Greene County Democrat

Category: Politics

  • Racial split defines MD.’s hotly contested Democratic Senate primary

    By Rachel Weiner and Scott Clement , Washington Post

    Edwards and Van Hollend

    Donna Edwards and Chris Van Hollen

    Maryland’s Democratic Senate race remains very much up for grabs three weeks before the primary, with voters sharply divided along racial lines, according to a new poll from The Washington Post and the University of Maryland. The rare open Senate seat, being vacated by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D) after 30 years, has sparked a heated and expensive battle between Reps. Donna F. Edwards and Chris Van Hollen. Edwards is trying to appeal to voters by emphasizing her inspiring personal story as a black single mother with an activist history. Her rival has responded with a bunch of endorsements from public office¬holders and a relentless focus on his legislative record.
    Faced with that choice, African American and white voters appear deeply split. Among all likely Democratic primary voters, Edwards leads Van Hollen by a statistically insignificant 44 percent to 40 percent. But likely black voters favor Edwards by a nearly 3-to-1 ratio. More than twice as many white voters support Van Hollen as back Edwards.
    While Edwards also leads among women, that split has racial underpinnings as well, according to the survey, which was conducted in partnership with U-Md.’s Center for American Politics and Citizenship. Van Hollen leads by 23 percentage points among white women. But that preference is quickly erased by Edwards’s 51-point lead with black women, many of whom seem drawn by her argument that she is best suited to understand their needs and fight for those needs in an overwhelmingly white, mostly male U.S. Senate.
    “Women get short¬changed a lot,” said Edwards supporter Jacqui Battle, 59, a black mother of two in Prince George’s County. “It means a lot that she’s where she is, at the level she is, in her career.”
    Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) and several other black elected officials from Edwards’s home county have endorsed Van Hollen — an advantage he touts at every opportunity. But Edwards still leads in Prince George’s by 59 points. (Van Hollen is nearly as highly favored in his home of Montgomery County.)
    And despite extensive television ad campaigns and scores of visits and appearances, neither candidate holds a clear advantage in the Baltimore area, encompassing both the largely African American city and the whiter surrounding suburbs.
    Both Edwards and Van Hollen frequently invoke Mikulski, a revered figure both nationally and locally, and the first female Democrat elected to the Senate in her own right.
    Edwards notes that she, too, would make history as Maryland’s first black senator and the second female black senator. Van Hollen argues that he, like Mikulski, is a constituent-oriented and savvy politician.

  • Alabama legislators consider impeachment of Gov. Bentley

    By: Ed Cason, AL.com

    Gov. Robert Bentley

    Gov. Robert Bentley

    State Rep. Ed Henry, following through on plans he announced last week, outlined articles of impeachment he will introduce against Gov. Robert Bentley. The governor said he would vigorously defend himself against a move he called a “political attack.”
    Henry, a Republican from Hartselle, was joined at a news conference today by Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, minority leader in the House, and Reps. Mike Ball, R-Madison and David Standridge, R-Hayden. The five-page resolution charges Bentley with willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency and offenses of moral turpitude.
    “We’re looking at this governor who has essentially betrayed the trust of the people of Alabama through actions and lies that have caused us to have some doubt about his leadership,” Henry said. “And as such, the only course the people of Alabama have to address this issue is through the impeachment process.”
    Henry said he would not seek a vote on the resolution today but hoped for a vote next week.If the House approves the resolution, it would refer the charges to the Senate, which would hold a trial on whether to remove the governor from office.
    Bentley has come under fire after the release of audio tapes of his sexually suggestive comments to former senior political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason, who resigned last week.
    The governor says he has no plans to resign and has done nothing to warrant removal from office. Bentley released a statement this afternoon saying he would vigorously defend himself and there are no grounds for impeachment. He called today’s press confererence “political grandstanding.”
    “There is a lot of work to do before I end my term in office in 2019,” Bentley said. “I have laid out a strategic plan for success, and I will continue to focus my efforts on making Alabama a great state.”That is what the people of Alabama overwhelmingly elected and re-elected me to do. I will continue to work hard for them every day.”
    It’s unclear how much support there is for the impeachment resolution and whether it has time to be resolved with 12 meeting days left in the legislative session.
    Rep. Mac McCutcheon, chairman of the Rules Committee, told the Associated Press that Henry’s impeachment resolution would be accompanied by a resolution establishing an investigatory commission, which would examine if there are grounds for impeachment.
    Rep. Ford, minority leader in the House, said the impeachment resolution was not a partisan issue. “This is not about the governor’s personal conduct. This is about the allegations against him, including that he obstructed justice within the Alabama state law enforcement agency,” Ford said.
    “We believe there is enough probable cause to warrant asking the state Senate to try this case, and if guilty, remove the governor from office.”
    Former state Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier has accused Bentley of telling him to lie to the attorney general’s office about the status of an investigation. Collier made allegations about Bentley on the same day the governor fired him. The governor said he has not told any employees or cabinet members to lie.
    At today’s news conference, Ball said the impeachment resolution was an effort to use one of the checks and balances of governments to resolve a “crisis of confidence.

  • Supreme Court blocks challenge to ‘one person, one vote’ in key voting rights case

    Written By Desire Thompson, NBC News

    The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that districts will continue to use total population instead of voter population to determine legislative redistricting in Texas, maintaining fair voting rights for the state’s large Latino population. According to NBC News, the decision was made Monday after Sue Evenwel and Edward Pfenninger argued that only eligible voters should be counted, which can harm large urban communities consisting of non-voters and children, but benefit large districts with conservative and rural voters.
    The ruling, signed with an opinion by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was supported by Justices John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas concurred but drew their own notes on the ‘one person, one vote’ law.
    “In a concurring opinion, one of the Supreme Court’s conservatives, Justice Alito, said Monday’s decision holds only that states are not required to count total population. The ruling does not bar states from instead counting the voting population, which he called “an important and sensitive question that we can consider if and when” such a case comes before the court.”
    The historic “one person, one vote” view has been seen as a clear way to treat voters equally across districts. If the argument was supported, large states like Texas, New York, California, New Jersey, Arizona and Nevada would have seen the largest changes in voting rights.
    The ruling is also a win for liberals who have supported total population voting. Ginsburg explained that those not eligible to vote need representation and the 14th amendment is permitted as a foundation for drawing districts.
    “Nonvoters have an important stake in many policy debates—children, their parents, even their grandparents, for example, have a stake in a strong public-education system—and in receiving constituent services, such as help navigating public-benefits bureaucracies,” Ginsburg wrote, “By ensuring that each representative is subject to requests and suggestions from the same number of constituents, total population apportionment promotes equitable and effective representation.”
    “Adopting voter-eligible apportionment as constitutional command would upset a well-functioning approach to districting that all 50 States and countless local jurisdictions have followed for decades, even centuries,” Ginsburg wrote. “Appellants have shown no reason for the Court to disturb this longstanding use of total population.”

  • Grand Jury returns 29 true bills with 59 cases continued

    The Grand Jury of Greene County, Alabama, met for spring term and went into session on March 28, 2016, ending the session March 29, 2016. The Grand Jury considered various criminal charges against various defendants returning with 29 true bills, some of which were multiple count indictments, resulting in 22 felonies and 7 misdemeanors. There were 59 cases continued and 8 no bills were returned. No further recommendations were presented.
    Indictments included the following.
    – Walter Lee Beck, Jr. was indicted for unlawful possession of marijuana.
    – Harper Dewayne Colvin was indicted for the September 4, 2015 shooting, causing the death of another person, to-wit Layton LaJeffery Cochran, shooting Cochran with a handgun and discharging firearm into an occupied vehicle.
    – David Edwards was indicted on Criminal Trespass I.
    – Anthony Lamar Gary was indicted for Criminal Trespass III and breaking and entering a vehicle.
    – Robert Earl Moore was indicted for certain person forbidden to possess pistol.
    – Rufus Peebles was indicted for theft of property.
    – Billy Wayne Sanders was indicted for Arson II.
    – Jayson Gabriel Shows was indicted for possession of a controlled substance, Criminal Mischief III and Theft of Property III.
    – Eric Washington was indicted for attempted murder on June 30, 2015, Kidnapping II, discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle and promoting prison contraband.
    – Labryant Kumane Whitehead was indicted for Hindering Prosecution I.
    – Jose Luis Anguiano was indicted for trafficking – cocaine.
    – Dominic Fowler was indicted for possession of marijuana and attempt to elude.
    – Isaac Pinedo was indicted for trafficking – methamphetamine.
    – Juan Manuel Salazar was indicted for trafficking – cocaine.
    – Alvin Merrill Boatley was indicted for trafficking -methamphetamine, and for certain person forbidden to possess pistol and possession of drug paraphernalia.
    – Jonquise Deanthony Brewingtion was indicted for carrying a pistol without license and possession of marijuana.
    Aaron Braggs was indicted for certain person forbidden to possess pistol.
    – Tymon Leotis Davis was indicted for hindering prosecution.

  • Electronic Bingo Amendment passes out of committee with small changes

    Senator Bobby Singleton contacted the Democrat this week to advise that Senate Bill 340, which amends and changes electronic bingo in Greene County, had been approved in the Senate Tourism Committee and was scheduled for a vote on the floor of the full Senate on next Tuesday, April 5, 2016.
    Singleton said State Representative Artis McCampbell was moving the bill in the House of Representatives for passage by the full body.
    Singleton said that he and McCampbell had made some small changes in SB 340 based on discussions with legislators and other community leaders who contacted them about the bill.
    “We changed the section on the composition of the new Greene County Gaming Commission. There will still be five members. One selected by the Governor and the remaining four by the Legislative delegation. We removed the one to be appointed by the 7th District Congressperson. This means that three or four will be from Greene County,” said Singleton.
    “We met with Senator Sanders and he explained the court ordered settlement agreed between the Sheriff and the County Commission. We have adjusted the percentages for the Greene County Commission to be compatible with this court order,” said Singleton.
    We did not make any other changes in the bill, which still provides for electronic bingo only at a racetrack facility licensed for pari-mutuel wagering in the county. Only Greenetrack qualifies under this definition. The other facilities licensed by the Sheriff would have to close under the current language in SB 340.
    Singleton says, “We really designed this bill to support Greene County residents and owners. We are concerned that some of these facilities have out-of-town owners who drain money out of the county. They do not provide living wages and fringe benefits to their employees. We are looking at the quality of the Greenetrack facility – not the quantity of other facilities which have not benefited Greene County.
    Former Greene County Commissioner William “Nick” Underwood, who is an attorney associated with the River’s Edge Bingo operation writes a letter to the editor this week (see page 4) wherein he disputes Singleton and McCampbell’s rationale for SB 340.

  • A South African leader insists ‘We are not for sale’

    Cyril Ramaphosa

    Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President

    Mar. 28, 2016 (GIN) – South Africans are rising up against the outsized influence of corporate entities and wealthy individuals allegedly doling out contracts and jobs within the ANC.
    Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, at a recent event, rebutted the charge, declaring the ANC was not for sale and anyone who wanted to capture the state should “go next door.” Speaking to about 1,500 professionals and academics at the ANC event in Sandton last week, Ramaphosa declared: “Those who want to capture the ANC and influence it to advance personal or corporate interests, you have come to the wrong address. Try next door. We will not be captured.”
    A South Asian family close to the president who allegedly peddled jobs within the government was not the only one exploiting their connections, he added. “There are a number of others as well, and we are saying to all and sundry, stop in your tracks, we will not allow that.”
    But questions continue to be raised including at a seminar last week hosted by the Association of Public Administration and Management. Political influence by corporate entities and wealthy individuals is “at pornographic levels,” said businessman and policy analyst FM Lucky Mathebula. “That is why we hear calls of the removal of the president and regime change.”
    Political analyst professor at the University of Pretoria, Tinyiko Maluleka, said state capture was “insidious,” and became entrenched over time. “The idea that two or three people capture the state in one day is useless,” said Maluleka.
    Former African National Congress Youth League deputy president Ronald Lamola said the problem was not just corruption.
    “This is about democracy where unelected people are able to influence the decision to appoint ministers… “This is kleptocracy,” he added, “where a few elites are able to control and direct the state, a serious subversion of democracy.”
    Last week the group Equal Education released a statement calling state capture by the rich and powerful “a mortal threat to democracy” and pledged to join a “week of outrage” with other movement groups. “When our democratic state is put into the top pocket of a few rich people” then “the working class and the unemployed, the poor and the historically looted – the black majority – are attacked and further looted”.
    Meanwhile, President Zuma’s daughter, Thuthukile Zuma, a recent graduate in anthropology, has been awarded a high profile tender as a supplier to a prominent local company involved in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Just prior to this, Thuthukile was the chief of staff in the Dept of Telecommunications and Postal Services.
    At 27, she is the youngest of President Zuma’s four daughters with his ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

  • Nixon’s ‘War on Drugs’ was government sanctioned terror on Black people

    war-on-drugs

    People protesting the War on Drugs

    Last week, a quote from Richard Nixon’s former Chief Domestic Advisor John Ehrlichman surfaced, confirming a disgusting truth that’s been well known by Black folks for several decades: the war on drugs had nothing to do eradicating a drug epidemic. Instead, it was a ploy to hide for the intentional targeting and decimating of the Black community. Ehrlichman states: The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.
    I’ve always believed the “War on Drugs” was a hoax from the very beginning, thus I felt a wide range of emotions reading this quote. I’ve seen my own community ripped apart by enforcement of draconian drug laws. I know people who are currently serving sentences related to the same drug that, now increasingly legal, is being used to make white folks and the government wealthier.
    And still, America’s embarrassing incarceration rates and disparities, painstakingly outlined in Michelle Alexander’s now legendary book The New Jim Crow are merely a fragment of the aftermath of Nixon’s vicious war on black folks. When the highest levels of government, in the now incontrovertible spirit of genocide, decide to decimate a community, the ripple effects will be unending.
    Consider first: all wars need soldiers. The soldiers in Nixon’s phony war have been police officers, chiefs, prosecutors and judges- all law enforcement officials tasked with carrying out inherently racist order. Much of the now well-documented problem with how law enforcement officials interact with communities of color can be traced to the war on drugs. Despite the fact that drug use in our country has always spanned broadly across lines of race and class, our entire system and everyone in it were necessarily taught to view urban communities as being rife with criminals and addicts needing to be cleansed.
    None of this was  possible without Nixon perverting another broken system for his destruction campaign: mainstream news media. Plastering implicitly anti-black propaganda on major networks with regularity is how America was taught to view urban centers – and the black people living there – as deserving of war.  The war’s soldiers, therefore, are to be supported with a similar blind deference as we are taught to give our military. (A comparison which, of course, helps us justify equipping the police like they’re in combat).
    The kind of racist reporting Nixon expressly requested from mainstream media outlets didn’t end with Nixon’s shameful exit from the White House; four decades later, it remains a staple of what American’s consume daily. Just Google news anchor Wendy Bell and see what people who control the messages on your TV screens think of black people.  Hell, media bias is the reason this news of Nixon’s war against black communities (read: treason) wasn’t a front page headline.
    This is bigger than detestable police and biased media, however. Like with any unjust war, there are economic implications – in this case, in excess of a trillion dollars spent destroying the very community that ironically is one of very few domestic racial groups terrorized by the government that hasn’t received any sort of reparations. There are social implications, namely that what follows from unjustly incarcerating black people at alarming rates, a majority of them men, is a decapitation of the black family unit that spans generations.
    And there are lasting community implications, the most startling of which is that the blighted neighborhoods that are most impacted by the terror of the war on drugs – pillaged by Nixon’s soldiers and stripped of many of their bread winners – are part of the communities across the nation being actively identified “development.”  Gentrification is a brand of renovation that forces the removal of black families for economic reasons– and it didn’t appear out of thin air.
    So remember that the next “conspiracy” you hear being repeated by hundreds of thousands of marginalized people probably isn’t a conspiracy at all. The next time you hear that a useful social initiative is just too expensive, be reminded that we wasted more than $1 trillion over 40 years taking out Nixon’s perceived enemies.  And the next time people try to convince you that drug abuse in black communities is a criminal issue, tell them to extend the same courtesy given to white communities and call it what it is- a healthcare issue.
    Nixon wasn’t the first criminal to commit crimes against his own citizens; our government has perpetrated criminal atrocities against communities of color before, from the Tuskegee Experiment to Japanese Internment Camps.
    Lies and deceit are nothing new.  But this time, when you go to the polls, remember Nixon’s “War on Drugs.”  Then act accordingly.  The stakes are too high to let another lie go unchecked.

  • Congresswoman Terri Sewell introduces H.R. 4817 to designate Birmingham’s Historic Civil Rights District a National Park

    Martin Luther King Jr in Kelly Ingram Park
    16th St. Church – the one that was bombed in the civil rights era

    Shown above: Memorial to Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and Sixteenth Street Baptist Church which would be part of proposed Historic Civil Rights District

     

    The City of Birmingham played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement and this national designation will forever cement its place in American history.
    Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL-7) released the following statement to announce the filing of H.R. 4817, a bill to designate Birmingham’s Historic Civil Rights District as a National Park.
    “I am proud to introduce this important, bi-partisan legislation that incorporates Birmingham’s Historic Civil Rights sites into the National Park Service System,” states Representative Sewell. “With this designation, historic preservation efforts will be enhanced for these historic sites, greater economic revitalization will occur, and it will forever cement the pivotal role Birmingham played in the Civil Rights Movement.””The Historic Civil Rights District in Birmingham holds many stories of the journey from what was regarded as one of the most segregated cities in the South to what Birmingham is today. The National Park designation will be a real tourism boost for Birmingham and will mean greater economic development for Alabama. The Birmingham Civil Rights District will include a 16th Street Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park, A.G. Gaston Motel and other historic landmarks.”Several noteworthy stakeholders expressed their support for the Bill:
    “Sharing the Birmingham Civil Rights Story and legacy is paramount to the success of the City. We are thankful to Congresswoman Sewell for moving this legislation forward. This is an exciting time for our City,” says Mayor William Bell of Birmingham, Alabama.
    “As a gathering place for activists and leaders in the Civil Rights movement, the sites within the Birmingham Civil Rights National Historical Park tell of the African-American fight for equality. The National Trust applauds Congresswoman Terri Sewell for her leadership in introducing this significant legislation, and proudly stands with Mayor William A. Bell and the City of Birmingham in supporting this effort to preserve not only the places but the history that happened in the thriving historic district.
    We urge the House of Representatives to quickly approve this legislation to ensure these places live on to benefit future generations of Americans and beyond,” states Tom Cassidy, Vice President of Government Relations & Policy, National Trust for Historic Preservation.
    “Birmingham was one of the most heavily segregated cities in the United States in the 1960s. The non-violent protest marches in Birmingham in the spring of 1963 and the violent response they evoked from police and state and local officials drew national attention and helped to break the back of segregation in that city,” states Theresa Pierno, President and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association. “We commend Representative Sewell for working to ensure these pivotal moments in the long struggle to bring equality and justice to all Americans will never be forgotten. The addition of a Birmingham Civil Rights National Historical Park would allow this important Civil Rights story to be told for generations to come.”

    About the Proposed National Park Designation

    The proposed Birmingham national park site would include 16th Street Baptist Church, A.G. Gaston Motel, Kelly Ingram Park, Bethel Baptist Church and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
    The “National Historic Park” designation by the National Park Service (NPS) is defined as particularly notable because of its connection with events or people of historic interest. Such entities often extend beyond a single property or building. Many entities are not traditional “parks” in the sense of extensive green spaces, but are rather urban areas with a number of historically relevant buildings.

  • Bill based on estimate of $50 million annual gross revenues Proposed Bingo Amendment causes concern and discussion by Greene County leaders

    News Analysis By: John Zippert, Co-Publisher

    track

    Senate Bill 340, proposed by State Senator Bobby Singleton, which changes the current operation and regulation of electronic bingo in Greene County, has caused much concern, discussion and dissention among county leaders.
    In an exclusive interview with Senator Singleton last week, he said, “Representative McCampbell and I discussed the problems with electronic bingo in Greene County.
    Among them the threat of raids by the state on bingo as illegal gambling; the conflicts between the Sheriff and County Commission, which have led to lawsuits; and the proliferation of bingo parlors which do not employ as many people, at good wages, as when bingo was centralized in one place.”
    Singleton said that he and McCampbell decided to develop a proposed amendment to Greene County’s Amendment 743, authorizing electronic bingo, which would clarify the legality of bingo; require that electronic bingo be played at a licensed racetrack facility where pari-mutuel wagering is currently legal; codify and provide a new formula for the distribution of bingo funds, including a tax (4%) to the State of Alabama and a local gross receipt tax (8.5%) to benefit Greene County government, agencies and non-profits; and move the regulation and administration of electronic bingo from the Sheriff to a new Greene County Gaming Commission. Limiting electronic bingo to a racetrack in Greene County where pari-mutuel wagering is legal, limits the operations to Greenetrack and would likely lead to a phase-out of the other facilities licensed by Sheriff Benison. The owners and employees of these facilities are opposed to this amendment
    Singleton said that he, McCampbell and other members of the Greene County legislative delegation plan to hold public meetings in Greene County to explain the bill and its impacts before a November vote by the citizens of Greene County on the revised Constitutional Amendment. If the proposal passes the Alabama Legislature with no dissenting votes then it only requires a referendum vote in Greene County, however, if there is opposition from one member of the Legislature, then a statewide vote will be required.
    Greene County Sheriff Jonathan Benison is opposed to the bill because it will strip his office of control of electronic bingo. In an open letter, printed in full on page 4, he argues that the legislation will return control of bingo to the 73 for-profit stockholders of Greenetrack to operate as an unfair monopoly.
    Benison points to the impact of his monthly $200 per bingo machine tax and the benefits that the four bingo parlors have generated in income and jobs for the county.
    Benison makes the point that many other public officials in the county and municipalities have made that Singleton and McCampbell did not publicize, discuss or seek input on their proposal before introducing it in the Alabama Legislature. Benison says in his letter, “it was introduced in a stealth manner designed to catch people off guard.” Singleton says that he and McCampbell were concerned that bingo was a target for state action and wanted to head this off.
    The bill clarifies and legally allows electronic bingo “on any machine or device that is authorized by the National Gaming Regulatory Act by 25 U. S. C. Section 2701, and which is operated by any Native American tribe in Alabama.”  This would legalize any electronic bingo machine or device, which was approved by the Federal government for use in Indian casinos, to be used in Greene County.
    The proposed revised amendment calls for distribution of funds for a state gross receipts tax (4%) and a local gross receipts tax (8.5%) on gaming revenues at the racetrack operating bingo. These taxes would be levied on the gross revenues, which are defined as the total amount of money played on the electronic machines less the value of prizes and winnings paid to the players. The gross figure would be determined before costs of operating the bingo facilities were applied.
    Singleton said in the interview, that “he estimates the annual gross revenues from electronic bingo would be at least $50 million and may be 20 to 30% higher.” Based on this estimate the State of Alabama would receive $2 million or more in new tax revenues per year from bingo in Greene County.

    The local gross receipts tax of 8.5% would generate  $4.25 million in revenues, which would be divided as follows:

    • .5% to the Greene County Racing Commission to license and regulate bingo:

    • .5% to the Greene County Commission;

    • 1.5%  to Greene County Commission for municipalities in Greene County, based on  population;

    • .5% to the Greene County Firefighters Association;

    •  2 % to the Greene County Board of Education;

    • .5% to the Greene County E-911 Communications District;

    •  1% to the Greene County Hospital and Nursing Home;

    •  .25% to Greene County Industrial Development Board;

    •  .25% to Greene County Ambulance Service;

    •  .75% to the Greene County Housing Authority;

    •  .75% to the Greene County Gaming  Commission, for     distribution to non-profit organizations, that provide  services to residents of Greene County.

    Some agencies will receive more than they are receiving now and others, like the Greene County Commission and the Sheriff’s Office, will receive less.
    One benefit of this plan is that the people of Greene County will know the gross revenues generated by bingo and exactly how they are being distributed. Currently the total gross revenue going through the four licensed bingo parlors is not publically available.
    The new Greene County Gaming Commission will consist of five (5) members, all of whom must reside in the Seventh Congressional District and at least two must be residents of Greene County. The Commission will be named as follows: one by the Governor, one by the Congressperson, one by the State Senator and two by the State Representatives in the delegation. Some feel this will take control of bingo out of the hands of Greene County citizens and allow other people to make critical decisions for Greene County.

  • Malia Obama helps translate for her father during first family’s trip to Cuba

    By: Eun Kyung Kim, NBC Today

    Malia Obama translates for her father

    Malia Obama translates for her father, President Obama in visit with people in Cuba

    Her father may be president, but Malia Obama just proved he doesn’t always know best — or in this case, more.
    The president’s 17-year-old daughter served as her dad’s personal interpreter during a visit with locals on their historic trip to Cuba, according to White House photographer Pete Souza. “The President and Malia share a laugh as Malia translates Spanish to English for her dad at a restaurant in Old Havana,” Souza wrote in the caption of the photo, which he posted on Instagram.
    The first family arrived in Cuba on Sunday evening. The three-day trip marks the first time a U.S. president has visited the island nation in 88 years.
    In addition to Malia, the president and first lady, Michelle Obama, brought their younger daughter, 14-year-old Sasha. Both girls are on spring break from school.
    It’s been an eventful few weeks for the Obama girls. Earlier this month, they attended their first black-tie gala, a White House state dinner to honor the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
    Malia, who is a high school senior, will head to college in the fall.