fire departments in the county said, “From 2003 to 2011, when bingo was exclusively at Greenetrack, $2,9 million was provided to the Greene County Firefighters, since 2011, we have received $259,000 from Greenetrack and $8,208.24 from the other bingo places combined. The Firefighters, E-911 and Woman-to-Woman are the three charities supported by Greenetrack, in addition to funds that the four bingo establishments pay to the Sheriff for distribution to county agencies, municipal governments and the school system.
    Iris Sermon of E-911 said, “We can see what is happening because we are not united. The state Legislature may sponsor a lottery and cut out bingo all together. E-911 has been assisted by Greenetrack when the county government and other agencies could not support our critical services.”
    Luther “Nat” Winn, CEO of Greenetrack came into the meeting late. He challenged the group,” Tell me who owns the other bingo establishments in Greene County. We do not know who owns them. We do know who owns Greenetrack and they are all people from Greene County. We have let other people come in and take advantage of Amendment 743 but they are not helping to protect it. We pay a cashier $41,000 a year, plus benefits, but we never hear what the others pay their employees. They are not paying living wages and supporting charities outside of Greene County. Greenetrack used to give college scholarships to every Greene County graduate. We cannot do this any more because the bingo revenues are scattered.”
    John Zippert, a member of the Greene County Health System Board, reported that members of the GCHS Board had met with Sheriff Benison and asked that he increase the $200 per bingo machine fee by $25 a month and give those funds to help keep the Hospital and Nursing Home open providing services to Greene County residents. The Sheriff said he would consider this request and review it with the four bingo operators. He made an immediate grant of $30,000 to help the GCHS meets its current critical financial situation.
    Mr. Winn said, “I’m not sure Greenetrack, under the current state of affairs, could afford an increase in the monthly fee and be able to pay its other expenses.”  Winn also made no clear declaration that he would employ people from the other bingo businesses if this bill were ever passed restoring Greenetrack’s exclusive rights to operate electronic bingo in Greene County.
    In response to a question from Val Goodson of Citizens to Make Greene County Better about the future of bingo legislation, Singleton said, “We were trying to do the right thing for Greene County. We can introduce the bill again in a Special Session of the Legislature, but the people of Greene County need to be behind it and help us push it through.”

  • City of Eutaw receives $519,900 grant from ALDOT to pave Prairie Avenue

     

    Mayor Hattie Edwards of Eutaw announced at the March 29, 2016 meeting of the Eutaw City Council that the State of Alabama Department of Transportation had made a grant to the city of $519,900 for repaving Prairie Avenue from Highway 11 (Boligee Street at the old Eutaw Drug location) to Highway 43.
    This street is a major traffic thoroughfare that passes the U. S. Post Office, Merchants and Farmers Bank, the Greene County Democrat, The James Poole Memorial Library, King Village and Branch Heights. Construction on this project is scheduled to start in May 2016. The city and the county are still looking for funds to pave the streets within the Branch Heights Sub-division, which are in a state of serious disrepair.
    At the March 29 meeting, the Eutaw City Council endorsed the work of SCORE (Sharing Christ Our Redeemer Enterprise) International and Domestic. SCORE is planning to hold a summer festival in Greene County on June 20-23, 2016 primarily to serve children and young people in the county. SCORE is exploring various options to hold the festival including the Eutaw City Park. The Council voted to give the group a letter of support.
    The Council discussed an issue brought by John Campbell a volunteer with the Son Light Ministry Center of Jamison, Alabama that distributes day-old bread from bakeries in Alabama to poor people. The group, which had secured the approval of Police Chief Coleman to pass out bread at the vacant lot next to Solomon Drug Store, was sent away due to complaints from Piggly Wiggly and Solomon Drug.
    Campbell requested the help of the City Council in finding a place for his charitable group to distribute bread. Several locations including the National Guard Armory, Eutaw Activity Center, Greene-Sumter Farmers Market shed, and the area and park behind City Hall. The Council said they would make the National Guard Armory available if the location was close enough to low income people in town.
    Mayor Edwards announced that the City was scheduling meetings with area banks to seek interim financing for the $3.1 million USDA/Rural Development water system improvement loan and grant project. The city is required to finance the project through construction and then USDA comes in when it is built and inspected to the required specifications and approves it for payment, including the interim financing costs.
    At the March 22, 29 and April 12, 2016 meetings, the Eutaw City Council took other actions:
    – approved contract with CNI for $13,745 for billing softwear and training for the water department, this includes an additional $675 per quarter for on-going support;
    – renewed contract with RDS for administering the City’s business licensure procedure;
    – agreed to lift a freeze on hiring for the Street, Water and Police Departments;
    – approved use of $9,000 from the City’s gasoline tax fund for the emergency paving in Branch Heights and the dirt road from Elm Street and Oak Street;
    – supported the ‘Back to School Sales Tax Holiday’ for August 5 to 7 for sales tax abatement on school supplies. The estimated sales tax revenue loss to the city will be $3,500 for agreeing to this holiday.
    – approved official travel for staff members to training conferences and payment of all bills through March 2016.

  • Cockrell wins run-off election for District 2 school board seat

    kkCockrell

    Kashaya “Newt” Cockrell won the District 2 school board seat in a run-off election held Tuesday, April 12, 2016.  Cockrell secured the District 2 school board position with a total of 189 (52%) votes to Madylen Thomas’ 173 (48%) total votes.
    Cockrell and Thomas led the slate of five candidates vying for the open seat in the Primary Election on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Cockrell will hold this position on the Democrat’s Party slate for the November 1, 2016 General Election. She is currently unopposed in the General Election. After the vote count was reported, Cockrell said “ I want to thank all those who helped in this election and all those who voted for me. I did not win by myself, it was because of a community effort. I ran to help and support the children of Greene County and provide a brighter educational future for all of them.
    Cockrell is a lifelong resident of Greene County with three children, two of whom are enrolled in the Greene County school system. She is employed as finance manager with the Greene County Housing Authority and also works with agency’s youth department.

  • County extends 1 cent sales tax for hospital Greene County Commission rejects Greenetrack’s offer to settle outstanding lease payments

    At the Greene County Commission’s work session held Wednesday, April 6, 2016, Commissioner Allen Turner, Jr. presented a document from Greenetrack CEO Luther Winn offering $600,000 to settle the outstanding lease payments due to the county from Greenetrack.  The offer presented in the Commission’s work session indicated that Greenetrack would pay $250,000 as lease payment for 2013; $150,000 for 2014; $100,000 for 2015; and $100,000 for 2016.
    At the following monthly meeting held Monday, April 11, 2016, the County Commission voted to reject  that offer from Luther Winn and Greenetrack, Inc. The Commission supported a motion directing the Chairperson to inform Winn in writing that the last lease agreement was set at a payment of $250,000 annually and at this time discussions on a new agreement were necessary.
    Greene County and Greenetrack, Inc. own jointly the physical property where Greenetrack operates simulcasting dog and horse racing as well as the electronic bingo operations. Greenetrack and the County Commission had an agreement in which Greenetrack, Inc. would pay a designated amount for use of the county’s portion of the property.  The current 20 year lease agreement was reached by the two parties in 2008 with Greenetrack committing to pay the county $250,000 per year.  Reportedly, this agreement stated that the lease amount could be re-negotiated every 5 years.  If there was no re-negotiation, the current lease payment would continue.  There was no re-negotiated lease agreement between the parties since 2008.
    Based on the 2008 agreement Greenetrack owes the county $1 million dollars in lease fees.
    The County Commission agreed to extend, for an additional 10 years, a one cent sales tax which supports the Greene County Health System.  That sales tax generates approximately $35,000 per month for the hospital system.  The county’s authorization included language which would allow the hospital to pursue other financial assistance against this guaranteed sales tax revenue. County CFO, Paula Bird reported the total funds in banks as of March 16, 2016 as follows:  Citizen Trust Bank $2,398,717.49; Merchants & Farmers Bank $1,636,341.33; CD Bond Fund Investments $566,145.29; Bank of New York $575,610.26. The CFO reported one budget amendment request from Sheriff Jonathan Benison to move $8,000 from the fuel account to the account for repairs to motor vehicles. The Commission approved this request as well as the financial, claims, revenue and expenditures reports presented by Bird.
    Mrs. Joyce Pham and Ms. Katie Powell were appointed to serve on the Housing Authority of Greene County Board of Directors for Districts 5 and 2, respectively. The appointment for District I was tabled.
    The Commission also tabled the J.C. Poole Library Board appointments for Districts 1 and 3.
    In other business the Commission approved the following:
    * Travel requests for employee training: Rhonda French – Payroll Certification Program; Tanesha Mack and Blake McMillian – ACCA Jail Training; Jeremy Rancher – Child Abuse Training; Iris Sermon and Hodges Smith – EMITS; Iris Sermon – Fusion; Commissioners Brown, Cockrell and Williams – Prattville Training.
    * Resolution regarding the Abatement of Taxes and support of the passage of HB 169 and SB 96.
    * Resolution adopting a Title VI Plan for ALDOT grant (Nutrition Program).
    * Resolution approving the 2016 Sales Tax Holiday.
    * Resolution approving the Finley McRae Cemetery.
    * Board of Education’s request to use lawn of the former Miles College building for a parent cookout on April 22, 2016.

     

  • Bernie Sanders would apologize for slavery if elected President

    Written By NewsOne Staff

    Bernie Sanders

     Bernie Sanders campaigning

    Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders became known for his work during the Civil Rights Movement and was the first candidate to explicitly declare that Black Lives Matter, but would he address slavery if elected president?
    Well, yes. In fact, the Democratic candidate said Wednesday at an event in Philadelphia that he would issue a “necessary and overdue” apology about the horrific system, The Hill reports: “An American president has yet to muster up the courage to formally apologize for the 400 heinous years of rape, death and inhumanity that occurred during the enslavement of black people in this country that still impacts million of slave descendants,” an audience member told Sanders before asking whether he’d apologize for it.
    “Want the short answer?” Sanders asked in response. “Yes.”
    His response isn’t all that surprising. In July, Sanders said the nation should apologize for slavery. He later reiterated his statement, saying, “as a nation we have got to apologize for slavery, and of course the president is the leader of the nation.”

  • The wage gap: terrible for all women, even worse for women of color; Tuesday was ‘Equal Pay Day’

    By: Lydia O’Connor Reporter, The Huffington Post

    Fast Food Protests
    A woman carries a sign for equal pay as she marches with other protestors in support of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of an expanding national movement known as Fight for 15, Wednesday, April 15, 2015, in Miami. The event was part of a national protest day to coincide with the April 15 deadline for filing income taxes. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

    How much does being a woman cost over a lifetime? A lot more if she’s Latina.
    Tuesday was Equal Pay Day — the day that marks how far into the year full-time employed women have to work in order to earn what their male counterparts earned in the year prior. To mark the occasion, the National Women’s Law Center released a report showing how much the wage gap costs women over their lifetime. The findings, released earlier this month, are based on 2014 U.S. Census data showing the difference between women’s and men’s median annual earnings for full-time, year-round employees, multiplied by 40 years. The data comes from a Census study that does not take immigration status into account, meaning it doesn’t make distinctions about whether or not people are undocumented.
    We’re often reminded that women earn 79 cents for every dollar men earn, but what sometimes gets lost is that the gap is much worse for Latinas, black women and other women of color. Here are some of the NWLC’s most jarring takeaways about being a woman of color working in the U.S.:
    Women overall lose out on more than $400,000 over the course of their careers, but most women of color are shorted more than double that.
    Men out-earn women in all 50 states and in Washington D.C. For full-time, year-round employees nationwide, women earn a median annual $39,621 compared to men’s $50,383 — a yearly difference of $10,762. If a woman works for 40 years, then, that adds up to a lifetime shortfall of $430,480 as compared to a man.
    But most women of color can expect to lose out on a lot more. When compared to the earnings of white men, that wage loss figure rises to $883,040 for Native American women, $877,480 for black women and $1,007,080 for Latinas.
    The gap is smaller — though still nowhere near equitable — for Asian-American women, whose lifetime wage difference compared to white men totals $365,440. So, you know, just a third of a million dollars, instead of an actual million dollars.
    In a shocking number of states, white men earn more than twice as much as Latinas.
    There are 12 states, or about a quarter of the country, where Latinas on average earn less than half of what white men make per year. In order from greatest lifetime wage gap to least, these states are New Jersey, California, Maryland, Connecticut, Texas, Massachusetts, Washington, Illinois, Rhode Island, Utah, Georgia and Alabama.
    For black women, the above is true only in Louisiana, and for Native American women it’s only true in Delaware. There are no states where, overall, men earn twice as much per year as women, and no states where white men earn twice as much as Asian-American women.
    Our nation’s capital is setting a horrible example.
    At first glance, Washington, D.C., doesn’t look like one of the most dire environments. With lifetime wage losses for women overall totaling $288,560, it’s the seventh best state for working women.
    But when lifetime wage loss for black women and Latinas is stacked up against the lifetime earnings of white men, D.C. comes in dead last. It’s also the second worst for Asian-American women and eighth worst for Native American women.

  • Legislative delegation meets with community on proposed changes in Amendment 743 Future of electronic bingo in Greene County uncertain due to Supreme Court ruling

    Artis .jpg

    Persons leading community meeting on bingo, Sunday night at the National Guard Armory; L to R.State Representative Artis J. McCampbell, Spiver W. Gordon, Leo Branch, Chair Greene County School Board, Sarah Duncan, Rev. James Carter, Finest Miles and State Senator Bobby Singleton.

    The past week has been a difficult one for the future of electronic bingo in Greene County. On Thursday, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld lower court decisions seizing electronic bingo machines and cash from Victoryland in 2003. The Court continued to assert that “bingo” was a game played on paper cards and that none of the Constitutional Amendments, including Greene County’s Amendment 743, protected electronic gaming machines as legal in Alabama. On Sunday at the Eutaw National Guard Armory, over 150 local residents came out to hear State Senator Bobby Singleton and State Representative Artis McCampbell explain their bill to change Amendment 743. The four electronic bingo establishments in the county, Sheriff Benison, County Commissioners, School Board members, other public officials and citizens were present to understand and discuss the bill.
    On Tuesday, in the Alabama State Senate, Senator Harri Anne Smith of the Wiregrass area contested Singleton’s bill, which had been passed out of committee, on the floor.  Her action blocked the bill.
    Senator Singleton withheld his bill and contested all other local bills pending in the State Senate, in the same way that Smith contested his bill.

    Impact of Alabama Supreme Court decision

    Attorney General Luther Strange hailed the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision Thursday against VictoryLand as a resounding victory for the rule of law and the definitive word that electronic bingo is illegal in Alabama.
    “The Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling is abundantly clear that electronic bingo is illegal and repeated court challenges to the contrary will not change that fact,” said Attorney General Strange. “I cannot say it any better than the court itself.”
    The Alabama Supreme Court ruling observed: “Today’s decision is the latest, and hopefully the last, chapter in the more than six years’
    worth of attempts to defy the Alabama Constitution’s ban on “lotteries.” It is the latest, and hopefully the last, chapter in the ongoing saga of attempts to defy the clear and repeated holdings of this Court beginning in 2009 that electronic machines like those at
    issue here are not the “bingo” referenced in local bingo amendments.     It is the latest, and hopefully the last, chapter in the failure of some local law-enforcement officials in this State to enforce the anti-gambling laws of this State they are sworn to uphold, thereby
    necessitating the exercise and performance by the attorney general of the authority and duty vested in him by law, as the chief law-enforcement officer of this State, to enforce the criminal laws of this State.
    And finally, it is the latest, and hopefully last, instance in
    which it is necessary to expend public funds to seek appellate review of the meaning of a simple term — “bingo” – which, as reviewed above, has been declared over and over and over again by this Court. There is no longer any room for uncertainty, nor justification for continuing dispute, as to the meaning of that term. And certainly the need for any further expenditure of judicial resources, including the resources of this Court, to examine this issue is at an end. All that is left is for the law of this State to be enforced.”
    Attorney General Strange added, “I consider the work of my office in bringing the issue of electronic gambling to the courts for final judgement to now be complete. It is now up to the Governor, ALEA, and local authorities to ensure that the law is properly enforced.
    “I am proud of the work of the many local law enforcement jurisdictions who have performed their duty to enforce our laws and I am equally proud of my legal team in bringing this case and the question of electronic bingo to a successful conclusion.”
    There is a similar suit pending in Greene County about machines seized in raids on bingo facilities in Greene County. Greene County’s Amendment 743 specifically allows “electronic forms of bingo” while legislation in other parts of the state do not explicitly permit electronic machines, which the Supreme Court, AG Strange and other consider illegal gambling slot machines.
    It is unclear if Attorney General Strange plans to raid bingo again or leave it up to local law enforcement while he pursues his own political career, which may include a run for Governor.

    Sunday’s Community Meeting on Electronic Bingo

    Senator Singleton came to the meeting in Greene County to discuss his local legislative bill, which makes changes in the Greene County Constitutional Amendment 743 on bingo. He said that the bill was developed in consultation with Republican leaders of the Senate,
    in particular Dale Marsh, to clarify the status and legality of electronic bingo. “ We need 21 votes to pass this bill and there are only 6 Democratic Senators, so we need help,” said Singleton.
    The bill would allow gaming on any machine authorized for use in Indian casinos by regulations of the National Indian Gaming Commission. “Since these machines are legal at Indian casinos, they should be legal in Greene County,” said Singleton. He also indicated that several legislators were very protective of the Indians and did want him to use their definition to justify our use of electronic bingo machines that are approved in the Indian casinos.
    The bill requires that gaming be done at only one facility in Greene County, which is licensed for pari-mutuel betting on horses and greyhound dogs. This facility is Greenetrack. If these changes pass, the other three bingo facilities, permitted by the Sheriff, will be closed.
    There was much discussion on the employment and services that would be lost if these other three facilities were forced to close.
    The bill provides for a state and local gross receipts tax on the revenues generated by electronic bingo, which are estimated to be $50 million a year after winnings paid out to participants. The State of Alabama would receive a 4% tax while the local tax would be 8.5% or possibly more. The local tax would go to benefit the County Commission, School Board, Hospital, E 911, fire associations and others.
    There is a second tax on the portion of revenues that go to gaming machine providers. The Sheriff and the Eutaw Police Department would divide these funds.
    Local observers pointed out that these tax provisions would provide Greene County residents with reliable information on the funds flowing through these gaming establishments. At present, the amount of money generated by these facilities is not publically known. “Without transparency on the total amount of funds handled by these gaming entities, there is no way to know how generous they really are in helping agencies and charities in the county,” said Carol Zippert, Greene County School Board member.
    Val Goodson, speaking for the Center for Rural Development, the charity benefiting from Green Charity Bingo said in last year (2015) the facility had $17 million in gross revenues and paid only $402,000 to the charity.
    A five member Greene County Gaming Commission would be named to take over the responsibilities for regulating and administering bingo from the Sheriff, who is designated under the current amendment. Sheriff Jonathan Benison attended the meeting and spoke in strong defense of his work for the past six years in regulating bingo. He echoed the comments of many others that he was not aware of Singleton’s bill and it should have been discussed with Greene County leaders and residents before it was proposed in Montgomery.
    In closing out the meeting Singleton said, “This bingo bill may be our last best hope to save bingo in this county before the Attorney General or someone else comes against us. This is the main reason we made this proposal. We want to help Greene County save and benefit from bingo.”

  • Follow the money: Minority vendors raise questions about government advertising spending

    By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA News Wire
    Contributing Writer)

    NNPA President Ben Chavis addresses Capitol Hill press conference

    NNPA President Ben Chavis addresses Capitol Hill
    press conference (Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA)

    The federal government spends about $1 billion on advertising services, but history continues to show that small businesses and local and minority-owned media companies are mostly left out. On Wednesday, March 23, as part of its ongoing series on Supplier Diversity, the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities hosted a roundtable discussion on diversity and government advertising practices. Moderated by Thomas Reed, the director of the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities, the event also included commentary from James Winston, the president of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, Melody Spann Cooper, Steve Roberts, Sherman Kizart, and other experts from the broadcasting industry who examined the federal government’s interaction with diverse communities and how current advertising practices reach those same communities.
    “We wanted to have a more laser-like focus on federal advertising. The congressional research service has found in recent years the federal government spends close to $1 billion annually on advertising services,” Reed said in opening the roundtable discussion.
    “The focus of the meeting is an examination of how, where, and in many instances, why this money, these dollars, are being spent and how we might begin to expand the pool of vendors who assist the government and getting out the message,” he said.
    While public documents reveal who is spending the money, they don’t always reveal who is on the receiving end of those contracts, Reed added. “Experience tells us that local media, small companies, women and minority-owned media are not well-represented,” he said.
    The meeting was viewed as a critical beginning step in minority-owned media being considered when the federal government and its agencies seek to advertise.
    Earlier this month, leaders from the National Newspaper Publishers Association and the National Association of Hispanic Publications – which combined publish more than 600 newspapers to over 30 million readers – were joined by D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton in calling for an examination of government advertising practices.
    It’s widely understood that government advertising covers a variety of subjects, Reed said, noting public service announcements, federal job openings, competition for federal contracts, and even the sale of surplus government property.
    He said federal agencies use numerous platforms to educate the public about their core services including using television, radio, and now, increasingly, social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. However, the lack of advertising by federal agencies in Black media can be felt in radio as well, Winston said.
    “We find ourselves very challenged to maintain the success of our existing stations. Your success depends on getting advertising dollars and, in 2012, the Congressional Research Service did a report that at the time showed that the federal government agencies were spending about $500 million a year on commercial advertising,” Winston said. “That number is now closer to $1 billion and the report showed that the largest commercial advertiser in the federal government is the Department of Defense. And, so we’ve found that a great deal of money is being spent but there’s very little information about where that money is going.”
    Winston added: “The agencies pretty much do the same thing, they all have major contracts with one huge advertising agency, usually a ‘Madison Avenue’ advertising agency.”
    Kenyata Wesley, who represented the Department of Defense during the discussion, said she attended to help explain the procurement process and to help minority media members to better navigate the acquisition process.“We do have a very robust media program, about $300 million spent in the media community,” Wesley said. “Hopefully, we can walk away with solutions.”
    Chanel Bankston-Carter, the director for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said her agency is committed to working with veteran-owned and small businesses, and they’re looking at opportunities for procurement. She said the roundtable is “Truly an opportunity to share ideas, strategies and come together to develop a partnership that will benefit the small business community.”
    “My sole purpose is to work on procurement opportunities for the small business community,” Bankston-Carter said, noting that the Veterans Affairs is the only federal agency that has a verification program. “There are times advertising has opportunities to be more diverse and we do have a lot of opportunity for marketing and advertising and we do use that. So, I would just love to say that we are open.”
    During the conference, Reed reiterated the purpose of the sit down.“It’s not to indict, but to gain a better understanding of the process, why federal advertising dollars are not more broadly spent and how women and minority-owned media companies can improve government advertising to underserved communities,” he said.
    The conference was held just two weeks after Norton joined the call for more accountability in government advertising spending with minority-owned publications. “I’m requesting a report from an objective arm of the federal government, the GAO. We’re asking them to conduct a study of the federal agencies whose outreach is to people of color,” said Norton on Friday, March 11.
    “We don’t want our federal agencies to forego their mandate and responsibilities. There is a mandate to engage small businesses. We want to discuss if that is, in fact, taking place. There’s no more authentic or trusted way to do so than to engage the Black and Hispanic Press.”Norton and the accompanying Black and Latino publishers said no one can accurately pinpoint a dollar figure of what the federal government spends.“We have no sense of the numbers,” Norton said. “If you don’t even know what they do, you can’t know what they spend. We want to know how much they spend and with which press. We don’t even know if they have a strategy.”